Written evidence submitted by Northern
Rock Foundation (arts 149)
SUMMARY
— Northern Rock Foundation has funded Arts
& Culture organisations in the North East and Cumbria since
1997.
— Northern Rock Foundation made a significant
contribution to the arts and heritage sector in the North East
and Cumbria over 12 years but most often as a funding partner,
not as a sole funder.
— Northern Rock Foundation grants have
often been part of a larger package of funding that has included
substantial public funding.
— Northern Rock Foundation is currently
concentrating its grants on tackling the effects of poverty and
disadvantage on vulnerable people and therefore now only provides
funding for arts and heritage organisations where they can show
an impact on these priorities.
FULL SUBMISSION
1. This submission is on behalf of the Northern
Rock Foundation, an independent charity which aims to tackle disadvantage
and improve the quality of life in the North East and Cumbria.
The submission concentrates on the work of the Foundation in funding
the arts and heritage, as an example of the role charitable foundations
can play.
2. Northern Rock Foundation was established
in 1997. Up to December 2009 the Foundation had provided approximately
£36 million of funding to arts and culture organisations
in the North East and Cumbria. This included grants of approximately
£12 million for new or redeveloped cultural facilities including
The Sage Gateshead, the Great North Museum: Hancock, the National
Glass Centre in Sunderland and Bowes Museum in County Durham,
opening up new arts and cultural opportunities for everyone, especially
young people. Funding from Northern Rock Foundation for these
major projects was part of a package that included significant
funds from government sources including Local Authorities and
the regional development agency. Northern Rock Foundation also
provided approximately £24 million over this period for the
delivery of culture and heritage projects, including supporting
a broad range of high quality local organisations using the arts
and culture to engage vulnerable people in the geographic area
the Foundation covers. Examples of grants for community focussed
arts support include Helix Arts' work to engage young offenders,
Streetwise Opera's groundbreaking work with homeless people and
Tin Arts' dance project working with creative people with learning
disabilities.
3. Northern Rock Foundation made a significant
contribution to the arts and heritage sector over 12 years but
most often as a partner, not as a sole funder. In many cases the
Foundation was an early funder, providing the basis to lever in
other funding, and Foundation grants were often offered in the
expectation that other funders would also contribute. The Foundation's
funds were also often offered to support those parts of a project
that were not suitable or attractive to other funders such as
artists' fees. The Foundation's grants were therefore usually
one amongst a number of other funders including significant contributions
from public sector sources for example lottery funding , local
authority funding , regional development agency funding or Arts
Council revenue funding. Recent research commissioned by the Foundation
from the University of Southampton, working with the National
Council for Voluntary Organisations, shows that, even with smaller
projects, philanthropic funding is frequently part of a package
of funding from a range of sources.
4. The Foundation operated specific grant
programmes supporting arts and heritage for seven years, 2003-09.
In 2009, in response to the impact of the recession in the North
East and Cumbria the Foundation's Trustees carried out a review
of grant priorities and made the decision to close the Culture
and Heritage programme in December 2009. Northern Rock Foundation's
work is currently concentrated on combating the effects of deprivation
and poverty on vulnerable people. The Foundation continues to
support arts and culture projects, that can address these issues
directly, through its other grant programmes but on a much smaller
scale than previously.
September 2010
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