Americans for the Arts post these numbers relating to the important role arts play in our lives, our livelihoods:
5.7 million — jobs
100,000 — nonprofit arts organizations
612,000 — arts-centric businesses
4.3 percent — of all American businesses
$29.6 billion — in tax revenue
$166.2 billion — total economic impact
The Art of Finding Funds: Utah Arts Organizations Retool for Leaner Times,a Salt Lake Tribune article on how that state’s art organizations are coping, provides some interesting perspective. Here’s an excerpt:
“And in trying economic times, many in the nonprofit world have rallied around the time-honored advice of nonprofit arts guru Michael M. Kaiser. Maintain the strongest programming possible, advises Kaiser, president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and look to diversify funding sources….For Utah arts organizations, that means considering offerings with a fresh set of eyes, looking to staff for more talent and resources, and, yes, scaling back fundraising events while searching for additional funds with renewed determination.”
Tammy Christel 
