While this was originally created for a university audience, it can be re-purposed for other audiences.

1. LONG-TERM ECONOMIC
GROWTH AND
SUSTAINABILITY BY
INVESTING IN THE ARTS
By Chelsea Casanave
Christopher Newport University

2. Long-Term Economic Growth and
Sustainability by Investing in the Arts
• A look at the arts industry in America
• What is sustainability?
• The arts in relation to sustainability.
• A study of the economic impact of the arts
• Implications
• Activity
• Discussion

3. The Arts and Economic Prosperity

4. How Will We Define the Arts?
“The Arts” is a phrase that includes a variety of activities:
• Theater
• Music
• Dance
• Arts/Crafts
• Museums
• Film
• Design

5. Understanding For-Profit vs. Nonprofit Arts
in the U.S.
For-Profit Non-Profit
Commercial industries Registered 501(c)3 organizations
Purpose: Profit Purpose: Education
Survives on sales Survives on sales as well as donors,
members, government/private funding,
endowments, and partnerships.
Products: Shows, merchandise, in some
cases, food
Products: Shows, merchandise, in some
cases, food, community programs,
educational programs, cultural
preservation.

6. What is Sustainability?
• Sustainability is an organization’s chances of existing in the future
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs.”
G. White
•Economic sustainability refers to an organization’s income as
well as its impacts on the economy as a whole.
•Social sustainability refers to an organization’s ability to manage
stakeholders in an ethical and sustainable way.
•Environmental sustainability refers to an organization’s use
of and impact on the environment.

7. Benefits of the Arts by Sustainability Category
Social Economic
• Improve academic performance
• Spark creativity and innovation, a
job skill requested by 72% of
business leaders
• Social impact: Higher civic
engagement, more social
cohesion, higher child welfare, and
lower poverty rates
• Improved healthcare (healing and
social benefits)
• Strengthen the economy
• Good for local merchants and
businesses
• Drive tourism
• Are an export industry (In 2011,
arts exports totaled 72 billion vs.
arts imports, 25 billion)
• Employ 3.1million people in the
United States (2014)

8. Americans for the Arts Study
Arts and Economic Prosperity IV
The most comprehensive U.S. nonprofit arts impact study to date
• 182 regions
• All 50 states
• Population 1,600 to 4 million
• Rural to urban

9. Americans for the Arts Study

10. Americans for the Arts Study
• In 2010, nonprofit arts and culture organizations contributed 6.1
billion dollars to the U.S. economy.
• The average audience member spends $24.60 per event, not
counting the cost of admission.

11. Americans for
the Arts Study
Non-local attendees
spend twice as much.

12. So What?
• The benefits reaped from the arts are long-term in nature.
• The presence of the arts in a community will increase economic
sustainability both directly and indirectly.
• For example, people raised in an arts community, as we have seen in social and
economic sustainability comparisons, will do better in life. They will get better
scores and better jobs. By living and spending in that community, they increase
its wealth.
This method of examining the interconnectedness of all systems is
called Systems Thinking.

13. Systems Thinking
“Sustainability development is multi-faceted, and, as a result, it requires a
systematic approach.”
G. White

14. Activity
• Every group of two people will represent either a for-profit or a
non-profit arts organization
• Within your group, write down three systems that the arts are a
part of and how the arts contribute to the systems.
• What variables will impact the arts in this system?
• What variables will the arts impact in this system?
• EXAMPLE
Nonprofit Arts
System: Restaurant Industry
Variables: Having a community theater near a restaurant increases business
for both. People often go to community organizations for classes, so they
might spend money at a restaurant.

15. Asking Questions
• How do people regard the arts? Would this data change their
perspective?
• What makes the arts unique as an industry?
• How do the arts function from a business standpoint?
• The arts are often considered “stuck in the past” or for cultural
appreciation only. While the benefits of practicing the arts are
clear, how can we continue to develop the arts industry so that it
grows and changes with the times?
• For example, the Punchdrunk theater company offers its participants an
experience they cannot get anywhere else: Interactive theater where you wander
around the set and experience the action as you wish.
• How can we make use of the positive social change the arts
creates?
• For example, the NEA partnered with the departments of Justice and Juvenile
Delinquency to create “Arts Conflict resolution” Education

16. Asking Questions
• How can universities such as CNU be at the forefront of change in
Arts Education and growth?

17. References
Americans for the Arts. (January 14th, 2014). Arts & Economic Prosperity IV: An
Introduction [flv]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIA0RVYn24c#t=181
Arts & Economic Impact IV Brochure. (2014). [PDF] pp. 1-2. Available through:
https://www.google.com/search?q=american+for+the+arts&oq=american+for+the+
arts&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60l3j0l2.4136j0j9&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF
-8 [Accessed: 7 Apr 2014].
Christopher Newport University. (n.d.) Ferguson Center Exterior [jpg]. Retrieved
April 7th, 2014, from http://fergusoncenter.org/about/.
Dr. Thomas Riley Kennedy O’Connor. (n.d.) Systems Thinking Chart [jpg]. Retrieved
April 7th, 2014, from http://drtomoconnor.com/4000/4000lect01.htm.
Ten Reasons to Support the Arts. (2013). [PDF]
http://www.americansforthearts.org/sites/default/files/pdf/information_services/res
earch/services/economic_impact/aepiv/AEP4_NationalHighlightsBrochure.pdf
[Accessed: 7 Apr 2014].
The Art in Peacemaking. (2002). [PDF]
http://arts.gov/sites/default/files/ArtinPeacemaking.pdf [Accessed: 7 Apr 2014].
White, G. B. (2009). Sustainability Reporting Managing for Wealth and Corporate
Health. New York, N.Y.] (222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017): Business Expert
Press.