This summer, Arts & Culture Finance has merged with New Philanthropy for Arts & Culture to form Figurative – an independent not-for-profit driving new ideas for a thriving cultural and creative sector. By joining forces, we are bringing together a wealth of experience spanning fundraising and philanthropy, impact investment, innovation design, impact leadership and more.
As we prepare to relaunch as Figurative, we wanted to take a moment to briefly introduce the two teams behind the new organisation.
What is Arts & Culture Finance?
Arts & Culture Finance (ACF) was originally part of Nesta, the UK’s social innovation agency. Since 2015, the initiative has raised £30m of social impact investment to support arts and cultural organisations that benefit the lives of individuals, communities and society through their work. Specialising in blended and repayable finance, ACF raised and manages three funds – the Arts Impact Fund, the Cultural Impact Development Fund and the Arts & Culture Impact Fund – on behalf of its funding partners. The team were also involved in innovation programmes including Nesta’s Digital R&D Fund for the Arts, Digital Arts & Culture Accelerator, Amplified and the Alternarratives prize. All of ACF’s historical content, including blogs, news and resources, is now housed on this website.
What is New Philanthropy for Arts & Culture?
New Philanthropy for Arts & Culture (NPAC) was established as a cause-related network in June 2019, under the chairmanship of Sir Vernon Ellis. Its work focuses on researching and developing means of attracting new philanthropy into the arts and culture sector, alongside supporting arts leaders to feel confident seeking philanthropic giving and developing a range of funding sources for their work.
NPAC has created three main resource hubs:
- Support for the arts and culture sector, including resources to assist in attracting gifts for organisations.
- Support for arts supporters and would-be supporters through the formation of regional partnerships.
- Research into arts philanthropy: what motivates arts donors and how the sector might evolve to attract new supporters.
NPAC has 15 place-based partnerships nationally, and in 2023 entered into a relationship with the Big Give, delivering an inaugural matched funding campaign raising £2.85m. The team has also developed a rich and growing resource of more than 40 case studies across the cultural and creative sector which together make a powerful case for further support. In time, these will be showcased on the Figurative website – but in the meantime, you can access them here.
Combined Expertise
Both ACF and NPAC have spent years exploring new funding models and opportunities that can help cultural and creative organisations achieve their financial and social goals. We feel strongly that both philanthropy and private investment have a major role to play in the future of the sector, and can work productively together to maximise their positive impacts. We can’t wait to begin the work of combining our skills, experience, research and resources to support more organisations and bring their great ideas to life.
Read the full history of Figurative on the Our Story page.
