Michelle McLeod and Helen Chomczuk on Baillie Gifford’s sponsorship of the Edinburgh International Book Festival

Baillie Gifford is an Edinburgh-based global asset manager that has sponsored the Edinburgh International Book Festival since 2001. Alongside their notable Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, the partnership endures as an active example of how best to support cultural events. In this interview, we spoke with Michelle McLeod, Sponsorship Manager at Baillie Gifford and Head of Development of the EIBF, Helen Chomczuk. The topic: why this partnership works and what others can learn.

Michelle: It started off as part of our corporate social responsibility approach. The Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) was one of our local arts organisations supported as part of our philanthropic activity, we support a lot of the arts. The relationship has evolved over the years into something much bigger becoming part of marketing through sponsorship.