Business to Arts is the leading body in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 concerned with developing creative partnerships between the arts and business communities. Established in 1988 under the name Cothu, the organisation is currently celebrating its twentieth anniversary.

Charitable contributions by business form the primary source of funding for Business to Arts together with some funding from the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism. Department funding is directed specifically towards facilitation of a skills training programme for arts professionals.

The Allianz Business to Arts Awards

Each the year the organisation arranges the "Allianz Business to Arts Awards" which celebrate a range of relationships between the two communities. In 2010 the combined value of the nominations received for the Awards was approximately €5.6 million cash and in-kind investment by businesses around Ireland.

Advocacy

Business to Arts is committed to increasing private investment in arts and culture and, as part of this objective, has publicly stated a number of policy initiatives for consideration in partnership with Government.

• The establishment of a role specifically aimed at developing philanthropic investment in the arts, initially supported by public funding but with reduced reliance on the public purse over three years as expertise in philanthropy and associated income increases
• A scheme of leveraged funding in which Government established a grant-based incentive/reward to encourage arts organisations to actively seek new income streams, while enabling businesses to achieve more "bang for their buck" in sponsorship terms
• Establishing a public-private partnership
  Public-private partnership
  Public–private partnership describes a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies...
  
  strategy for capacity building for the key role of Development Manager in the arts and culture sector to enable more effective relationships with business.

10,000 to 50: Contemporary Art from the Members of Business to Arts

In 2008 Business to Arts collaborated with the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) to create 10,000 to 50: Contemporary Art from the Members of Business to Arts. This exhibition provided a view of the support of contemporary art in Ireland over recent decades by corporate and organisational bodies grouped by their membership of Business to Arts. The exhibition, held between May and early August 2008 attracted over 130,000 visitors.