New Arts Fund donations just the ticket

Hawke's Bay Arts Festival director Pitsch Leiser (left), Jessica O'Sullivan and James Williams, HB Foundation trustees.

Organisers of the upcoming Harcourts Hawke's Bay Arts Festival are helping to raise funds for the newly-established Hawke's Bay Arts Fund by encouraging donations through the festival's ticket sales.

The Hawke's Bay Arts Fund has been set up specifically to inject money into the region's creative community. Harcourts Hawke's Bay Arts Festival director, Pitsch Leiser, said the Arts Fund was key to ensuring the region's creative talents continued to flourish.

"Working within the local arts community, we know that funding is challenging, but to maintain a vibrant arts community it is imperative, so we were excited to learn that the Hawke's Bay Foundation has set up a funding channel specifically for the arts," Mr Leiser said.

"We looked at how we could help raise the profile of the Hawke's Bay Arts Fund and also generate some funds for them, so we've added an optional donation button when people purchase tickets to the Arts Festival."

Hawke's Bay Foundation trustee Jessica O'Sullivan said: "We have four generous donors who have banded together and agreed to match the amount we raise through the Harcourts Hawke's Bay Arts Festival ticket sales. This is an incredible opportunity to get a good base established for the fund so we are urging anyone who wants to see a thriving arts scene in Hawke's Bay to get on board and make a donation - big or small, it all counts.

"We're so grateful to the Harcourts Hawke's Bay Arts Festival for their wonderful support.

The festival is growing from strength to strength. They've attracted a stellar lineup of shows and ticket sales are strong, which is a testament to the large appetite in the region for diverse entertainment. We feel this further reinforces the need for the Arts Fund to ensure that arts and cultural groups in Hawke's Bay prosper," said Mrs O'Sullivan.

Donations can be made when purchasing tickets at www.hbaf.co.nz or directly to the Hawke's Bay Arts Fund through www.hawkesbayfoundation.org. nz

Contributions can also be made through an individual's will, as a lasting legacy to the arts in Hawke's Bay. Donations qualify for the donations tax credit.

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

Hawke's Bay Foundation, one of 14 community foundations around New Zealand, 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.

The aim is to put the "community" back into the community and in turn create a thriving region. The arts and culture community is just one of five areas the foundation supports to help ensure Hawke's Bay is a thriving region. The other areas the Hawke's Bay Foundation supports include health, community and social, natural environment and learning.