If you’re an artist or arts company with a project in the works and a funding gap to fill, there’s one window of opportunity you can’t afford to ignore: the end of the financial year (EOFY).

Come June, many Australians are prompted by their need for tax deductions to think charitably – and increasingly, they’re choosing to support the arts. For artists prepared to make a clear and compelling case for financial support, it’s a brief period of unmatched fundraising potential.

According to the Australian Cultural Fund (ACF) Development and Partnerships specialist Tracy Woolacott, 40 percent of all annual donations to artists via the ACF platform arrive in the final two months of the financial year.

“We facilitate over $10 million worth of donations each year to artists and organisations,” she tells Limelight. “And year after year, about $4 million of that comes through in May and June.”

For artists, the challenge lies in making their message clear, credible and timely and standing out among the crowd.

Nocturnal by Brooke Leeder and Dancers. Photo © Hannah Bethany Laurent

Tax time with heart

Established in 2003, the Australian Cultural Fund is a fundraising platform managed...