The State Government will match a $160,000 commitment by the Federally-funded Australia Council for the Arts for the employment of a Western Australian manager for the Council's philanthropic mentor program.
The arm will be based in Perth, aiming to mentor arts organisations and artists, helping them grow new income streams through donor programs and philanthropic grants.
The WA manager will also assist Western Australian philanthropists and donors, researching and sourcing local beneficiaries in the arts.
The full text of an announcement from WA Culture and Arts minister Sheila McHale is pasted below
Western Australian arts organisations seeking philanthropic support will be helped by the creation of a new Perth-based Artsupport Australia position.
Culture and Arts Minister Sheila McHale said the position would bring together WA arts organisations and potential donors and create a mentoring support scheme.
"This position is designed to help companies fundraise from individuals, as opposed to attracting corporate sponsorship," Ms McHale said.
"Artsupport Australia, which is the Australia Council's initiative to grow cultural philanthropy, has been mentoring several WA organisations including Magabala Books, Awesome Arts, Yirra Yaakin and Kulcha for the past two years.
"The State Government and the Australia Council agreed that a WA-based position dedicated to support arts companies was vital to help grow the arts sector.
"The State has matched the Australia Council's commitment of $160,000 for an initial two years, and will also provide office accommodation for the successful applicant.
"The WA project is designed to help all organisations, including those in regional WA and indigenous communities but will have specific cash targets for small-to-medium organisations."
Australia Council acting chief executive Cathy Brown-Watt said the position had been modelled on a successful Australia Council program in the Northern Territory, where more than $1million was raised for indigenous art projects in its first nine months
