AbaF Funds Artists With Talent
14 August 2008 at 2:47 pm
There’s a growing trend for people to donate to individual artists with the help of a new website from the Australia Business Arts Foundation (AbaF) which gives potential supporters a chance to look for arts projects and make donations online.
On the AbaF website ( www.abaf.org.au ) people can browse arts projects and donate to singers, musicians, painters, writers, festivals and more. Over 50 projects are listed from all over Australia and AbaF says the list is growing daily.
Donors are eligible for a tax deduction when they donate through AbaF.
Through AbaF, 686 people made gifts of more than $1.5 million to help artists and small arts organisations in the last year. And the amount is increasing every year. More than $4 million has been donated since 2004.
AbaF CEO Jane Haley paid tribute to Richard Pratt and the Pratt Foundation whose gift to AbaF had assisted with the creation of this tax-deductible fund.
Haley says Richard’s foresight in supporting AbaF has enabled the organisation to provide a service which is a real plus for artists and the people who want to support them.
She says the AbaF website makes it easy for prospective donors to find arts projects and to support them with the click of a mouse.
AbaF says donors don’t have to have a lot of money to make a difference – a few hundred dollars can help a singer record a CD to boost their profile and career and earn income.
One artists who has benefited from the new service already is 15-year-old opera singer Grace Bawden of Adelaide who made it to the grand final of TV show Australia’s Got Talent.
Although she didn’t carry off the big prize, Grace’s career is taking off with the help of generous donors who have made tax-deductible gifts to help her record her first professional CD.
You can view a list of eligible projects and donate to the arts at www.abaf.org.au.
