New South Wales leads Australia in business sponsorships of the arts and donations to the arts, according to the second annual AbaF Survey of Private Sector Support for the Arts, released on 1 October by the Australia Business Arts Foundation (AbaF).

New South Wales ($72.1 million) and Victoria (64.1 million) received the lion's share of private sector income - 68 per cent of the national total of $202 million. Queensland moved into third place with $18.7 million (9 per cent).

Western Australian arts organisations received $18.1 million, South Australia $13 million, the ACT $8.8 million, and Northern Territory $3.8 million and Tasmania $3.6 million.

AbaF's survey incorporates financial data from 276 arts organisations across the country. AbaF asked how much they received in the 2007-8 financial year in sponsorships (cash and in-kind) and donations. Based on these figures AbaF calculated a total for the whole Australian arts sector.

The sector that received the most private sector support was performing arts ($77.8M) followed by art galleries ($50.7M).

The AbaF survey is the only comprehensive national study of private sector support for the arts. A summary of the findings is available from 1 October on the AbaF website.

Key findings include:

• Australian arts and cultural organisations earned $202 million income from the private sector in 2007-8. This was an increase of 18 per cent from the previous year.
• Donations increased by 22 per cent, while business sponsorship increased by 14 per cent.
• Overall, 8.8 per cent of the total income of arts and cultural organisations was derived from the private sector - up from 7.8 per cent the previous year.
• Private sector income was divided almost equally between donations (52 per cent) and sponsorships (48 per cent). This represented a slight tilt towards donations since the previous year.
  

Jane Haley, AbaF CEO said: "The results demonstrate an impressive return on the investment that arts and cultural organisations have made in developing their strategies to increase private sector support. The economic downturn will inevitably have an impact on income for the arts from the private sector but many arts and cultural organisations have established solid foundations which should stand them in good stead for the future."

Media contact: For more information or to arrange an interview contact Nick Gadd, AbaF communications manager 03 9616 0308 / 0425 862 119.

Read a summary of the AbaF Survey of Private Sector Support 2009.

AbaF is a national organisation that promotes private sector support for the arts.

Media contact: For more information or to arrange an interview contact Nick Gadd, AbaF communications manager 03 9616 0308 / 0425 862 119.

AbaF is a national organisation that promotes private sector support for the arts.