Sarah Lawson

You’ve probably never visited an art gallery or a classical music concert in Charlottesville, VA.

Though the area is known for its views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, historical landmarks, and local food culture, many people don’t consider it an arts destination. At Piedmont Council for the Arts (PCA), we see this every day.

Residents might know everything that’s happening in one area of arts interest, but nothing broader. Visitors tour Monticello or the University of Virginia, but rarely stay the extra day to explore our museums or see a play performed by one of our many community theater groups.

Very few people ever see the full breadth of the Charlottesville area arts community.

However, data from Americans for the Arts’ Arts & Economic Prosperity IV study in the Greater Charlottesville area showed that our arts and culture industry generates $114.4 million in annual economic activity, supporting 1,921 full-time equivalent jobs and generating $9.2 million in government revenue.

As the Charlottesville community continues to grow this arts and culture sector, we see a greater need to address this issue of coordinated cultural tourism. 

And that’s just one of the large-scale issues that face our arts community and many others around the country—maybe even where you live. Similar issues include arts funding, livability for artists, development of creative placemaking resources, and arts education opportunities.

But what can we do to address these issues?

Well, what PCA decided to do was work with residents and local government to create a community-wide cultural plan. Cultural planning gathers your entire community to give feedback on available and needed resources related to arts and culture.

This feedback might sound something like, “We need more affordable studio space for artists.” Or maybe, “Why don’t we have a community calendar where all arts and culture events are listed?” Perhaps even, “It would be great if graffiti were allowed as a form of public art.”

Once planning coordinators sift through all of the input, central themes begin to emerge. Community stakeholders then work together to recommend strategies to address and resolve issues within each theme, whether it’s audience development, funding, or something else entirely.

As PCA nears the midway point of the planning process for our plan, titled Create Charlottesville, I see this as a vital step in making Charlottesville a better place to live.

A cultural plan might also be a great step for your arts council or community to consider. If you decide to embark on this process, here are some tips to help you create and survive your own cultural plan:

1. Find a consultant to lead the planning process. An outside consultant is necessary to ensure an unbiased cultural plan. Try to find an individual or firm who has previously worked with cities similar to yours and with whom you feel a connection. Charlottesville is a small city with a strong university presence so we sought a consultant who had experience with small college towns.

2. Find a really amazing consultant to lead the planning process. No really, this part is that important. If you think you’ve found a great consultant, search to see if you can’t find an even more amazing one.

3. Diversify your funding. Part of the success of any cultural plan comes from community engagement in the implementation process. This buy-in can begin during your search for funding. Approach local businesses and philanthropists to explain your goals. Even if you don’t receive a check from each one, you’re educating them about the plan and will be more likely to get them engaged in the process in the future. Be sure to apply for plenty of grants as well—a good plan doesn’t come with a small price tag.

4. Budget your time. A cultural plan can fill every waking hour of your life if you allow it to. Before the planning process begins, work with your consultant to create firm deadlines for every step of the project. Create guidelines and expectations for staff and plan coordinators during every phase of the process.

5. Assemble the best team imaginable. In addition to the consultant, your planning process will involve a large number of community members. Pick the best ones to serve on a steering committee, working group, or task force. You’ll need diverse representatives in order to have a plan that serves the entire community.

6. Talk to as many community members as possible. Your plan is only as good as the people you involve. Reach out to your entire community through surveys, focus groups, and interviews to get as much feedback as you can. Create online surveys along with large-print paper versions to hand out. Mention the plan to everyone. Even if they don’t get involved, you’ll still generate buzz about the project—which, in turn, will help you reach even more people.

7. Never lose sight of the goals. Remember the dream to improve your local arts community that led you to start a planning process in the first place? Don’t let burdensome logistics distract you from that.

8. Implement, implement, implement. Part of the plan should include ways to ensure that individuals and organizations follow through on their responsibilities for implementation of strategies. And remember, even if the cultural plan that you create doesn’t fix everything, you can revisit it in a few years to give more attention to issues that still exist.

Chris Audain

The Chicago nonprofit arts and culture sector is a $2.2 billion industry. You’d be hard-pressed to go more than a couple of blocks without seeing a theater, dance company, museum, art gallery, or some other nonprofit arts organization, small or large.

And yet I still hear about new ones popping up quite frequently. Given that, the community of artists and arts administrators is extensive, and diverse—it’s a bona fide place of convergence for the creative types and transplants from across the country.

So why then, with such a vibrant arts community, is Illinois the 29^th ranked state in per capita spending on the arts?

The answer is a problem that plagues not just Illinois, but permeates through the entire creative sector on a national level.

When I first moved to Chicago after graduating from college, I wanted to pursue an acting career. Even equipped with my political science degree, I had very little understanding about the relationship of public funding for the arts, and the importance of advocacy.

