The European Foundation Centre (EFC) released ‘Arts and Culture at the Core of Philanthropy’, a study that will explore arts and culture funding by European foundations. The EFC’s Arts and Culture Thematic Network is leading the study, utilising the responses of 40 philanthropy organisations in the EU to identify trends.

Ignasi Miró, Co-Chair of the Arts and Culture Thematic Network, states that, ‘This mapping aims to shed light on what funders are doing in the field of arts and culture, and looks to identify foundations and other philanthropic organisations who fund, support, advocate, and partner in initiatives to advance arts and culture in Europe.’

The executive summary of this report highlights a key few trends in the study. It has been identified that, ‘A significant percentage of the philanthropic budget in Europe is spent in the arts and culture sphere.’ Additionally, the report notes that even though the involved organisations are focused at a local level, their achievements often support international collaborations and partnerships. Most projects submitted to the study do not target specific groups, although some of the respondents focused more on children. Lastly, ‘Some of the initiatives submitted already have been successfully scaled up and/or replicated in other countries or in other disciplines or contexts.’

As EFC Chair and Fondazione CRT Secretary General, Massimo Lapucci mentions in the report’s foreword, ‘The need to care for culture, protect it, to pass it on to future generations, is where we see the model of institutional philanthropy really come to the fore. With our ability to think and work in the long term, we can help build the bridges between the generations to ensure that culture is both an asset to be enjoyed in the now and a legacy to be appreciated in the future… Culture matters. It always has, and it always will, in a civil society.’

To read the full report, please click here.