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Arts Business Innovation Fund – what is it?

Arts Queensland and partners recently launched a new fund to support arts business development. Read about how the fund works and who to contact for help……

Innovation… It’s one of those words that is frequently used in business circles yet many shy away from pinning down a definition of the term. Innovation is something we are told to strive for, it is seen as a journey, it is something that certainly seems to be rewarded in business. What do we mean by innovation? Arguably one way of explaining innovation is that it demonstrates a new way of thinking that seeks to change outcomes. Put simply, innovation is applying ideas that add value.

With this way of thinking in mind Arts Queensland is working with the Tim Fairfax Foundation, Foresters Community Finance, Positive Solutions and QUT Creative Enterprise Australia to manage and grow the Arts Business Innovation Fund (ABIF). The Fund was launched last year to help arts businesses fund new ideas that result in improved operating models or diversified income streams.

How is this different to other Arts Queensland funding programs? ABIF is not a fund that focuses on the development of new creative work for arts organisations; rather it is aimed squarely at helping to develop new and better business practices. The Fund helps to deliver on Arts Queensland’s commitment to help the arts sector build entrepreneurial and commercial capacity and become more resilient in a business sense.

The Fund itself is an exercise in innovative thinking as this is the first time that Arts Queensland has established a fund that mixes public and private investment, with the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation matching government funding. It’s also a new idea to combine a government grant with a no interest loan. The funding package is a 50/50 combination of the grant and loan with a maximum amount of $100,000 per application. Applicants will need to contribute funding from their own capital or secure other sources of support to be eligible for the Fund. One of the many positives of this structure is that repaid loans will be re-invested through the Fund therefore increasing the funding pool for the future. Structured in such a sustainable way, the Fund is demonstrating the ideals it is aiming to achieve in arts and cultural organisations.

There has already been strong interest in the initiative, interested parties are encouraged to contact Foresters and express their interest. Both Foresters and Arts Queensland are committed to assisting organisations through the application process and would be happy to hear from anyone interested in being a part of ABIF.

For further information contact Foresters via http://foresters.org.au/community-finance-for-organisations/arts-business-innovation-fund

Arts Queensland client managers are also available for assistance or if you do not have a client manager, please contact Darren Bell, Development Manager at Arts Queensland on phone: 07 3034 4134.

 

Feature image: 3D printed object. Photo courtesy, The Edge, SLQ.