Economic Impact
From major metropolitan areas to small rural towns, research shows that the nonprofit arts and culture industry is an economically sound investment. It attracts audiences, spurs business development, supports jobs and generates government revenue. Locally as well as nationally, the arts mean business.
Turning Around Downtown: Twelve Steps to Revitalization
From the Brookings Institution. Highlight: “Downtown revitalization requires a high degree of cooperation and is best achieved when a unique private/public process is used.” Brookings Institution Report
1930s-era landmark being restored
5/29/07 – As a young girl in the 1950s, Deborah Loving saw “Old Yeller” and “Love Me Tender” at the Henrico Theatre. Decades later, she took her children to movies there. Now, Loving is eager to let her grandchildren discover the landmark theater in Highland Springs, known for its art deco design.
The Henrico Theatre, on East Nine Mile Road, is scheduled to reopen in October following a $5.8 million renovation, restoration and expansion by Henrico County. The 400-seat theater will be used for community-arts programs and events, including theater and film festivals. In many ways, the venue will be eastern Henrico’s answer to the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen.
Study shows $166 billion in economic activity and 5.7 million jobs are generated annually by the nonprofit arts and culture industry
5/22/07 — Americans for the Arts announced today the results of the most comprehensive economic impact study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry ever conducted in the United States. Entitled Arts & Economic Prosperity III, the report reveals that the nonprofit arts industry generates $166.2 billion in economic activity every year, resulting in $29.6 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenues.
The nation’s nonprofit arts and culture industry has grown steadily since the first analysis by Americans for the Arts in 1992, expanding at a rate greater than inflation. Between the second study conducted in 2000 and 2005, spending by organizations and their audiences grew 24 percent, revealing the nonprofit arts industry as a formidable business and economic driver for communities across the country.
Another community finds investment in arts pays dividends
The money that pours into local arts events has the Greater Morgantown economy humming to the tune of $4.1 million according to a study commissioned by Arts Monongahela. The year-long research project, conducted by the West Virginia University Bureau of Business and Economic Research, surveyed arts patrons from July 2005 to June 2006 to see where they came from and how much they spent. Seventeen non-profit arts organizations participated representing the diversity of arts that flourish here in Morgantown: theatre, dance, visual and literary arts.
More than 60,000 individuals attended 121 arts events in Monongalia County during the survey period. The study estimated that these arts patrons spent more than $2.8 million in tickets, at restaurants, and retail businesses generating a total economic impact of $4.1 million. The study found the average visitor spent $51.16.
WDDI Economic Impact
Waynesboro Downtown Development, Inc.
Position Statement
Wayne Theatre Alliance Funding
May 2007
WDDI Position Statement
“Attendance at arts events generates related commerce for local businesses such as restaurants, parking garages, hotels and retail stores. Data collected from 94,478 attendees at a range of events reveal an average spending of $27.79 per person, per event – in addition to the cost of admission. This spending generated an estimated $103.1 billion of valuable revenue for local merchants and their communities in 2005.”
“Nonprofit arts and culture organizations in the United states drive a $166 billion industry – a growth industry that supports 5.7 million full-time jobs and generates nearly $30 billion in government revenues annually. This study lays to rest a common misconception: that communities support arts and culture at the expense of local economic development. In fact, communities are investing in an industry that supports jobs, generates government revenue, and is the cornerstone of tourism.”
Arts & Economic Prosperity III, 2007
Americans for the Arts
