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Catalyst Arts is part of the £80 million scheme to boost philanthropy to the arts announced last December by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Arts Council England.

The Catalyst Arts fund will be invested in three different ways:

1. £30 million of Lottery funds will be invested in an integrated match-funding and capacity building scheme to increase arts organisations' ability to fundraise. This fund will offer tailored awards covering a three-year period and will be open to individual organisations or those working together that have some experience of fundraising. This investment is designed to allow organisations to prepare in the first year, and then explore innovative ways of using match-funding to generate and secure new private giving.
   
   It is anticipated that the £30 million fund will enable arts organisations to generate around £25 million of new money from private giving by 2015   
2. £7 million of Lottery funds will be invested in a one-off grant scheme to support arts organisations with less experience to build their fundraising capacity. Awards ranging from £15,000 - £25,000 will provide individual organisations, or those working together, with the tools and skills to begin to raise, or increase, their private income   
3. a further £3 million of Lottery funds will be invested in making available practical advice on ways to secure new sources of funding. Part of this money will also be used to share the knowledge gained from Catalyst Artswith the wider sector

Further details of the criteria and how to apply to Catalyst Arts will be available in September. The fund is just one of the measures we are putting in place to help create a more sustainable, resilient and innovative arts sector - one of the five goals set out in Achieving great art for everyone, our 10-year framework for the arts.

Alan Davey, Chief Executive, Arts Council England said: 

"We said when we announced this scheme that we wanted it to be different from match-funding that has gone before.  We said we wanted it to enhance - and not simply replace - existing gifts, and that it should work for arts organisations across the country, even those who have little experience of fundraising.

In the same way that the Arts Council wants organisations to have the support and space to take artistic risks and be creative, we believe this fund will allow them to do the same with private giving; enabling them to build their skills and test new fundraising ideas, then share that knowledge with the wider sector".

Jeremy Hunt MP, Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport said:

"The Government's drive to increase philanthropy in arts and culture is only a year old but already there is a huge amount of momentum that is going to make important and lasting changes. Today's announcement by the Arts Council is great news and will  particularly benefit smaller organisations that need help taking advantage of untapped fundraising opportunities. Together with today's consultation from HM Treasury on tax incentives for lifetime giving, we are taking a big step forward in delivering significant changes for arts and cultural organisations across England".   

Further initiatives which will from part of the £80 million scheme to boost private giving to the arts will be announced shortly.