Exciting news: New Philanthropy for Arts & Culture is coming together with Arts & Culture Finance (ACF), previously part of Nesta to form a brand new organisation – Figurative – an independent not-for-profit dedicated to impact, investment and innovation in the cultural and creative sector. The work of the new organisation will be supported by key sector players including Arts Council England, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Paul Hamlyn Foundation, as well as impact investment leaders Better Society Capital who are among the investors in its funds.

Figurative aims to:

• Attract significant new investment to the cultural and creative sector by raising and managing new social investment funds and supporting the sector to diversify its funding streams and networks.
• Make the UK a global hub for cultural innovation through world-leading innovation programmes for organisations experimenting with funding and business models, new technologies and services.
• Be a centre of excellence for arts and impact, helping organisations monitor and articulate the difference they make in the world and exploring how social and environmental goals can be supported by responsible finance.

Figurative will also pursue international research, advocacy and advisory opportunities.

With strong links into philanthropic networks and the growing impact investment market, Figurative represents a mindset shift around arts funding, demonstrating how investing in the UK’s cultural and creative assets can generate far-reaching economic and social benefits and fire our collective imagination.

Figurative has extensive experience in investment, innovation and impact leadership:

• ACF manages £30m of capital supporting 55 organisations via three social impact funds – the Arts Impact Fund, Cultural Impact Development Fund, and Arts & Culture Impact Fund. The majority (66%) of investment has been allocated towards organisations located in the 40% most deprived areas. Nearly three-quarters of investees are delivering work that is aimed at reducing inequalities; 66% are working towards quality education and 59% in providing opportunities for decent work and economic growth. Case studies are available here.
• NPAC’s inaugural match-funding campaign with The Big Give in 2024 raised £2.85m for 238 arts organisations across the UK. Approximately 50% of funds raised were either from new contacts, or first financial contributions from known contacts. The team has also established 15 place-based networks across England that rally new donors to local causes.
• ACF-led innovation programmes at Nesta included the Digital R&D Fund for the Arts and Amplified, which supported arts organisations to harness new technology, and the Alternarratives prize for cutting-edge short-form storytelling.
• The Royal Shakespeare Company’s pioneering conditional philanthropy fundraising model was developed in collaboration with ACF, who delivered a robust accompanying impact framework to identify and track social outcomes.
• Boston Consulting Group (BCG) collaborated with NPAC on a new toolkit for cultural organisations seeking to measure the impact of their activities. The model is unique in that it charts the benefits to individual programme users, but also to service providers due to improved social outcomes.
• ACF has authored Impact Investing in the Cultural and Creative Sectors, a seminal report commissioned by the UK’s Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre, and led the Creativity, Culture, Capital essay collection, co-produced with Upstart Co-Lab (USA) and Fundación Compromiso (Argentina).

The team will continue to manage ACF and NPAC’s active funds and programmes, while drawing on their experience to develop new opportunities with and for the sector.

Sir Vernon Ellis, Chair of NPAC and Figurative Trustee, says:
“I am delighted that the transformative work NPAC has been delivering will now be part of the new suite of activities at Figurative. The combination of philanthropy with social investment delivers a comprehensive range of options for cultural organisations looking to broaden their financing models. Couple this with the experience and creative thinking of the individuals in both organisations, working together, and this new venture is set to become a force for good in the cultural sector which I am delighted to be a part of.”

Fran Sanderson, CEO of Figurative, adds:
“Without making a strong case for why the arts matter, we’re limiting our potential impact as a sector, and interest as a productive home for investment capital. That’s why we’re committed to bringing new ideas to the table about how we measure and value the positive impacts of creative activities. This isn’t about reducing cultural experience down to a set of numbers; it’s about working together towards a common language to express the numerous ways in which culture is a force for good.”