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Throughout North Dakota, arts and culture are centered on building stronger communities, improving the quality of education, and fostering economic growth. As a state arts agency, NDCA cannot lobby state government or advocate for specific legislation. However, NDCA believes it is critical to expand awareness and the understanding of the power of the arts and culture, and humanities in building healthy, livable communities. NDCA is providing information and resources to help our allies in the cultural community tell their stories to government officials, private funders, and the public.

Creative Industries in North Dakota

The National Creative Industries report offers a research-based approach to understanding the scope and economic importance of the arts in North Dakota and nationally. The creative industries are composed of arts-centric businesses that range from nonprofit museums, symphonies, and theaters to for-profit film, architecture, and advertising companies. The creative industries are the high-octane fuel that drives the “information economy”—the fastest growing segment of the nation’s economy.

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2017 Economic Impact Study

2017 statewide and comparative data from Economic Impact Study shows the arts mean business in North Dakota!

A copy of the study is available via this link

The North Dakota Council on the Arts recently participated in a study on the economic impact of the arts in North Dakota. The results demonstrate the exceptional impact of the arts on the economy of our state. The survey, Arts & Economic Prosperity 5, was conducted by Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education. The most comprehensive economic impact study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry ever conducted in the United States, Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 concludes that the nonprofit arts and culture industry in North Dakota generates $109.2 million in annual economic activity—supporting 4,006 full-time equivalent jobs and generating $10 million in local and state government revenues. Further results show that North Dakota nonprofit arts and culture organizations spent $56.4 million during fiscal year 2015. This spending is far-reaching: organizations pay employees, purchase supplies, contract for services, and acquire assets within their community. Those dollars, in turn, generated $40.8 million in household income for local residents and nearly $4.5 million in local and state government revenues. A copy of North Dakota’s summary report is available at http://bit.ly/ND-AEP17. A PowerPoint presentation summarizing North Dakota's study is available via this link. The arts mean business, as this research shows the nonprofit arts and culture industry is an economically sound investment.

2007 Economic Impact Study

NDCA's 2007 Arts & Economic Impact Study

A copy of the 2007 study is available via this link

Results from a study conducted by Americans for the Arts in partnership with the North Dakota Council on the Arts, were released on October 17, 2007. The study examined the economic impact of nonprofit arts and culture organizations and their audiences in the state of North Dakota. Compelling new evidence from this study indicates that the nonprofit arts and culture are a $102 million industry in the state of North Dakota - one that supports 2,441 full-time equivalent jobs and generates $9 million in local and state government revenue. Nonprofit arts and culture organizations, which spend $47 million each year, leverage a remarkable $55 million in additional spending by arts and culture audiences - spending that pumps vital revenue into local restaurants, hotels, retail stores, and other businesses. By demonstrating that investing in the arts and culture yields economic benefits, the Arts & Economic Prosperity III lays to rest the common misconception that communities support the arts and culture at the expense of local economic development. In fact, communities that support arts and culture not only enhance their quality of life, they also invest in their economic well-being. Nationwide, the Arts & Economic Prosperity III reveals that the nonprofit arts industry produces $166 billion in economic activity every year, resulting in $30 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenues.