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.
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.
NDCA's work reaches across the state of North Dakota, benefiting citizens of all ages and communities of all sizes. The following brief video highlights the partnership between the arts and state government in five critical areas: Sense of Place/Quality of Life; Economic Development; Education; Health and Wellness; and Heritage and Culture. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grjYchdQ7T0&list=FLqlqMG94cvRF2jZeY2BvG3Q.
Access a wealth of tools to help you make your case, assess your advocacy strength, mobilize support and expand your influence:
The Creative Industries report offers a research-based approach to understanding the scope and economic importance of the arts in North Dakota. 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. For more information, visit: http://aftadc.brinkster.net/North_Dakota/North_Dakota.pdf.
A copy of the 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. In addition, it generates the following: 6 million full-time equivalent jobs and $104 billion in resident household income.
The Arts & Economic Prosperity III study shows that nonprofits arts support more jobs than accountants and auditors, public safety officers, and even lawyers, and just slightly fewer than elementary school teachers. Spending by nonprofit arts and culture organizations provide rewarding employment for more than just artists, curators, and musicians but they also directly support builders, plumbers, accountants, printers, and an array of occupations.
Americans for the Arts enlisted 156 communities and regions across the United States (representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia) to participate in this study. Americans for the Arts' economic impact studies continue to be among the most frequently cited statistics used to demonstrate the impact of the nation’s nonprofit arts industry on the local, state, and national economy.
The arts mean business, as this research shows the nonprofit arts and culture industry is an economically sound investment.
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It is our mission to promote, preserve and perpetuate the arts in North Dakota.
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