The Private Sector Network Council

The Private Sector Network of Americans for the Arts is comprised of local arts organizations, creative businesses, and local government, that work together to foster arts and non-arts business partnerships and engage business leaders as arts advocates in their local communities. Historically the Private Sector Network included Arts & Business Councils, Business Committees for the Arts, and United Arts Funds. These organizations and their leaders specialize in cross-sector partnerships, community partnerships, and leveraging opportunities with their local business sector. Today, the Private Sector Network supports any local arts organizations and individuals working to strengthen the connection between the arts and non-arts business community.

Americans for the Arts convenes this network both in-person and virtually to share best practices, resources, and training.

The Private Sector Network Council

The Private Sector Network Advisory Council’s role is to advise Americans for the Arts staff on effective strategies that advance the following goals: reposition the arts as mutually respected partners with business; shift business mentality so that the arts are seen as solutions to company and community business objectives; aligned advocacy efforts to address social issues; and increased resources for the arts and culture sector.

Arts & Business Councils and Business Committees for the Arts

Arts & Business Councils (ABC) and Business Committees for the Arts (BCA) are organizations that provide services to local community arts organizations with a focus on arts connections and partnerships with business. Americans for the Arts staff provides capacity-building education, connection, and leadership for the network of independent ABCs and BCAs across the country.

View a listing of Arts & Business Councils and Business Committees for the Arts and if you are interested in starting an A&BC or a BCA, please contact our staff ([email protected]).

United Arts Funds & Community Arts Funders

United Arts Funds (UAFs) are local arts agencies that raise money from individuals, businesses, and foundations to regrant to local arts institutions and provide support to the cultural community. UAFs grants provide ongoing support to arts groups by consolidating cultural fundraising efforts in one organization and use their knowledge of the cultural community to disperse the funds accordingly. Today, UAFs and community arts funders around the country are shifting toward the role of full-service local arts agencies–involving themselves in cultural planning, implementing programs that engage the community through the arts, and providing capacity-building programs and other services to arts organizations in the region.

View a listing of United Arts Funds (UAF) around the country and learn more about the work they do in their local communities. If you are interested in learning more about establishing a community arts funding program or united arts fund, please contact our staff ([email protected])

Local Arts Agencies

A Local Arts Agency (LAA) is a community organization or local government agency that supports cultural organizations, provides services to artists or arts organizations, and/or presents arts programming to the public. LAAs endeavor to make the arts part of the daily fabric of community living. Americans for the Arts also supports the 4,500 LAAs across the country through the Local Arts Network. All local arts agency leaders and their staff are welcome to participate in any programming through the Private Sector Network as a means to build their capacity to establish and strengthen partnerships with their business sector.

For resources, programming, tools and research available to support these organizations, leaders, and the network, please visit the Arts & Business Hub.

For more information on forming arts and business partnerships, visit the pARTnership Movement, an initiative that prepares arts organizations to position themselves as key partners to help advance business objectives, while communicating to business the value and importance of partnering with the arts to gain a competitive edge.