It took a graduate course at Goucher College, Principles of Arts Administration, for me to fully comprehend the power and necessity of arts advocacy. Therein lies the problem: an information gap for artists on the importance of advocacy. A possible solution? Giving artists a more easily accessible entry point to advocacy.

Ra Joy, executive director for Arts Alliance Illinois, is one of the best leaders of advocacy out there. I sat in on a small group at the University of Chicago when he gave a lecture entitled, “Give Voice to a Creative State: The Future of Arts Advocacy in Illinois.”

There were number of takeaways—arts are part of the solution to many societal problems, can strengthen communities, and are a necessity, not a luxury—but let’s focus on what he called people power.

Advocacy is democracy in action; it is showing up, and raising your voice for something you believe in. The power of one is incredible, but the power of several individuals in solidarity can accomplish anything. The capability of a unified people should never be underestimated. Julie Hamos once imparted wisdom to Joy that he explained as “The Cockroach Theory of Advocacy.”

If you wake up one morning and see one cockroach, you will smash it and not think much of it. If you wake up the next morning and see two cockroaches, you’ll maybe smash them both, have a slight concern but forget about it. If you wake up again the next morning and see three cockroaches, then you’re probably going to do something about it, because you know there are more than just those three—it’s about all the little bugs you can’t see! If we get to our legislators by numbers, they will respond.

Let me also say that this is no easy feat. We’re all busy. The general withdrawal from the political process is a well-documented phenomenon, touched on by scholars from Alexis de Tocqueville to Robert Putnam.

If we create more events of awareness, and utilize social media better, perhaps we can find a way for more people to get involved. I wouldn’t characterize it as a lack of will, but just a lack of comprehension. Can you or I answer succinctly, what exactly, the entry points are to participation in advocacy?

As advocates we have to be resilient and persistent, but above all else, we need to stand together. We need to continue to raise our voice, while the seasoned advocates help guide those new to the world of advocacy.

We know we have the people power to make an extraordinary difference, but how can we harness the immense power of artists into one consolidated force of advocacy? How do we broaden the participation of artists in advocacy?

Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Brender, a former producer for MSNBC talk programs and CNBC’s The Charles Grodin Show, asked Kristen about how she ended up working at our organization, what it’s like to be a dancer, the importance of federal funding for the arts and arts education, and how the arts help communities both economically and through the intrinsic value of the arts.

You can listen to Kristen’s full interview below via SoundCloud.

Stephanie Smith

Last week, we packed out a partially restored 1930s single-screen movie house in our town’s up-and-coming downtown area. How did we do it? Three simple words: Arts Mean Business.

We, being East End Arts, a nonprofit community arts organization out in eastern Long Island, operating a School of the Arts, an art gallery, and presenting a variety of events and programs to promote the arts year-round.

“Arts Mean Business” was a forum that we presented for the region’s arts and business leaders: we invited business owners, artists, local government, arts organizations, community leaders, nonprofit organizations, and community members to the seminar with keynote presentation and panel discussion by notable arts and business leaders demonstrating the value of partnering with the arts to strengthen the economic vitality of Long Island.

We weren’t so sure how the community would respond to this sort of forum, but the immediate responses to our first marketing efforts proved that it would be a successful venture and indeed it was.

“Arts Mean Business” completely sold out—we were thrilled to learn that our local community wanted to know what we had to say about a very important topic: partnership between the arts and business communities of all shapes and sizes.

The group of 150 attendees represented a great sample of the people we were hoping to reach. It was really a 50/50 crowd of arts people and business people, with a few government officials in the mix.

We are so grateful that our friends at the Suffolk Theater agreed to host us in their space. The 1930s art deco-style theater has been closed since the 1980s, but is in the process of being restored with the goal to open by the end of 2012.

Guests were excited to see the majestic and historic space and meeting there really spoke to the creative process—and the endless possibilities for the future of our downtown area on the rise, and for the economic strength of all of Long Island. 

The crowd at the “Arts Mean Business” event.

Emily Peck, director of private sector initiatives for Americans for the Arts, joined us as the keynote speaker of the event, presented The pARTnership Movement, and reviewed the eight reasons that businesses should partner with the arts.

Some of the statistics that really resonated with the audience related to the economic value of the arts to the community and region: Nationally, the nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $166.2 billion in economic activity every year—$63.1 billion in spending by organizations and an additional $103.1 billion in event-related spending by their audiences.

Much like the audience, our panel of speakers for the second portion of the forum represented a nice range of arts and business leader perspectives for the panel discussion: Eric Alexander from Vision Long Island; Rob Salvatico from Hotel Indigo; artist Elaine Thompson; Bob Spiotto from the Suffolk Theater; and Michelle Isabelle-Stark from Suffolk County Economic Development.Our moderator was David Winzelberg from Long Island Business News.

An important piece of the design of the day was to have this panel discussion be as interactive as possible—with attendees’ burning questions being answered on the spot. After the keynote presentation, attendees were asked to submit questions for the panel, and each question was addressed, as well as any others that came up.

