about americans for the arts

Americans for the Arts is the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. With almost 50 years of service, we are dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts.

With offices in Washington, DC and New York, and more than 5,000 organizational and individual members and stakeholders across the country, we are focused on three primary external goals:

1. Lead and serve individuals and organizations to help build environments in which the arts and arts education thrive and contribute to more vibrant and creative communities.
2. Generate meaningful public and private sector policies and more leaders and resources for the arts and arts education.
3. Build individual awareness and appreciation of the value of the arts and arts education.

To achieve these goals, we partner with local, state, and national arts organizations; government agencies; business leaders; individual philanthropists; educators; and funders throughout the country. We provide extensive arts industry research, and information and professional development opportunities for community arts leaders via specialized programs and services, including a content-rich website and an annual national convention.

Local arts agencies throughout the United States comprise our core constituency. A variety of unique stakeholder groups with particular interests like public art, united arts fundraising, rural and small communities, state arts agencies, and emerging arts leaders are also supported. Through national visibility and local outreach, we strive to motivate and mobilize opinion leaders and decision-makers who can make the arts thrive in America.

Americans for the Arts produces annual events that heighten national visibility for the arts, including Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, DC; the Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy; the National Arts Awards; and the Public Leadership in the Arts Awards (in cooperation with the U.S. Conference of Mayors). Local arts organizations in communities throughout the country benefit from special national projects such as the National Arts Marketing Project, the Animating Democracy project, the Americans for the Arts Annual Convention, and the National Arts Education Public Advertising Campaign with the Ad Council.

Americans for the Arts was created in 1996 as a result of the merger between the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies (NALAA) and the American Council for the Arts (ACA). 

In 2005, Americans for the Arts completed another successful merger with Arts & Business Council, Inc., allowing the organization to increase its efforts to secure increased funding for the arts from the private sector. In 2008, Americans for the Arts began the process of merging with the Business Committee for the Arts. Together, these two organizations will be able to more effectively achieve their goals of engaging and increasing business support of the arts in America. This merger transaction requires final approval of the New York State Attorney General and the New York Supreme Court and we expect the process to be completed soon.

This history of successful mergers has been led by Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert L. Lynch who has grown the Americans for the Arts annual budget from $2.7 million in 1996 to $16 million in 2009.