According to the Economist, in 1998 worldwide mergers worth $26.2 trillion took place, compared to $23.9 trillion in 1996. In the US alone, there were 12,000 mergers, among them some of the country’s biggest art patrons, such as Bell Atlantic, AT&T and Citicorp. This may lead to a reduction in arts sponsorship, since corporate giving is largely to promote an individual company’s image. According to Giving USA, corporations gave $8.2 billion to nonprofit bodies in 1997, which, when contributions to religious institutions were discounted, represented 12% of all giving in the US.
Originally appeared in The Art Newspaper as "Mergers may shrink sponsorship"