A goal of this event was to help connect people and industries. Attendees stayed well after the forum closed—and well beyond lunch and the theater tours—to discuss their greatest ideas and to make as many connections as possible.

We were thrilled with the success of this event, and have since decided to hold a similar event on a regular basis.

We thank the Long Island Community Foundation for funding this program, as well as event media sponsor The Times-Review Newspapers. Additional thanks goes to the Riverhead Chamber of Commerce for partnering with us on this, and to Digger’s Pub & Restaurant and the Blue Duck Bakery for providing the food. Special thanks goes to our friends at the Suffolk Theater for hosting us in their beautiful, partially restored space.

And, breakfast provided by the Blue Duck Bakery is a perfect example of a successful partnership. The new bakery will be opening its doors in a few short weeks and the owners approached us prior to the event looking to donate some baked goods. Not only did they feed the crowd with their pastries and set the tone for the morning, they benefited from exposure to 150 people who now know they will be opening soon. Now that’s what we call a win-win!

(This post is one in a weekly series highlighting The pARTnership Movement, Americans for the Arts’ campaign to reach business leaders with the message that partnering with the arts can build their competitive advantage. Visit our website to find out how both businesses and local arts agencies can get involved!)

Laura Bruney

When the board and volunteers of over 1,000 non-profit arts groups in Miami-Dade donned clipboards to conduct surveys with their audience and patrons, they wanted to showcase that the arts are an essential part of the economy. Their hard work paid off in a big way.

The surveys that were collected from hundreds of groups and their participants were compiled and studied. The resulting report, Arts & Economic Prosperity IV developed by Americans for the Arts for cities and states throughout the country shows that even in a declining and difficult economy the arts are relevant and can be considered an essential tool for economic stimulus solutions. The Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs partnered with Americans for the Arts for the local component.

Here are the drum roll worthy results: the arts in Miami-Dade have an impressive annual economic impact of more than 1.1 billion dollars. From Aventura to Homestead, from Coral Gables to Miami Beach, from downtown to the seashore the arts are everywhere. There are more than 1,200 non-profit arts groups in our community and they employ more than 22,000 full-time professionals and workers.

“The arts are an integral part of Miami-Dade County’s economy and our creative design industry is one of the top reasons why companies choose to establish their businesses in our community,” says Pamela Fuertes, Vice President of the Beacon Council. “Under our One Community One Goal (OCOG) study, the creative design industries were identified as a key industry that is vitally important to our present and future growth, and the arts are a big part of that success.”

Every day, arts and cultural organizations act as economic drivers—creating an industry that supports jobs, generates government revenue, and is the cornerstone of our tourism industry, playing a leading role in Miami-Dade’s success.

According to George Neary, Vice President of Cultural Tourism for the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, cultural tourism increases visitors and attracts people that spend more time and money in our destination…

Read the rest of this post at KnightArts.org as it was originally published on that site on August 11…

This post is one in a weekly series highlighting The pARTnership Movement, Americans for the Arts’ campaign to reach business leaders with the message that partnering with the arts can build their competitive advantage. Visit our website to find out how both businesses and local arts agencies can get involved!

It just so happens that Randy Cohen, vice president of research and policy at Americans for the Arts, was slated to be in town promoting the local results of our Arts & Economic Prosperity IV study as this news came out.

As you can see from this local news report, the arts council is doing all the right things and already changing minds as they advocate for alternatives to the proposed funding changes:

When it comes to local arts advocacy, you want to have a utility belt full of reasons to make your case, and the Arts Council of Fort Worth is doing the right thing by using our excellent local research (Arts & Economic Prosperity IV, Local Arts Index) as well as their own outreach to rally community arts leaders, elected officials, and the local media to get their message out in the month before the city council vote.

Although it is too soon to tell if this intense advocacy campaign will pay off when it comes to the city council on September 18, the fact that council members are willing to listen to the proposed use of hotel tax funding (a model that several other cities use to fund the arts) or another source so that funding will be dedicated rather than just another line item in the general fund, is a very encouraging sign.

Stay tuned to ARTSblog for updates on this story!

In 2011, a 500-year flood devastated our community and displaced 12,000 residents (nearly one-third of our population). This week marked the one-year anniversary of the evacuation sirens and many homes have yet to be “mucked out.”

On the other hand, the oil industry here has created a growing economy, increasing our tax revenue and boosting airport boardings to record levels. Our airline traffic has increased from four flights daily to 18. We have had growth and devastation all in the same year.

During the time, Minot arts organizations and artists have helped to raise funds, raise spirits, and raise awareness. Our Fifth Annual Integrity Jazz Festival is a perfect example. Sponsors from the community stepped up to the plate to present this event free of charge to the public in cooperation with the Weekend of Hope, a celebration of a community rebuilding. Survey responses indicated that 30 percent of our attendees came from outside Minot. They bought food, gasoline, and artwork, putting dollars into our local economy while hearing some great jazz music in a beautiful outdoor setting.

