Released on May 27, 2013
Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Kevin Doherty, accompanied by Business for the Arts, artsVest™ national program manager Laura Adlers, today announced an agreement has been reached on a two-year extension of artsVest™ program in Saskatchewan.
“I am tremendously pleased that artsVest™ Saskatchewan is being renewed for another two years,” Doherty said. “Growing along with the province, this program has proven itself to be a highly successful way of bringing business and arts and cultural organizations together to partner in ways that benefit both parties, their communities and ultimately the province.”
The two-year extension of the program includes an investment of $500,000 from the Government of Saskatchewan with a matching amount from Heritage Canada.
“We are thrilled that artsVest™ Saskatchewan is being extended for another two years,” Business for the Arts President and CEO Nichole Anderson said. “The program has made a significant impact on the province's creative community and economy and we look forward to seeing incredible results with the next round of participants.”
In the second year of the pilot program, business participation increased by more than 10 per cent from year one, for a two-year total of 421 business partnerships being established in Saskatchewan. The two-year pilot program resulted in more than $2.4 million of financial support for the arts and culture sector and brought money into local economies.
“I think JazzFest Regina is a great example of how a growing arts organization can benefit from the artsVest™ program by learning how to build strong partnerships with businesses that benefit both,” JazzFest Regina President and CEO Peter Champagne said. “The artsVest™ program has been one of the major contributors to the growth and development of JazzFest Regina in its first five years, the reason last year we achieved our first profit and are looking forward to a successful JazzFest Regina 2013. These are the kinds of partnerships that will help us continue to grow and succeed over time.”
Business for the Arts aims to strengthen arts and culture in Canada by connecting arts organizations to business patrons, volunteers and ambassadors, and by providing resources for arts and business leaders to establish and build successful partnerships.
ArtsVest™ is a matching incentive and sponsorship training program created by Business for the Arts and has been delivered in Saskatchewan with funding support from the Government of Saskatchewan and Canadian Heritage and with in-kind support from SaskCulture.
Visit www.businessforthearts.org or www.artsVest.com for more information.
-30-
For more information, contact:
Sean St. George
Parks, Culture and Sport
Regina
Phone: 306-787-9087
Email: sean.st.george@gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-526-8635