2017/18

We have just published our annual impact report for the past year, and what a year it has been.

Five years ago, Creative United was established as a pioneering Community Interest Company with a mission to enable the economic growth and development of the arts and creative industries.

As we move towards a period of considerable economic uncertainty in the UK, our role in helping organisations and enterprises to build their business skills and increase their financial capacity through the use of alternative forms of finance has never been more important.

During the year, our business support activities focused primarily on the delivery of Prosper, a nine-month action research project working with a diverse cohort of 70 arts and cultural organisations across England. The evaluation of this project, undertaken by the Centre for Business in Society at Coventry University, will provide an important and valuable evidence base to support further investment in specialist business support for the cultural and creative sector.

In 2017/18 we also celebrated the 10th anniversary of our Take it away scheme. We are hugely grateful to Arts Council England and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland for their continued investment in this programme, helping us to ensure that the cost of purchasing a musical instrument is as accessible as possible to everyone.