The evidence of the economic impact of the nonprofit arts industry in Minot is detailed in the Arts and Economic Prosperity IV (AEP IV) data. The nonprofit arts industry has a $9.9 million impact that supports 225 full-time equivalent jobs. That number represents an increase of $1.4 million from the 2005 AEP III data!

Community leaders have recognized the value of the arts to our community as we rebuild and grow. At a recent meeting I mentioned the importance of the arts to the identity and future of our community. The head of our community foundation responded adding that we must remember as we rebuild, that Minot is not just about Sheetrock, plywood, and grass seed. He continued, stating that we must hold to and foster those beautiful things that set us apart.

Others began to catch our vision, speaking of our distinction as the smallest community to host a full-scale symphony orchestra (and a good one at that!). They saw clearly that rebuilding is a priority, but also recognized that building and sustaining the arts community is an important part of our identity and quality of life that will remain long after the oil boom has passed and flood damage has been repaired.

Tracy Graziani

At the recent Americans for the Arts Annual Convention the Arts and Economic Prosperity IV research was released to the public and the media. One of the trends noted in the presentation is the increasing urbanization of America. More and more people are moving to cities. This reality is posing unique challenges for small and medium-sized cities and towns.

In the 90s the big box stores descended upon Middle America with pervasive force, edging out “mom and pop shops” left and right. Some bemoaned the change, others viewed it as progress, and ultimately the “boxes” took over.

In the recent economic downturn many of those big box stores have left small towns, or significantly reduced their inventory. Now the residents can’t buy what they need at the big box or the “mom and pop,” so they turn to the internet or drive to a larger town. Of course the problem with this is that the commerce is then benefiting another community either where the online business resides or simply a bigger city in another county nearby.

The decreased tax revenue as well as the loss of commerce has a direct negative impact on the livability of these communities. Either the taxes have to go up or public services like nonprofits, schools, police, fire, and roads suffer. At least in our small town, the latter is what we have faced.

This leads us back to where we started—the research. When the livability of a community is subpar, educated and affluent people are more likely to leave, hence the migration to larger cities and towns. Some people even refer to this migration as “brain drain.”

Mansfield, OH, is a town that typifies this scenario. The arts organizations, nonprofits, and public services are all struggling to find their way in an economy that is increasingly unfriendly to small towns. The people of Mansfield, like the people in countless small towns across America, love their community and have high hopes for reviving their hometown. They have come together in some interesting ways as we adapt to the tougher times.

Here is an example of the ads you can run promoting arts and business partnerships in your area. Click on the photo to visit The pARTnership Movement website to learn more.

Our community development group, Richland Community Development Group (RCDG) has very active sector groups including the “Be Focal Buy Local” action team.  This group in particular has been pivotal in helping my organization, the Mansfield Art Center, develop business partnerships in creative ways.

A key theme at the Americans for the Arts Annual Convention was the value of creating corporate partnerships. In the traditional sense, that is nearly impossible in small cities and towns. Nearly all corporate presence in Mansfield is at best tertiary to the main office of a given corporation and none of the decision makers who affect philanthropy are in our town. As you can imagine, that means very little corporate sponsorship is available for the arts and other nonprofits.

One notable exception is the model used at Aetna. They have a long tradition of corporate philanthropy that is very friendly to the arts, in fact last year Americans for the Arts awarded them a spot on their BCA 10: Best Companies Supporting the Arts in America.

This company utilizes a large work-from-home employee base. These employees can volunteer at local nonprofits while being paid their regular Aetna wage. In fact, Aetna has even taken an active role in leveraging some of that work from home staff at the Mansfield Art Center. That’s a really great contribution they’re making. It’s not a check, but I need volunteers as well.

Another trend, also discussed at length during the convention is the local movement. There is increasing focus on shopping, dining, and sourcing locally. Whether through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) or a simple focus on shopping at local and independent merchants, the local trend is becoming popular in big cities like Detroit, where they just celebrated “8 weeks under 8 Mile”, or small towns like Mansfield, with our active “Be Focal Buy Local” group. At least for my organization, this is our tipping point where we are seeing the greatest impact on sponsorships and corporate membership.

Our active involvement in the “Be Focal Buy Local” action team has led to some less traditional sponsorships. A local auto dealership, Mansfield Motor Group, like many businesses, places philanthropy in the hands of their marketing department. They were interested in supporting the arts, in large part because our patrons are a key demographic they hope to reach for their business. The dealership’s owner and I created a customized sponsorship that met his marketing needs and provided us with the sponsorship we needed for our summer arts festival, Mansfield Art Explosion. He wanted to do something that would show off his cars, and an outdoor arts festival is a great location.

