Nearly half of the nation’s healthcare institutions provide arts programming for patients, families, and staff.  80% provide these programs because they benefit patients and create a healing environment.

With billions in arts funding, businesses play a key role in ensuring the health and vitality of the nation’s arts sector.  Business support for the arts is driven less by a charitable focus than it is targeted on how the arts impact the communities in which their employees live and work.

Giving to the arts by individuals, foundations, and corporations grew 12.6% to $21.64 billion in 2019 (+10.6% when adjusted for inflation) and represented 4.8% of all charitable giving.

History of NEA funding. 

A history of National Endowment for the Arts funding from 1966-2021.

Americans are highly engaged in the arts and believe more strongly than ever that the arts promote personal well-being, help us understand other cultures in our community, are essential to a well-rounded K-12 education, and that government has an important role in funding the arts.

Local arts agencies—arts councils, arts commissions, cultural affairs departments—are an essential tool for community leaders as they rebuild their economies and promote social cohesion. The nation’s 4,500 local arts agencies (LAAs) support, present, and promote the dynamic value of the arts. Through their partnerships and leadership, LAAs are building healthier communities through the arts in the following ways:

The arts are fundamental to our humanity. They ennoble and inspire us—fostering creativity, empathy, and beauty. The arts also strengthen our communities socially, educationally, and economically—benefits that persist even during a pandemic that has been devastating to the arts. The following ten reasons show why an investment in artists and arts organizations is vital to the nation’s post-pandemic healing and recovery.