The Arts Foundation

What The Arts Foundation does

The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi is a registered New Zealand charitable organisation (CC24256) founded in 1998 and headquartered in Christchurch, operating on a not-for-profit basis with 11–50 employees. It runs three integrated programmes: (1) Artist Awards, including the Icon Whakamana Hiranga (a living circle of 20 honoured artists), Laureate awards ($50,000 each across multiple sub-awards), Springboard awards ($15,000 plus mentorship), Harriet Friedlander NYC Residency ($100,000), Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship, and a growing portfolio of discipline-specific awards; (2) Boosted, New Zealand's only dedicated arts crowdfunding platform operating since 2013 on an all-or-nothing model, with match-funding sub-programmes E Tū Toi (Māori) and Boosted X Moana (Pasifika) — having facilitated over $17 million across 2,491+ successful projects at a 93% success rate; and (3) Community Engagement via the Kotahi giving collective (individual donor tiers $500–$25,000+), the All In For Arts nationwide speaker series, and the annual Arts Gala.

The organisation is 100% privately funded through individual donations, corporate partnerships, and bequests — receiving no government funding. Its revenue mechanics rely on tiered Kotahi memberships, the Arts Business Club ($5,000/year corporate tier), multi-level corporate partnerships (Principal/Strategic/Major/Product), one-off donations, and Boosted campaign flows. It serves two primary customer segments: outstanding New Zealand artists (from emerging Springboard recipients to lifetime Icon artists) seeking financial support, mentorship, and recognition; and arts patrons/donors (high-net-worth individuals and corporate partners) seeking meaningful philanthropy vehicles and access to the creative community. Since inception it has gifted over $13 million to NZ artists and operates with Vice-Regal patronage of the Governor-General, signalling its institutional standing.

Name

The Arts Foundation

Legal name

The Arts Foundation of New Zealand

Website

https://thearts.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi is a New Zealand charity founded in 1998 that awards financial gifts and mentorship to outstanding NZ artists, operates Boosted (NZ's only arts crowdfunding platform), and runs the Kotahi giving collective — funded 100% by private philanthropy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts Philanthropy and Charitable Grant-Making

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Arts & Culture Service/Support Organizations (Networks, Advocacy, Capacity Building) (BPAGAHAL), Public Art, Arts Councils & Grantmaking Programs (BPAGAHAH), Crowdfunding & Fan-Financing (MPADAAAN)

Keywords

• Arts philanthropy services
• Artist grant programs
• Creative crowdfunding platform
• Arts awards funding
• Nonprofit arts foundation

Headquarters

HQ city

Christchurch

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi is a New Zealand registered charity that provides financial gifts, mentorship, and prestigious awards to outstanding New Zealand artists, and runs Boosted, the country's only dedicated arts crowdfunding platform. It funds its work entirely through individual donations, corporate partnerships, and bequests (no government funding), operating the Kotahi giving collective for arts philanthropy and the All in for Arts national speaker series. Since 1998 it has gifted over $13 million to NZ artists and since 2013 Boosted has helped 2,000+ creatives raise $17+ million.

Product overview

The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi is a charitable organization operating as a platform-plus-programs model with three interconnected offerings: Artist Awards (Icon Whakamana Hiranga, Laureate, and Springboard programs providing financial gifts and mentorship to outstanding NZ artists), Crowdfunding (Boosted platform enabling all-or-nothing crowdfunding with subsidiary programs E Tū Toi for Māori and Boosted X Moana for Pasifika creatives), and Community Engagement (Kotahi giving collective, All in for Arts speaker series, and annual Arts Gala). The organization also administers specialized literary and artistic awards including the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship, Harriet Friedlander Residency, Children's Book Awards, and A Moment In Time He Momo Award. The portfolio is funded entirely by individual donors, corporate partners, and strategic partnerships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Boosted: New Zealand's arts crowdfunding platform powered by the Parkin Gift, enabling artists to raise funds for creative projects through all-or-nothing crowdfunding campaigns.
• Kotahi
• E Tū Toi
• Boosted X Moana

