If you ever find yourself working in the French arts and culture sector, you will largely be supported through local aid and public subsidies. However, in an ever-changing political environment where funding for the arts is not always abundant, arts and culture organizations in France have sought more and more funding from other sources. From an American perspective, where we have found funding primarily from foundations and private investors, it can be useful to pay attention to countries that are just transitioning to this model and the qualities of their tools for funding the arts.

Regarding France, their arts and culture sector has historically been backed strongly by the government. However, in 2024, the country was hit with the stark truth: according to L’Association des Professionnels de L’Administration du Spectacle (The Association of Performing Arts Administrative Professionals), performances in France (dancing, theatre, opera, etc.) were estimated to decrease by 54% in the September 2024 to Summer 2025 season due to a € 203.4 million budget cut to the ministère de la Culture.

Especially for smaller projects and individual artists, crowdfunding has become a part of the solution. This trend emerged in the past twenty years and has grown in popularity in France in the past fifteen, particularly when raising funds for smaller projects and individual artists.

A Brief Historical Overview of Subsidized Arts Funding in France

Traced back to the French monarchy’s patronage, the funding of the arts and culture sector in France has historically been a governmental role. Even through the French revolution, this practice persevered, leading to the creation of cultural policy, heritage protection, and artistic education as a part of the Third Republic in the nineteenth century. In 1959, the state incorporated the “Ministère de la Culture” (Ministry of Culture), solidifying the government’s commitment to “making humanity’s major works accessible to all French citizens.” From this ministry, the idea of “cultural democracy” evolved, hoping that the identities and cultures of all French people would be represented through government support for the arts and culture sector.

A Brief Historical Overview of Crowdfunding and Its Rise in France

While arts funding in France remains primarily subsidized, cuts to funding in the cultural sector over the past fifteen years has led artists and arts organizations to seek other sources to finance the arts, including corporate, public, and private foundations and crowdfunding.

Crowdfunding or “le financement participatif,” is defined by Candid Learning as “a way to raise funds for a specific cause or project by asking a large number of people to donate money, usually in small amounts, and usually during a relatively short period of time, such as a few months.” British band Marillion is cited as the first example of online crowdfunding when they saved their 1997 US tour through digital donations. Their success inspired future efforts and eventually led to the 2005 launch of Zopa, the first crowdfunding platform, created in the UK.

The first crowdfunding platform in France was MyMajorCompany (2007) meant to finance artistic projects. Though it is no longer in use, this site opened the door for other crowdfunding platforms to emerge. Museums particularly have found great success with this model of funding starting in 2010. With the help of 7,200 donors, the Louvre acquired Les Trois grâces (The Three Graces) by Lucas Cranac. More recently, in 2023, the Musée de Cluny in Paris launched their first online crowdfunding campaign to raise money for a custom made narwhal tusk showcase.

Current Trends in French Arts and Culture Crowdfunding

While funds achieved through crowdfunding were down 17,1% in 2024 according to a study performed by Financement Participatif France, Forvis Mazars, France FinTech, and Collège,  this change was largely due to the recent crash in the French housing market.

Of the 80,2 million euros donated to the French cultural sector in 2024, 62% went to visual and performing arts individuals and organizations (approximately € 50 million). Donations to the cultural sector overall decreased by 6 million but increased in the visual and performing arts by approximately € 12 million in comparison to the same study performed in 2023 where visual and performing arts made up 44% of the cultural sector’s donations. Additionally, regarding loans, of the € 0,7 million invested in the arts and culture sector in 2024, 70% (€ 0.49 million) went to visual and performing arts.

As such we may deduce that while government subsidies decreased this past year, the French public has seen a need for increased financial support and increased their monetary contributions accordingly.

Modes of Crowdfunding

While these models are not unique to France, it is important to recognize the different terms and regulations associated with crowdfunding in France. The French government’s official site for business administrative information – www.entreprendre.service-public.fr – outlines 3 types of crowdfunding: Dons (Gifts), Prêts (Crowdlending), and Souscriptions de titres (Crowdequity). As this article focuses on the arts sector, we will only be covering donations and crowdlending as those are currently the two main forms of crowdfunding used for arts and culture organizations.

