Sipho Mthiyane
BASA Supporting Grants are made possible with the generous support from the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture and the closing date for the last round of 2019 BASA Supporting Grants is 28 October 2019.
Founded in 1997, as a joint initiative between the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC), and the corporate sector, Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) is a public-private partnership that formed part of South Africa’s strategy to secure greater involvement in the arts, and support from businesses in South Africa.The BASA Supporting Grants programme is designed to assist in activating sponsorship for a cross-section of arts projects in different regions of the country, by providing financial support to a project that is in an already existing business and arts relationship.
“The Supporting Grants platform has supported a range of projects from well-known arts organisations partnering with business,” says BASA Supporting Grants Officer, Sipho Mthiyane. "From Total SA to Food Lover’s Market and Chubb insurance, as well as small companies that have partnered with local businesses, such as Leciatainment Camp in Limpopo, Masakhe Media in KZN, and Yoto Technology in the Western Cape, every partnership emphasises that businesses from all spheres are starting to see the value the arts can provide," he adds.
To date, BASA has disbursed/allocated R38,924,738.06 to 1634 projects, which have leveraged over R515m in sponsorship from the corporate sector – that equates to R19m of business support for every R1m of Supporting Grant funds.
Says BASA Head of Marketing, Savannah Feeke: "With support from the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, as well as a growing number of both business and arts members, BASA has effectively entrenched its position as an agency committed to bringing business and the arts closer for mutual benefit."
Application forms are available for download at http://www.basa.co.za/for-arts/supporting-grants/, and are available in English, seSotho and Zulu. The BASA Supporting Grants Scheme is available to newcomer, emerging and established arts projects that already have sponsors on board. To apply for a BASA Supporting Grants, applicants must adhere to a specific process that has been designed to add value to an already existing partnership between an arts organisation and business sponsors.
