Funding Acceptance Policy

General Statement of Principle

Contributions from individuals, organisations, charitable trusts and foundations, businesses and public bodies (“Supporters”) are vital to enable Melbourne Theatre Company (“MTC”) to fulfil its vision to be recognised as one of the world’s preeminent theatre companies, leading the cultural conversation and chosen as a favourite cultural destination. To fuel our financial sustainability and fund our broad range of artistic, education and community outreach programs, we proactively research, solicit and administer funding support (“Funding Support”) to underpin our artistic and charitable objectives. The term Funding Support is used to denote any form of grant, gift and sponsorship, whether received as cash or as goods and services provided free of charge or at a discounted rate.

We actively seek contributions from Supporters whose values align with MTC’s own Vision, Purpose, Values and Cultural Pledge as articulated in. We recognise that some funding partnerships need to be mutually beneficial, especially for corporations, and we welcome these and treat them as genuine, two-way collaborations. However, it is imperative that no partnership or funding relationship risks the independence, values or reputation of our organisation.

We take the following principles and approach in considering all funding acceptance.

Principles and Approach

We consider potential Funding Support proposals individually and do not maintain a specific list of requirements and exclusions unless stated in this policy. We assess all Funding Support proposals against these principles:

They must:

1. support MTC fulfilling its Purpose;
2. align with MTC’s Vision and Values; and
3. be consistent with MTC’s cultural pledge.

They must not:

1. influence or seek to influence MTC’s artistic decisions;
2. create unacceptable conflicts of interest;
3. expose MTC to reputational risk;
4. cause any damage, including but not limited to financial damage, deterring other Supporters to MTC or risk compromising existing Supporter relationships;
5. contravene state and/or federal laws in Australia, including, but not limited to, law regarding equal opportunity and discrimination; or
6. conflict with MTC’s Charter, objectives and policies including any related guidelines and procedures.

In addition, MTC specifically does not accept Funding Support from the tobacco industry, covering any organisation directly involved in the production, manufacture, marketing and/or promotion of tobacco, tobacco related products and e-cigarettes.