Arts Business Innovation Fund

A Consortium comprising Positive Solutions, Foresters Community Finance and QUT Creative Enterprise Australia (CEA) worked with Arts Queensland to lead the way with a new arts fund that mixed public and private investment. The $1 million Arts Business Innovation Fund (ABIF) assisted arts organisations in Queensland in pursuit of innovative business initiatives that presented opportunities for long-term sustainability.

ABIF was the first fund of its kind in Australia supported by Arts Queensland and the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation. This innovative funding package provided a grant and no-interest loan component, while also requiring applicants to match the funding package with their own capital or by securing other sources of support. For arts organisations, it provided an opportunity to explore alternative capital sources to complement others, as well as support for initiatives that would not otherwise be funded.