Dons (Donations)

Donation based crowdfunding is the most common type in the French arts sector. There is not a legal limit on the amount that individuals can donate but the maximum amount of donations that an organization can raise over the span of a year is capped at € 5 million.  Donations may be made as an altruistic act or in exchange for rewards. These rewards (contreparties) are non-financial returns that may either be symbolic (symbolique) or material (matérielle). Some examples of symbolic rewards are the naming of a room or building or early access to an exhibit. Material rewards may include products from the project’s success or general gifts such as a T-shirt or gift basket. Some crowdfunding sites for donating to the arts sector include:

Pro Arti
Pro Arti, created in 2013, is a crowdfunding platform that supports specifically artistic projects. Industries supported by this platform include visual arts, theater, music,        literature, film, and more. Artists create a campaign on the site describing the project, its goals, budget, and timeline. They also offer advising services, and advocate for supporting the arts through state funding and community engagement. Some projects currently posted on Pro Arti include the play Démons by Lars Noren, a short film called  les vagues by Shana Marsanne, and multimedia performance Les (Grandes) Personnes by Compagnie 55.               

Kiss Kiss Bank Bank
Created in 2010, this platform has financed over 30,000 creative projects. Kiss Kiss Bank Bank operates on the principle of transparency and all or nothing crowdfunding. If the creator’s goal is not reached by a certain deadline, then all funds are returned to the original donor. Crowdfunders can even provide rewards to backers. Some examples of projects currently posted on this platform include Marseille’s local annual rock magazine   l’Antichambre, Gratt'Essonne Big Band’s album, and a graphic novel by Brice Artieri or   “Nishtra” called Les Enquêtes D’Ambre.

Kickstarter
This United States based crowdfunding tool founded in 2009 is highly popular for financing creative projects in France. Industries represented include the arts, technology, and entrepreneurs. Campaign pages, like the other sites listed, include a fundraising goal and deadline, a project description, and videos and images. Examples of projects currently posted on this site include fast-fashion waste conscious clothing company La chemise Théo, fortune telling game Jeux d'Initiation à l'interprétation de ton thème astral, and the novel Les défenseurs de Leidaia - l'héritière et le démon (Tome 2) by Merichi Silver.

Prêts (Crowdlending)

A project may also be funded by loans (sous la forme de prêts) from contributors, known as crowdlending. Project creators enter an agreement (contrat de prêt) either in writing or through a durable medium (email, secure personal account, etc.). The contributor opens an online lending account and deposits their money there, with or without interest. A loan with interest (avec intérêt) cannot be more than € 2,000 per lender per project and the loan must be paid back within 7 years. Using loans with interest, a project creator may raise up to € 5 million. A loan without interest (sans intérêt) cannot exceed € 5,000 per lender per project and there is no time limit for when this loan must be paid back. Using no-interest loans, a creator can raise up to € 1 million.

Platforms used to receive and give loans must be legally accredited with the European status of Crowdfunding Service Provider (CSP) (prestataire de service de financement participatif (PSFP)). The registry is managed by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and may be viewed online. For artists Kiss Kiss Bank Bank is a good platform for both investments through ST’ART Invest and donations.

Final Thoughts

As the economic and social state in our world continually changes, it is imperative that we foster a culture of curiosity and exploration regarding global economic and artistic practices. Overall, the modes of crowdfunding in France do not vary wildly from the those of the United States, but the limits on funds permitted to be raised and loaned indicate a stricter bureaucratic control over crowdfunding. Perhaps this reflects a sustained belief in the government’s duty to the arts and culture sector. This also raises the question, if funding continues to decrease for these organizations, will French legislation need to change to permit more individually funded contributed income specifically for the arts? Or even if the limits on fundraising were loosened, would this extra funding space be filled when there is a cultural tradition and desire for government funding? As we look to our own systems for funding the arts in the United States, we as well need to continue to question the role of government and community in funding to sustain our industry and the artists explore their own burning questions.

Written by Caili Harris, a graduate student in the M.F.A. in Theatre - Arts Leadership program at Virginia Tech.