Big job finding money for art's sake

Jo Bond says private patrons and smaller sponsors have been vital for the festival.

Finding the $1 million budget for this year's Tauranga Arts Festival meant tapping a range of corporate sponsors and local and national government sources, with private patrons playing a crucial role, says director Jo Bond.

And while major local corporates, along with key sponsors such as TECT, continue to play an important part, the arts festival tries to bring on new sponsors every year.

"Some come and go as their businesses change," she said. "Private patron sponsors and smaller businesses have been an area of growth for us through difficult economic times."

Colin Bond, regional manager, ANZ Private Bank, said there was a constant stream of people looking for sponsorship support from the bank.

"Our challenge is to pick those events that we think are most relevant to our brand and have the most impact for the spend," he said. "Our experience in 2013 and the reason we're doing it again is that the mix of sponsors is excellent and we get a lot out of it from a commercial perspective. Our staff and customers are all part of this community and we recognise that without the contribution of all of our sponsors, the event wouldn't be possible."

Dean Thompson, a partner at Holland Beckett Lawyers, said Hobec was a long-standing business in the community.

"We make money largely out of the local population and it's a chance for us to give back. As a firm, we've always given - there's not too much we're not involved with and it's good to be seen to be doing things."

However, Mr Thompson noted members of the firm also gave a lot to various causes anonymously and were involved in a range of community activities.

Mark Cairns, chief executive, Port of Tauranga, said the company operated in a "pretty special" piece of real estate and got a lot out of the community.

"You can have people at the hard right end who would call sponsorship shareholder theft, but I think we have to put something back and we try to make sure we do it across all sectors."

Leanne Taylor, of Taylor Brothers Transport, said her family had been inspired to sponsor by her first festival attendance at Knee Deep, an acrobatic dance performance by Casus in 2013.

"My then 9-year-old son and my husband were enthralled.

"We decided when we were approached for sponsorship that we wanted more kids and people to be exposed to the fact that Tauranga has something really special happening. We're also celebrating our 50th anniversary this year so it's a great opportunity to give something back to the community."

The Tauranga Arts Festival

* Budget - $1 million
* Funding: Box office, 23 per cent; cash sponsorship, 12 per cent; contra sponsorship, 15 per cent (mostly media); patronage, 5 per cent (individual and small business donations);
grants, 42 per cent (includes TECT, Creative NZ, TCC, and community trusts); other, 3 per cent (interest, bar revenues).
* In 2013 the festival injected about $2.6 million into the local economy.