The resulting idea is fun and fits the needs of both organizations. We will have five white cars on our lawn that day, which will be painted with water-soluble paints by local artists. Thanks to their financial support we have the money to more aggressively market the festival with billboards and radio ads, something we couldn’t afford to do in the past. Of course Mansfield Motor Group will receive credit in all of our marketing.

Another interesting opportunity that has emerged as a result of our involvement in the business community is our new text marketing campaign and sweepstakes. Another member of the “Be Focal Buy Local” group owns a text marketing business, MOcoopinz.com. He offered the Mansfield Art Center a special reduced rate on his services since we are a nonprofit and he wishes to support the arts.

Text marketing could help us better reach that coveted 24–35 demographic that we hope to expand within our membership, so we were excited to start the campaign. One of the best ways to build up a good cache of “opt-ins” for text marketing is to offer a sweepstakes.  This is where another interesting sponsorship opportunity emerged.  It is even more impactful to offer a small reward for every opt-in in addition to the grand prize.  We really couldn’t afford to buy prizes to pass out for the opt-ins, but a local wine shop and wine bar, The Happy Grape, made a very generous offer. Not only would they give a $50 gift certificate toward the grand prize, they would also give a free piece of chocolate cake to every person who opted in. Let’s face it that is a pretty sweet deal, who doesn’t like cake?

In Middle America’s small towns we have much to be concerned about. There is a fear that our way of life may be fading away in the shift toward all things urban and corporate, but there are glimmers of hope that a new future will emerge for towns like Mansfield.

The Mansfield Art Center has experienced over 30 percent growth in memberships this year and things just keep getting better. All of this is thanks to our willingness to adapt to our changing economy. Are times tough? Absolutely, but the staff at the Mansfield Art Center is innovating in exceedingly creative ways as we find our place in a shifting economy.

This post is one in a series highlighting The pARTnership Movement, Americans for the Arts’ campaign to to reach business leaders with the message that partnering with the arts can build their competitive advantage. Visit our website to find out how both businesses and local arts agencies can get involved!

Lydia Black

The Southwest Florida nonprofit arts community has always argued the economic and social value of the arts community. We’ve advocated on behalf of our creative community; engaged the public in conversations about the depth and breadth of our cultural offerings; boasted large attendance numbers; and, painted a picture of arts as placemakers and the heart and soul of community.

And until recently, we advocated for the arts by estimating economic impact numbers, by supposing that indeed there was an economic impact. Our advocacy lacked the confidence that would have been buttressed by language informed by hard data. Well not anymore.

With the Arts & Economic Prosperity IV study in hand, we can definitively say that our arts and culture industry is an economic and social powerhouse. In 2010, during arguably the worst economy in recent memory, Lee County’s nonprofit arts and culture industry generated $68 million, supported more than 2,000 full-time jobs, and pumped $9 million into local and state coffers.

For a county that speaks the language of baseball, that number is more than the estimated $45–50 million generated here by the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins, combined.

Many in the cultural community have lamented the fact that the arts industry is always justifying its existence to state and local officials in return for small investment dollars. Yet, at the same time, many of us in the arts community were doing nothing to change our language to that which public officials and business leaders could relate—namely dollars, jobs, and return on investment.

The economic impact study results have already helped to shift the discussion of the arts industry from one of entertainment, education, and inspiration to one of the arts industry as an integral economic engine in the county.

For Lee County, the timing of the results of the study is impeccable. The results coincide with what many in the community are calling a cultural renaissance. For example, culturally-driven events like ArtWalk Fort Myers and Music Walk have partnered with cityscape projects to revitalize downtown Fort Myers. Not to mention the countless visitors attracted downtown by local icons like ArtFest Fort Myers, Edison Ford Winter Estates, the Florida Repertory Theater and the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center.

Results from the Arts & Prosperity IV study are currently being presented to local and state governments and to local chambers of commerce, economic and community development councils, public works departments, sustainability councils, partner for-profit and nonprofit cultural organizations, and local businesses to ensure that we can begin to change the way we speak about the cultural community—namely that we are an industry that is vital to the economic health and well being of our community.

This is our opportunity to promote Southwest Florida as a cultural destination complete with beautiful beaches, spring training baseball, eco-tourism, and GREAT weather. The Arts & Economic Prosperity IV numbers will assist us in getting the necessary investments to do just that.

Robert Bush

We love data at the Arts & Science Council (ASC).

We are fortunate to have access to resources, but we also have to make choices about how we direct them to support the sector, and research pays off every time. It allows us to connect with donors, elected officials, the chamber of commerce, and others about the impact of programs and services, as well as economic development efforts.

We are also fortunate to have the resources to commission research. For 10 years we have done a public opinion telephone survey through the Urban Institute at UNC-Charlotte. Since 2006, we have worked with WESTAF on the Creative Vitality™ Index; but, our biggest research partner has been and continues to be Americans for the Arts. Whether it is annual local arts agency surveys, past salary surveys, or United Arts Fund surveys, we fill them out.

