Building a sustainable arts and cultural community in Hawke's Bay

Kaygin Dunne from Camberley School from the Orokohanga Music Trust, which is the kind of charitable organisation likely to receive support from the newly set up Hawke's Bay Arts Fund.

The arts and cultural community of Hawke's Bay is to benefit from a dedicated arts fund recently set up by the Hawke's Bay Foundation.

The purpose of the fund is to inject money into the local art community to ensure the region's creative talents continue to be nurtured and extended.

Called the Hawke's Bay Arts Fund, it will provide a long term, sustainable source of funding, specifically for the arts in the region.

"Hawke's Bay has an incredibly vibrant arts community which really colours our region - the depth of talent here is outstanding," said Jessica O'Sullivan, a trustee for the Hawke's Bay Foundation.

"For the arts community to continue to prosper we need to provide specific funding support at a grassroots level to give these groups a leg up to become sustainable on their own.

"Art and culture makes life better, helps to build diverse communities and improves our quality of life. The Hawke's Bay Arts Fund provides a channel for those who are passionate about the arts to donate or bequest directly to that community," Ms O'Sullivan said.

"Local support is vital in ensuring that funding for art and culture continues. We're encouraging people that 'live here, to give here'."

Any individuals, families, businesses or trusts that care about creating and sustaining a vibrant arts scene in Hawke's Bay can make donations. Contributions to the fund can be made during an individual's lifetime, or through an individual's will, as a lasting legacy to the arts in Hawke's Bay.

The Hawke's Bay Arts Fund has been established as the first specific 'field of interest' under the Hawke's Bay Foundation. The arts and culture community is one of five areas the foundation supports to help ensure Hawke's Bay is a thriving region. The other areas include; health, community and social, natural environment and learning.

The arts fund will operate on an endowment model. This means that the capital of any donation into the fund will be preserved, and invested for the long term (and grown with inflation). Only the earnings generated on the invested funds will be used to fund the arts in Hawke's Bay.

The Hawke's Bay Foundation was set up in 2012 and is a registered charitable trust, which receives donations and bequests on behalf of the Hawke's Bay community and then safeguards those funds and grows them for the long term. The aim of the foundation is to put the "community" back into community and in turn create a thriving region.

To find out more about how you can support the arts community through the Hawke's Bay Art Fund visit: hawkesbayfoundation.org.nz.