GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES ARTSVEST™ YEAR TWO SUPPORT FOR CULTURE ACROSS SASKATCHEWAN

Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Kevin Doherty today announced 37 arts and cultural organizations receiving pre-approval for year two funding under the artsVest^TM program in Saskatchewan. Organizations from the Battlefords, Eastend, Foam Lake, Quill Lake, Rosthern, Willow Bunch, Wadena, Wynyard and the cities of Estevan, Humboldt, Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, Regina, Saskatoon, Swift Current, Weyburn and Yorkton will share $350,000 in matching funds.

"Year one was an incredible success, bringing in $1.17 million to Saskatchewan's cultural economy, and we will continue that by bringing in new and diverse organizations and businesses to participate in the program," Doherty said. "One of the advantages of our growing province is the ability to fund cultural programs like artsVest^TM. The best part about artsVest^TM is that the arts and cultural organizations then partner with businesses to further grow Saskatchewan's economy."

The purpose of artsVest^TM Saskatchewan is to assist the province's small to medium-sized arts and culture organizations to develop mutually beneficial partnerships with local businesses. With the confirmation of matching funding in place, the organizations can approach businesses to look for opportunities to build partnerships with cash and in-kind contributions matched dollar for dollar.

"We are excited about year two in Saskatchewan after the overwhelming success of the first year of the program," Business for the Arts President and CEO Nichole Anderson said. "We look forward to bringing together more businesses and cultural organizations in these new communities and to see the beginning of long-term partnerships that will help bolster cultural resources."

The artsVest^TM Saskatchewan program is a sponsorship training and matching incentive program created by Business for the Arts and delivered in Saskatchewan with funding from Canadian Heritage and the Government of Saskatchewan's Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport with support from SaskCulture Inc. The Government of Saskatchewan has invested $500,000 over two years into the program. The artsVest^TM program currently operates in Ontario, Calgary, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg and Vancouver. For more information on the program, visit www.artsVest.com.

Business for the Arts aims to strengthen arts and culture in Canada by connecting arts organizations to business patrons and volunteers. For more information, visit www.businessforthearts.org.

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For more information, contact:

Sean St. George
Parks, Culture and Sport
Regina
Phone: 306-787-9087
Email: sean.stgeorge@gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-526-8635