Products and services

• Icon Whakamana Hiranga Award The Arts Foundation's highest honour, bestowed on a living circle of 20 of Aotearoa New Zealand's most significant artists for extraordinary lifetime achievements, featuring a bronze medallion set with pounamu.
• Laureate Award Annual awards of $50,000 each recognizing up to ten outstanding practising artists whose work impacts New Zealand, with multiple sub-awards funded by donors including Burr/Tatham Trust, Jillian Friedlander, and others.
• Springboard Award $15,000 awards with mentorship pairing emerging artists with senior artist mentors, designed to kickstart sustainable arts careers at a formative stage.
• Boosted Crowdfunding Platform New Zealand's only arts crowdfunding platform, all-or-nothing model where creators must reach their funding target to receive funds. Since 2013, has facilitated over $17 million across 2,491 successful projects with a 93% success rate.
• E Tū Toi Boosted's Māori match-funding initiative providing funding opportunities to ringatoi Māori across Aotearoa, partnership between Creative New Zealand Māori Strategy & Partnerships and The Arts Foundation offering match funding and mentorship.
• Boosted X Moana Crowdfunding programme tailored for Pasifika creatives, partnership between Creative New Zealand Pacific strategy team and The Arts Foundation offering match funding and mentorship.
• Kotahi Giving Collective Giving collective and membership programme enabling annual donations at multiple tiers ($500 to $25,000+) with benefits including event tickets, exclusive invites, and recognition as arts backers.
• All in for Arts Speaker Series Free nationwide speaker series featuring diverse perspectives on creativity in five-minute talks, in partnership with Creative New Zealand, Chartwell Trust, and Stuff media, touring towns and cities across Aotearoa.
• Lynley Dodd Children's Writers Award $30,000 biennial grant for established children's authors who have published two or three books, established by Dame Lynley Dodd DNZM to support writers at a key career stage.
• Mallinson Rendel Illustrators Award $30,000 biennial award recognizing painterly skills, imagination and artistry in picture books, established in 2010 by Mallinson Rendel publishing company.
• Harriet Friedlander Residency $100,000 residency sending a New Zealand artist to New York every two years, established by Harriet Friedlander in 2008 for artists developing substantial bodies of work.
• Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship Annual fellowship enabling established writers to spend three months in Menton, Southern France at Villa Isola Bella, supported by Craigs Investment Partners Wellington.
• A Moment In Time He Momo Award $25,000 award recognizing change-makers who have had significant impact on the arts and cultural landscape at a specific time, made possible by Bruce and Tina Qin's radical generosity.
• Arts Gala Annual fundraising gala celebrating artists and raising vital funds for creatives, held at Auckland Town Hall.

Quantifiable outcome

• $13 million awarded to NZ artists since 1998
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature1 record

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kickstarter: Global all-or-nothing creative-project crowdfunding platform. Directly comparable to Boosted in mechanism and target audience (creative projects, including arts), though operating at global scale versus Boosted's NZ-only niche.
• Patreon: Recurring-fan-funding platform for creators, including visual artists, writers, and musicians. Comparable to Boosted in serving independent artists' funding needs, though via subscription rather than one-off campaigns.
• Creative Capital: US nonprofit that provides direct grants and advisory support to innovative artists. Comparable to The Arts Foundation in awarding individual artists through a competitive application process, with a focus on career-stage support analogous to Springboard and Laureate programs.
• Indiegogo: Global crowdfunding platform with a strong creative-projects category. Comparable to Boosted as an alternative destination for artists and creators seeking project funding, with broader category coverage.
• Pollock-Krasner Foundation: US-based private foundation providing direct financial grants to individual visual artists worldwide. Comparable to The Arts Foundation in mission (artist grantmaking), operating model (private foundation funded by estates/endowments), and award structure (unrestricted grants to individual artists).
• Jerome Foundation: US private foundation funding emerging artists in Minnesota and New York through grants and residencies. Comparable in mission (supporting early-to-mid-career artists via unrestricted grants and career-development programs) and structure (private philanthropy, named-program awards).

Broad incumbents

• Australia Council for the Arts: Australia's principal arts funding and advisory body. Comparable to The Arts Foundation in operating as a national arts grantmaking organization, though publicly funded and serving Australian rather than NZ artists.
• Creative New Zealand (Creative NZ): New Zealand's national arts development agency, the government-funded counterpart to The Arts Foundation. Directly comparable as a national arts funder in NZ, with overlapping beneficiaries (NZ artists), and an active partner of the Foundation on E Tū Toi and Boosted X Moana.
• Creative Scotland: Scotland's national arts funder distributing grants to artists and creative organizations. Comparable structurally to The Arts Foundation as a national arts-grantmaking body, though publicly funded and serving a different geographic market.

Emerging players

• Seed&Spark: Crowdfunding platform specialized in independent film and creative storytelling projects. Comparable to Boosted as a niche vertical crowdfunding platform for creatives, operating with educational resources and a dedicated audience for storytelling projects.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/theartsnz
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UChLA5X2Obr7-7z0myJdrwvg
• Facebookfacebook.com/theartsnz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/theartsnz
• Instagraminstagram.com/theartsnz

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Arts Foundation