The creative industries in UK plc: the third sector, education and training

It is good to read that the government is providing for 5,000 new apprenticeships in film, fashion, music and design as part of a new strategy for the creative industries.

I’ve been doing some work with third sector organisations recently – many of which are well placed to assist this push on education and training for the creative industries. I have learned a lot about how creative industries are a key element in the British economy.

Research by the think tank Demos has found that the creative industries employ 1.8 million people in the UK. The creative industries are definitely not a passenger in UK plc – they are a driver. Sadly this is not widely understood. (I once had to explain how the creative industries were as much "wealth generating" as manufacturing industry to a documentary maker who asked me how this could be!)

Corporate fundraising: the cautionary tale of the Northern Rock Foundation

Northern Rock gives us a cautionary tale on corporate fundraising for charities. For a decade the Northern Rock Foundation has made an poured millions of pounds into voluntary and community organisations in the north east and Cumbria. But the future of the Foundation and for its beneficiaries is uncertain.

The Financial Times reports that the Foundation ploughed 5 per cent of the Northern Rock’s pre-tax profits each year into charitable works. In 2008, it looked set to receive in excess of £35m from the bank, its largest injection of funds ever.

Believing future funding was assured, the Foundation spent most of its money, rather than tying it up in endowments. Of the £190m it had received, it spent £171m to date. In response to the bank’s difficulties, 2007 foundation spending was trimmed to £23m and 2008’s cut to £7m. Future grants are expected to be much reduced especially for some sector such as culture and heritage.

Charitable giving: international league tables and support for the arts in the UK

It was depressing to read USA Today report how badly European countries – including the UK – compare with record levels of charitable giving in the USA.

Last year Americans gave nearly $300 billion to charitable causes - a record exceeding the 2005 total that had been boosted by a surge in aid following Katrina and the Asian tsunami.

A Charities Aid Foundation study in 2006 found that philanthropic giving as a percentage of gross domestic product, put the US first at 1.7% with the UK second on 0.73%. (That compared well with France’s 0.14%!).

There was good news yesterday from Arts & Business who have found that the private sector is putting more money into the arts than ever before. The total amount of private support for the arts has grown by 11% to £599 million.

I do wonder how the interest in corporate social responsibility will weather increasingly uncertain and stringent economic times. However Arts & Business are highlighting the tax incentives to give.