While we love all of our partners, the most important (and requested) research we share with stakeholders is the results of our Arts & Economic Prosperity economic impact study conducted every five years.

Yes, it requires staff time to remind and nudge, coordinate audience intercept surveys, and make certain that every local cultural group had the opportunity to participate. Thanks to the vision of the North Carolina Arts Council, beginning with Arts & Economic Prosperity IV, we have statewide data and information on each of the regional economic development areas of the state.

You may think, those people in Charlotte have more money than sense to be investing in all this data, but this data gets us noticed—by donors, corporations, elected officials, chambers of commerce, and the list goes on.

I believe in art for art’s sake but I also know that numbers matter—balanced budgets, profits, and attendance figures to name a few. They help us tell our story in terms that people can understand.

When we show our local government’s investment in ASC is matched first by our own private sector fundraising and then again by our grantees to the tune of over $20 for every $1 from local government, people listen.

When we can document that over 6,200 full time jobs are dependent on our local nonprofit arts and cultural sector, the business community sits up.

When we can show that visitors to our community make up 40 percent of our total attendance and they spend $18 more than residents on event-related expenses like dinner, hotel, and transportation, hotel and restaurant owners become champions for the arts.

We often talk about how donors’ gifts combined with local and state government investments make art, science, and history programs and projects available across Charlotte-Mecklenburg. This is true. The support of our donors insures performances, exhibitions, festivals, and educational programs happen every day in Mecklenburg County. But their investment in ASC has another big return—one that impacts our local economy far beyond what people might think.

We know that impact, $203 million a year to be exact, because we take the time to work to crunch the numbers.

Julie Muraco

Arts & Economic Prosperity IV is another seminal piece of research by the Americans for the Arts staff led by Randy Cohen. (Okay, so I am biased). But, passion for the arts runs throughout our organization. I hope to provide insight into how AEP IV might be used with corporate funding sources.

How to Use AEP IV with Corporate Funders: What Do the Numbers Mean?

It is probably a revelation to most corporate funders that the arts & culture industry generates $135.2 billion in economic activity, supports 4.1 million jobs, and generates an aggregate $22.3 billion in government revenue.

Some corporate funders may not be looking at how arts & culture within their community support their own business revenues or government revenues with expenditures on snacks and refreshments (think restaurants and restaurant suppliers), lodging (resorts or hospitality industries), transportation (buses/taxis), or retail establishments with shopping from clothing to gifts for home.

Corporate funders need to be shown the light. And if it is anything like corporations I have worked for, what turns the light on in corporations are numbers and quantitative data. Why?

Whoever you have approached with the data needs to deliver it to someone else, who will then deliver it to another layer of management, and so on before a decision is made. That includes the CEO.

But, may I clarify a point about “corporate funders?” It is no longer just a decision made in the executive suite with the CEO or CFO of the company. A “corporate funder” decision-maker might be found within the sales and marketing, human resources, or corporate communications departments. The numbers and the rationale for funding arts organizations based on the data needs to resonate with all of these people.

The sales and marketing department is looking to gain more clients and revenue and brand the image of their company; the human resources department is seeking to form strategic partnerships with community organizations who can provide equal benefits across their entire company which may be in multiple locations; and the corporate communications person (potentially a gatekeeper to the CEO) needs to maintain a strong image for the company and executive suite.

If one takes the AEP IV research and discovers the best way to deliver the information to multiple persons within a corporation and deliver a message of why it is important to them—your organization has increased its chances of gaining the funding you seek.

What Challenges Might You Face? What is the Best Way to Deliver the Research?

In my own company, I want to understand the best and most effective way the person I want to target receives the research. Are they partial to e-mail? Snail mail? Do they want bullet points, the summary, or the whole report?

It’s best to ask and find out before sending the information and having an opportunity wasted. Sometimes multiple forms of distribution are required (Sometimes over many months.)

If the challenge is that the funder is not partial to receiving the AEP IV data, or if they have claimed to not be an arts funder, don’t stop at that obstacle. I like to point out all the ways their company is a tacit user of the arts. Do they have a lobby with visual arts? Do they support other organizations that are part of the “Arts AND” message that Bob Lynch (President and CEO of Americans for the Arts) is speaking about in the field?

Again, overcome the objections and obstacles with data and information that shows you have researched their own organization.

AEP IV can offer the most recalcitrant corporation information and data that supports the arts as a vital and necessary part of our society. Armed with AEP IV, you and your organization will have a much better opportunity to begin the conversation.

And remember,  stay positive. Often “No” only means “No, not now.”

Terri Schorzman

Boise is the most geographically isolated urban area in the lower 48. Despite this remote location, Boise residents have built a cultural infrastructure through forming community, regional, and national alliances. In turn, this infrastructure has helped shape Boise.

