Financial Sustainability of Cultural Heritage: A Review of Crowdfunding in Europe

Daniela Angelina Jelinčić,Marta Šveb

doi:10.3390/jrfm14030101

Abstract

Most cultural heritage projects strive in ensuring financial sustainability, mainly relying on public subsidies. At the same time, they lack fund management policies which directly affects their financial sustainability. European Union heritage policies focus on sustainability but after investments have been made, there are rare cases which can boast about it. A number of heritage funding mechanisms exist which are explained in this review paper, while the focus is on crowdfunding as an alternative mechanism. The study used literature review method based on PRISMA guidelines to analyze new trends and suitability of crowdfunding for cultural heritage projects, and to detect possible factors influencing its success. The purpose was to add to the existing knowledge while offering a systematic review which can be applied in practice. Findings indicate the trend of participatory approach to heritage, which is in line with the participatory nature of crowdfunding campaigns. Further, crowdfunding suitability for cultural heritage projects was confirmed while its success factors majorly depend on the policy framework, heritage project nature and management of the campaign itself.

Highlights

The meaning of culture has matured from representing artistic expression with no economic value to becoming a public good and a force of economic change (Manda et al.2017)
Findings indicate the trend of participatory approach to heritage, which is in line with the participatory nature of crowdfunding campaigns
We focus on crowdfunding, which is categorized as an alternative funding mechanism and is used in the cultural heritage sector

Summary

Introduction

The meaning of culture has matured from representing artistic expression with no economic value to becoming a public good and a force of economic change (Manda et al.2017). Processes of preservation, protection, regular operating, and maintenance of cultural heritage are expensive and typically require financial resources, which are often difficult to obtain. To increase the likelihood of funding, cultural projects need to demonstrate economic and financial sustainability (Eppich and Grinda 2019). When applied to culture, the economic sustainability of a cultural project refers to the project’s ability to accumulate profit for the general economy. Financial sustainability generally imputes the fiscal ability to continue current policies and service delivery after the funding terminates (Subires and Bolivar 2017). Financial sustainability ensures the cultural project will have enough resources to meet all the financial obligations, such as operating and maintenance, even after finance incentives end

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Methods

Conclusion