Sage Gateshead awarded a special and extraordinary grant of £1 million from The Barbour Foundation
Dame Margaret Barbour hopes that The Foundation’s donation will encourage others to give generously to Sage Gateshead’s Crisis, Recovery and Renaissance public appeal.
Sage Gateshead is delighted to share that The Barbour Foundation has awarded an extraordinary grant of £1m to support the charity’s plans to contribute to the recovery of the North East.
The Barbour Foundation is a Founding Patron of Sage Gateshead and has since remained a champion and generous supporter of the organisation.
Sage Gateshead still faces significant financial challenges as it enters a period of recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. It is however clear on the substantial benefits it can bring to the North East and plans to contribute meaningfully to the region’s healing.
Dame Margaret is a Patron of Sage Gateshead’s 2020-23 Crisis, Recovery and Renaissance campaign which recently launched the second year of its public appeal to raise £1m over the coming year.
Dame Margaret and her fellow Trustees hope that their donation demonstrates to others the value they see in the work Sage Gateshead does across the region and the benefits it brings the local community and economy, and that their special award will encourage others to join them in giving generously to the public appeal to safeguard this cultural hub for the North East.
Dame Margaret Barbour, Chairman of The Barbour Foundation said, “On behalf of The Barbour Foundation, I am delighted to be able to continue my support for the Sage Gateshead during these very challenging times. The Sage Gateshead holds a very special place in the region, offering such a wide variety of music and I hope that our donation will enable audiences across the North East, nationally and internationally to continue to enjoy the wonderful programme of entertainment that they have to offer.”
Abigail Pogson, Managing Director of Sage Gateshead said, “This donation will help enable us to get back to making music, for and with people across the region. We want to place music and creativity at the heart of the North East’s recovery and future and this grant will help us to do that.
“In order to realise our plans in 2021/22 and safeguard our charity under very difficult financial conditions, we’ve had to try and raise a very substantial sum. The government’s Culture Recovery Fund has helped us, and this grant from The Barbour Foundation takes us another big step towards what we need for this year. But we now must turn to our Crisis, Recovery and Renaissance campaign to raise a further £1m.
“We have received wonderful support from over 7,500 people all over the North East and the world over the last year, raising the first £1m of the £3m campaign. I hope existing and new donors will support us through this next stage and to a return to live music in the North East.”
The Barbour Foundation, formerly known as The Barbour Trust, was formed in 1988 by Dame Margaret Barbour. It supports charitable causes, cultural and community projects and women’s groups primarily in the North East. To date, over £24 million has been donated by the Foundation to support worthwhile causes.
Read more about our Crisis, Recovery and Renaissance campaign and find out how to donate here.