From Boise’s earliest days, the logistics of the city’s geographic isolation made it difficult to travel elsewhere for cultural amenities, which encouraged residents to develop local opera, ballet, orchestra, theater, and dance companies. By 1907, the city’s cultural life inspired attorney Clarence Darrow, here for a trial, to name Boise the “Athens of the Desert.”

In the past decade city leaders have encouraged Boise to “become the most livable city in the country” and in 2008 formed the Department of Arts & History from its predecessor the Boise City Arts Commission. This initiative illustrates that Boise’s leaders recognize the relationship between culture, economy, and livability.

Boise is fortunate that city leaders include arts and culture in discussion of the local economy, acknowledging that a robust creative economy is essential to the economic health of Boise. The city participated in Arts & Economic Prosperity II, III, and IV. The data from the earlier studies (II and III) provided the basis for the mayor and city council to award the Mayor’s Cultural Economic Development grants to several organizations in 2010 and 2011, a significant effort given the economic recession nationwide.

City leaders identified funding—generated by the rental of city rail property for two years—to cultural organizations that have an on-going positive impact on Boise’s economy. The funds made a big difference to these organizations, and helped at least two of them meet their budget for the year. In addition, one organization was designated the city’s first-ever Cultural Ambassador.

The results of Arts & Economic Prosperity IV announced earlier this summer identified that the nonprofit arts and culture industry in Boise generates $48,035,096 in annual economic activity, supports 1,602 full-time equivalent jobs, and generates $4,461,000 in local and state government revenues.

Arts and culture have been and continue to important to both the cultural and economic life of Boise residents, and have helped shaped the vision for the city to become one of the most livable in the country.

Buddy Palmer

I’m a fortunate community arts executive. I direct an organization, the Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham, which supports a vibrant ecosystem in the largest city, and cultural capital, of Alabama. Just a few years ago, in a public gathering, our former governor recognized Birmingham’s cultural sector as the region’s second greatest asset, just behind the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the state’s largest employer with a giant, nationally-recognized network of hospital and healthcare resources.

Birmingham lost one nonprofit contemporary art gallery in the recession; however, I am proud to say most of our organizations are being extremely resourceful at doing more with less. As nonprofits, we’re used to it, right?

And I’ve just received great news: the results of our local Arts and Economic Prosperity IV study show a more than 50 percent increase in annual economic impact from the data collected five years ago. We had an 80 percent survey-return rate from our organizations as compared with the national average of 43 percent. So, our cultural leaders are enthusiastic, capable, and determined to demonstrate our value.

We also have some important and encouraging signs as we move forward. The City of Birmingham is in the process of creating its first comprehensive plan in 50 years, and arts and entertainment tactics have been included in the area of “Prosperity and Opportunity” as well as “Housing, Neighborhoods, and Community Renewal.”

Perhaps even more significant, “Blueprint Birmingham,” a recently published economic-growth-strategy document commissioned by the Birmingham Business Alliance, our regional economic development authority, identifies “Arts, Entertainment, and Tourism” as one of only seven target sectors with the greatest potential for new job creation, retention of existing jobs, and overall wealth creation in the region. This recognition of the cultural sector as an engine for both community and economic development, when coming from unusual suspects, is a sure sign of progress.

With such current-and-promising good news when it comes to the Birmingham story for arts and economic development, why do I feel the need to sleep with one eye open? One reason: our up-and-coming industry (“Blueprint Birmingham” calls us “an emerging sector.”) is still starved for investment.

I’m not talking about the traditional corporate donor, individual patron, and member giving that occur organization-by-organization. (I have a concern that that particular dynamic is already radically changing, for a variety of reasons, and will probably never get us where we want to go anyway.) I’m talking about public and private investment on a sector-wide scale for big and inspirational ideas that comes with expectations of measurable returns. What that hybrid between nonprofit and commercial looks like and how it functions for Birmingham, I haven’t yet figured out, but hopefully the city’s plan, when completed, and “Blueprint Birmingham” might point us in some interesting new directions.

Another concern, when it comes to arts and economic development, is our woeful and slow elimination of arts education in the Birmingham City Schools system. From what I read, the U.S. is now on its third or fourth jobless recovery from economic downturns in the last 20 years. And the jobs we continue to lose are the very jobs for which our industrial-based education system seems to prepare students.

I want Birmingham’s cultural sector to have an increasingly aggressive pattern of economic impact in the future, and for that to happen we need to provide an educational atmosphere of inventiveness and engagement that will prepare our young people for the entrepreneurial job opportunities in creative industries that potentially await them. Happily, the Alliance has begun a substantive, arts-integration artist-residency partnership with our city school system and we’re already seeing some significant results.

So, how do I end my arts and economic development report from Birmingham? On a personal note, I still feel a lot like Rodney Dangerfield: “I don’t get no respect.” I know many of my local peers feel the same.

On the other hand, I use my nagging, outsider sensation to push for a seat at the community table when important conversations and potential opportunities occur. The invisible hat I wear during those occasions is “Economic Developer,” not “Arts Administrator.” That’s the mindset I need to represent my constituents.

