What are impact investments? 

Impact investment is finance provided with the aim of achieving positive social or environmental impacts alongside financial returns. The intention is to create a positive change for people and/or the planet as a result of the investment, alongside generating financial gains. 

Impact investment is not a grant or a donation. The investor provides the money to help an organisation reach its business and impact goals with the expectation that those funds will be repaid alongside positive impact being generated. Many organisations that raise impact investment also receive grant funding, where there is no such expectation of a financial return. 

It is important to note that the development of impact investment opportunities will complement the existing financial and operational support that Creative Australia provides arts organisations. The introduction of impact investing, alongside traditional grant-making and philanthropic support, provides an opportunity to strengthen the long-term sustainability of the creative industries, as well as stimulate innovation in revenue models and business structures within the cultural economy.  

Impact investment with Creative Australia 

Australia’s National Cultural Policy: Revive, includes a mandate for Creative Australia to explore partnership and funding models that attract commercial and philanthropic investment alongside government investment.  

Creative Australia’s Impact Investing work will expand the resourcing toolkit of creative businesses and leverage additional private capital into the creative industries 

Until now impact investing in Australia has not focused on the creative industries in a significant, targeted way.  The introduction of an impact investing fund would address a critical gap in Australia’s cultural financing landscape: the absence of accessible repayable capital models for creative enterprises. Comparable markets (UK, US, France) have launched specialised impact investment funds, demonstrating the capacity of creative enterprises to use debt finance effectively.   

To guide our work in this space we are working with our Impact Investing Advisory Committee, various philanthropic and investment partners and our overseas counterparts.  

Impact investment fund for the Australian creative industries 

Creative Australia will partner with the philanthropic sector to raise private capital against an investment of government funds to create a demonstration Creative Industries Impact Fund.  

This Creative Industries Impact Fund is designed to demonstrate repayable finance in the creative industries as a complement to available grant funding, build evidence for a future scaled impact investment fund, and demonstrate the viability of returnable capital models within Australia’s creative sector.    

The Fund is intended to provide flexible loans to arts and creative organisations who are ready and able to take on repayable finance and who are seeking to grow, diversify revenue streams, innovate, or strengthen organisational capability. By providing creative organisations the with opportunity to access this well-established form of finance, Creative Australia will allow the sector agency to explore more diverse, and hence more sustainable, business models. 

The Fund will be designed specifically to respond to the needs of the arts and cultural sector, with accompanying capability building and readiness programs from Creative Australia on how to secure and leverage this new revenue stream; that will act in addition to grant funding and amplify its impact.

Get in touch with us 

f you are interested in exploring impact investing opportunities or partnering with Creative Australia on our impact investing initiatives, please contact Jayne Lovelock, Director Private Investment on jayne.lovelock@creative.gov.au.