Glen:

Probably someone has already replied to you direct by now. (I'm just back
from a holiday - in the USA).

There is an annual survey prepared and published "Giving USA" I think.
The last figure I saw was and estimate - from memory - approaching
$200 BILLION per year, much of it in "tax dollars" under the USA's
very generous (by UK standards at least) tax deductability laws. As I
recall it much the largest beneficiary of these tax dollars is religion -
despite the constitutional prohibitions!

Jean-Michel Tobelem of Paris carried out a supurb study of "Musees et
Culture - Financement a l'Americaine" for his University of Paris doctoral
thesis about 6 years ago.  This was later published in in France in book
form under that title with an intro. by Paul Perrot, who said it was the
most comprehensive study of the sourcing of private finance for US museums
and arts ever made.

I know Jean-Michel tries to keep his statistics up to date and as I recall
our most recent conversation on the point I think he estimates the
private giving (mainly tax deduction dollars from individuals -
corporate sponsorship and giving is only about 5% - 6% of the US
total) going to museums and the arts has risen from his 1991 calculation
of around $6 billion to around $8 billion.

I don't have J-M's email address at home, but I think he is on this list,
so perhaps he will react to this message.

Patrick Boylan

================================

On Mon, 25 Aug 1997, Glen Moore wrote:

>
> I am writing an article with a plea for greater philanthropic activity in
> Australia.
>
> I urgently need a reliable estimate of the total annual value of philanthopy
> in the USA. Can anyone help?
>
> I would like a similar value for Australia but I am guessing that this will be
> an even more figure to estimate.
>
> Regards,
> Glen Moore
> Director
> Science Centre and Planetarium
> Wollongong, Australia
> [log in to unmask]
>