And, finally, I do believe our industry sector is making progress and people are taking notice, but I’ve still got that one eye wide open.

Janet Langsam

Here in Westchester (NY), when we talk about the arts and the economy, we have a great story to tell. Working with Americans for the Arts, we have done successive reports every five years since 1995, building our economic impact to $156 million, with some 4,800 jobs.

It is a daunting task reaching out to 150 affiliates, begging data from overworked colleagues, doing live interviews with arts-goers and culling the information; but we do it because it is the single most important tool in our advocacy arsenal.

As an internal document, the report becomes our barometer; we know those are the numbers we have to beat in the next report. As an external document, it gets the attention of thought leaders in our community and perks up the ears of our legislators. It has also built broad community support. In a quick (and not so dirty) community SWOT analysis last year, 95 percent responded that the arts are important to Westchester’s economy.

Yet, as most arts councils, we struggle with the “conversation”—that is, how we talk about the value of the arts in tandem with this “dollars and cents” version of our net worth.

To help us shape the “net value” conversation, we developed a “Why Do the Arts Matter?” series of ads, featuring prominent business leaders saying things like:

“Art has the power to bring people together—especially at a time when every effort is being made to divide people in the world”

“The arts empower communities”

“There is no flourishing business community without a thriving arts environment”

“The arts contribute to innovation. Our world depends on students who can imagine the future.” 

These and other ads are available online and have been downloaded and used by all of our affiliate organizations in their own publications, as well as some of our local newspapers.

They are available, too, for any Americans for the Arts members (alongside their pARTnership Movement ads) who may want to replace our business leaders with their own and just use our format.

Paul Tyler

This summer has brought the Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City an unusual opportunity.

With the timing of the results from two major research projects, the Arts & Economic Prosperity IV (AEP IV) and the Local Arts Index (LAI) results, we have a complex and impressive overview of the arts ecology in Kansas City, one that’s never been seen before.

So, we’ve decided to host our first press conference in years. The event will include not just the highlights of the AEP IV figures, but also some of the key findings and takeaways from our Local Arts Index reports, all at the same time. This is without a doubt a big challenge, when you consider there’s so much information to cover.

The Kansas City metropolitan area sprawls over two states, five counties, and multiple cities, townships, and municipalities—I’ve heard that there are 117 different political jurisdictions here. We have five different LAI reports, one for each of the counties in our service area. That’s over 750 pages of detailed charts, graphs, and copy!

Then there’s also a regional report that combines all of the separate data into one unified look at the whole community, which also has some fascinating elements that are noteworthy. It’s humbling to realize that we can barely skim the surface of the information during a single event.

But the sheer volume of data now available is part of what drove the decision to take this approach. The two reports taken together provide the most complete and finely detailed study of the Kansas City arts community ever created. Breaking the data down into smaller segments would be easier, but it’s vital to get all of this information into the public sphere sooner rather than later. We’re in the beginning stages of regional community cultural planning, and waiting until the fall to release a second major study would slow our timetable for this considerably.

The July 19 event at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art will be just the beginning of a long string of community meetings, where we will explore more in depth some of the nuances and differences identified between the various locales. We’ll focus primarily on the core messages of AEP IV, about the size of the arts sector and the number of jobs and dollars that it brings to the community. But we’ll also delve into the basic inventories that were created for our research for the LAI. We’ve used geo-coded mapping software to create easily understood maps that demonstrate where arts resources are located geographically, which has been a very effective way to draw attention to some interesting patterns here.

Jackson County, MO, has the highest number of arts nonprofits of any of the five counties in the region, but most of them are clustered into a narrow band of land that runs north-south within a few miles east of the state line with Kansas. This means they are in close proximity to many of the residents of Johnson County, just to the west. This geography is important to understanding the relative rates of arts participation among the respective counties.

The high rates seen in Johnson County, which are some of the highest in the nation, are only made possible by the close proximity of an abundance of strong arts and cultural assets right next door, along the western corridor of Jackson County. Without these resources being so readily available, it’s hard to imagine how such high rates of participation could exist in Johnson County.

It’s also worth noting that the participation rates in Platte and Clay counties are about the same as for Jackson County, even though some of their residents have to travel much farther to participate in some kinds of arts and culture experiences. All of this becomes much easier to explain when you use mapping software to illustrate these concepts in dramatic fashion.

We’ll be working with our friends at Kansas City Area Development Council to develop the graphics and visuals for the press conference. They were one of our leading partners in the development of the campaign to promote Kansas City as America’s Creative Crossroads, and it’s great to be involved on another project with them.

We hope that people will take away from the event the realization that the residents of all the multiple localities in the Kansas City metropolitan region already rely on each other for shared assets and audiences. We want people to see that a regional community cultural plan is the next logical step in building a stronger, more prosperous, and vibrant Kansas City for the 21st Century.