Dedicated arts support from the District was cut by over 53% from FY 09 to FY 10. The reduction in dedicated arts support resulted in lost jobs, lost tax revenue, and lost services for residents. Increasing the grant making from the city is critical to maintaining not only arts businesses, but city revenue. Commission grant programs support established and emergent local arts businesses, and heavily motivate private and foundation giving.
In 2005 Arts and Culture organizations in the District paid over 335 million in wages to residents, and 62 million in taxes, supporting over 11,000 full time jobs. Jobs in the arts and culture sector leverage additional spending: non-local arts and culture attendees spend - on average - fourty additional dollars per event attended.
Many arts businesses have small annual budgets, and the impact of government funding on their programming is significant. 54% of all District non-profits have budgets under one million dollars, and while the average revenue for non-profits includes just 7% from Government sources, that small contribution is critical. We request that the District’s 2011 allocation for dedicated arts funding support local arts jobs, and the tax revenue base.
Additional Information:
Government funding for arts in the District occurs in two ways. The U.S. Congress sets the funding level for the National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs (NCACA) program, administered by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, which funds District arts organizations of national reputation with budgets over $1 milliion dollars. In 2010 the budget for NCACA was 9.5 million dollars. The Mayor and the DC City Council are responsible for setting the funding level for the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH), the granting agency for all District artists and arts organizations. [Note: Organizations that receive operating supporting through NCACA are disallowed from receiving operating support from the DCCAH. They may, and do, apply for project and program support.]
From Arts and Economic Prosperity Study III – highlights, Americans for the Arts
“The findings also reveal that non-local attendees spend twice as much as local attendees ($40.19 vs. $19.53), demonstrating that when a community attracts cultural tourists, it harnesses significant economic rewards.“
From Local First – Ten Reasons to Buy Local
“For every $100 spent at a locally owned business, $45 goes back into the community and our tax base…Embrace what makes us different. Our one-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of the distinctive character of our community. Where we shop; where we eat and hang out - all of it makes Washington DC home. That is what brought us here and will keep us here.”
Arts Founding Watch is the Foundation Center’s newsletter devoted to the arts. It provides links to arts-related news, funding opportunities and job listings.
The New York Foundation for the Arts is the largest provider of grants, services and information to artists working in the United States. The site provides information for both artists and organizations.
