Latest round of BASA Supporting Grants recipients announced

From a children's theatre production to a local jazz and food festival on the KwaZulu-Natal coast, the range of arts projects that have successsfully partnered with business sponsors to gain a BASA Supporting Grant is impressive.

The aim of the BASA Supporting Grant scheme is the development of business sponsorship of the arts, with each grant awarded to specifically add value to an already exisiting relationship between an arts project and a business (or several businesses).

For instance, the Rotary Club of Kloof in KwaZulu-Natal has received a BASA Supporting Grant for the upcoming Durban Pops 2012 which will see Richard Cock conduct the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra in performances of classical pieces. In applying for the BASA Supporting Grant, the Rotary Club of Kloof partnerned with four sponsors - Adapt IT (Pty) Ltd, TBWA Hunt Lascaris, Fast Print and Vector Logistics.

Another successful application in this round came from the Arts and Culture Trust for The 15th Annual ACT Awards. The BASA Supporting Grant adds value to the awards event which made the application in conjunction with sponsors Media 24 Books, Vodacom Foundation, SAMRO, DALRO, Distell Foundation and Classicfeel.

Other arts and business partnerships earning grants in this round include the Mahikeng Jazz Festival (MJF), which is being sponsored by Mosegedi and Associated (Pty) Ltd and showcases both local and international jazz in the North West Province as a way of attracting visitors to the area. The National Youth Orchestra Summer Course, which is a project of the South African National Youth Orchestra Foundation, also successfully earned a grant in this cycle, through its application with sponsor Sasol.

The next closing date for the supporting grants is the 5 November 2012. Should you have a project and a confirmed sponsor, please download the application forms from the BASA website www.basa.co.za or contact Carol Mokwena on 011 447 2295 or email az.oc.asab@lorac.

The BASA Supporting Grants Scheme is open to any arts project or arts practitioner working with an appropriate business sponsor to ensure their project is financially viable - without the BASA Supporting Grant. Once this is in place, the BASA Supporting Grant can be applied for, with the specific intention of adding value to the business that has come on board in support of the arts in South Africa. This can be through the form of using the grant for marketing and publicity, developing an education programme to go along with the project, extending the run of a project that carries the sponsoring business's name - and many other options.

To apply for a BASA Supporting Grant, both the arts applicant and the sponsor must complete the application forms, which are designed to encourage the two partners to work together and identify areas of potential benefit - and are now available in English, isiZulu and seSotho. Business and Arts South Africa allocates funds to the project once it has assessed how the partnership benefits both the sponsor and the recipient. Applications must be made at least 12 weeks before the start of a project.

Once recipients have been identified, the projects and sponsors can be further profiled through Business and Arts South Africa's media partners - Safm, Summit TV, Radio Today, Ilanga Newspaper, and Ofm. In addition, successful partnerships are also encouraged to enter the Business Day BASA Awards, supported by Anglo American.

About Business and Arts South Africa NPC:

Business and Arts South Africa NPC is an internationally recognised South African development agency which incorporates the arts into, and contributes to, corporates' commercial success. With a suite of integrated programmes, Business and Arts South Africa NPC encourages mutually beneficial partnerships between business and the arts. Business and Arts South Africa NPC was founded in 1997 as a joint initiative of government and the business sector, to secure the future development of the arts industry in South Africa, through increased corporate sector involvement. Established as a Non Profit Company, Business and Arts South Africa NPC is accountable to both government and its business members.