Arts philanthropy is a distant dream for organisations in some of Australia's most remote communities, with generous donors far away in capital cities.
A parliamentary inquiry into arts and cultural philanthropy is trying to work out how to encourage more donations from the private sector, for groups such as the Northern Territory's peak music body, Music NT.
Current policies to encourage philanthropy favour city-based organisations and need structural reform, Music NT executive director Mark Smith told the federal inquiry.
"(Remote) organisations face thin local donor markets, higher delivery costs across vast distances, and limited access to major foundations," he said.
"We see this inquiry as a genuine opportunity to make cultural philanthropy work for the whole country."
The federal government will spend $1.1 billion on Australia's arts and cultural sector in 2026/27, according to budget figures.
However, many arts organisations struggle on existing funding, or have missed out on money they previously relied on from various levels of government.
One ongoing problem is the provision of operational funding, which keeps the lights on but can't be paid for through short-term grants, which are usually project based.
"We completely understand that, quite frankly ,there will never be enough funding to do all the arts things that I personally would love to see us doing," said special envoy for the arts and inquiry chair, Susan Templeman.
Among dozens of submissions to the inquiry, Music NT has proposed tax incentives and matched government funding to encourage donations to arts groups in remote Australia.
An "investment readiness" program to help smaller organisations attract and manage philanthropic donations would also be worthwhile, said Mr Smith.
Donors don't necessarily want recognition, but they do want to see tangible results in areas they are passionate about, the inquiry heard.
Extending programs such as Queensland's sports vouchers initiative to the arts would also help, according to the Sunshine Coast Arts Foundation.
"It would be really great if those could extend to private dance schools and music schools, if children could be incentivised into the arts as well," said Andrea Briody from the foundation.
Music NT was among many organisations to participate in the first crowdfunding day for the arts run by Creative Australia in 2025, Mr Smith said, and the experience further illustrated the challenges of fundraising outside big cities.
"It's an example of how tricky it can be in a small place, because all the arts organisations are having the same conversation with the same people," he said.
"You're really chasing the same dollar, so the effectiveness of that is difficult to measure."
