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It seems that when we consider donating money to a charity, some of us look carefully for needy foundations that have not been substantially supported yet have viable objectives and goals. However, when we think of supporting performing arts, our criteria seem to differ. We think very carefully - maybe a little too calculatingly - of what we will get in return.

With this in mind, there have been some intriguing - and, to some, appalling - developments. One commercial bank invested in the construction of a playhouse specifically designed for commercial musical theatre productions by a television game show and sitcom producer; they now have a private box and specially reserved seats with their logo permanently imprinted on them. Another bank, apart from spending millions of baht, is now issuing a new style of credit card especially for a musical theatre production put on by a television, telecommunications and music company that stages only one theatre production a year.

Flashing back to late 2007, many theatre goers were amazed to find out that the main patron of the Australia-made touring production of "Cats" was none other than CAT (Communications Authority of Thailand).

As clever as this might sound - anytime anyone mentioned the name of the two-decade-old musical they would also be speaking the name of the sponsor - some of my friends thought their money might not be going into deserving pockets, and thus stopped dialling 001, opting instead for other codes with cheaper rates or calling cards.

As a result of sponsorship schemes like this, which are quite similar to what's happening in television, not-for-profit professional performing arts troupes have been given many cold shoulders. They are simply met with an answer along the lines of "Sorry, but we're out of budget this year", and we know where their budget has gone.

If this persists, the performing arts scene in Thailand may soon be overfilled with commercial events and productions that prioritise profits over arts and culture.

To solve this problem, perhaps, once in a while we may need to think of words like "support", "donation", and "patronage" - instead of "sponsorship" - like in other countries whose performing arts thrive far better than ours.

Glancing into the programme booklets of their non-profit professional performing arts troupes or arts festivals, one will find a long list of patrons, some with big pockets who even go by the name "Anonymous" - and they're not Greek or Roman. In contrast, one will find a shorter list, and an even smaller number of advertisement pages, in commercial productions' programme booklets in those countries.

That is to say, these companies take as their duty, or even their mission, to give back to the audience, or their potential customers. Believing in mutually creating a healthier lifestyle and a better society through performing arts of professional quality, they take pride in being part of not-for-profit performing arts events. They do not request that their large logos be posted on the side walls of the playhouse or concert hall. A one-page advertisement in the troupe's programme booklet, or some kind of subtle recognition, is enough for many companies. They probably realise that if they want wider and more effective media exposure, they can sponsor a Premier League football team's season, not a symphony orchestra's.

Back in Thailand, and on the other side of the coin, our performing arts troupes, rather than crying and complaining, should also be more organised and start developing a feasible annual plan both of productions and of pledging - for a larger sum of support - only once a year. This would probably save both parties' time spent in meetings, as well as writing proposals, answering phone calls, sending faxes, signing checks and transferring money.

A standard patronage practice that is being carried out effectively in many countries is called the matching scheme. This is when a business corporation, or any donor, makes an agreement with a performing arts troupe that, as a major patron, the former will match every single baht the latter can raise from, or promised by, other donation sources. This way, a performing arts troupe will work even harder at the beginning of the year in order to secure sufficient funding but then can rest assured and concentrate on its work for the rest of the year.

Another party that could lend a helping hand is the government. State agencies are now turning down many requests by performing arts troupes because they do not fit their policies.

In order to prove otherwise and gain the financial support, it seems that proposals need to be frequently rewritten so that they somehow fit these policies. Of course, knowing someone who has signing authority would also help.

Meanwhile, some cultural agencies do not support a number of not-for-profit performing arts events simply because they charge admission fees, no matter how small. They feel that their limited budget is from taxpayers' money, and the public should be able to watch these events for free.

Obviously, this is not what government agencies in other countries are thinking. Many countries are offering double tax refunds for business corporations that financially support not-for-profit arts troupes. Now that's quite an incentive.

The future of our performing arts is not only in our (money-counting) hands, but also in our (thinking) minds and (feeling) hearts.