Arts Council England (ACE); the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF); and the government have announced further details of a £100m scheme designed to boost philanthropic donations.

Full guidance for applicants to the Catalyst scheme has now been published, with heritage groups now able to submit bids for support under the first part of the programme.

It is intended that Catalyst will help arts and heritage groups diversify income streams and increase their fundraising potential to help ensure long-term sustainability.

The £100m fund comprises three strands: the first being the £55m Catalyst: Endowments strand jointly funded by ACE, HLF and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Arts and heritage groups will be able to apply for an endowment worth between £500,000 and £5m, which will have to be at least matched through private giving.

Catalyst Arts: capacity building and match funding scheme will see £30m invested by ACE to support organisations that have already had some success in fundraising.

Meanwhile, Catalyst Arts and Catalyst Heritage fundraising capacity building programme will see £7m invested by ACE and £5m invested by the HLF. A further £3m will also be made available by ACE to help increase learning and knowledge sharing.

Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "I remain incredibly grateful to everyone who gives money to support these vital sectors and look forward to the Catalyst scheme making a huge impact on the financial resilience of organisations across the country."

ACE chief executive Alan Davey added: "Critically, Catalyst is about attracting new money to the arts, increasing the pool of donors whose generosity continues to make such a vital contribution to our mixed economy funding system."

Details: www.catalyst-artsandheritage.org.uk

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