Guest post by Margy Waller,
Cincinnati Fine Arts Fund

Many of us have spent years searching for the strongest possible message and the best case on which to build support for the arts. Yet, the messages we have used to create dialogue in communities across the country have not yielded the broad sense of shared responsibility for the arts that we seek.

In late 2008, leaders of the Fine Arts Fund, with financial support from The Greater Cincinnati Foundation and the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, embarked on a research initiative designed to develop a communications strategy for an inclusive community dialogue leading to broadly shared public responsibility for arts and culture. The result of that work, The Arts Ripple Effect Report, was released early in 2009.

Perceptions shape behavior toward the arts

After a year of investigation and hundreds of interviews with residents of the area and surrounding states, this research—conducted with the Topos Partnership, a national communications research organization—finds that public responsibility for the arts is undermined by deeply entrenched perceptions. Members of the public typically have positive feelings toward the arts, some quite strong, but how they think about the arts is shaped by a number of common default patterns that obscure a sense of shared responsibility in this area.

For example, it is natural and common for people who are not insiders to think of the arts in terms of entertainment. Problematically, entertainment is a matter of personal taste, not public responsibility, and is viewed as an extra—not as a necessity. People make several assumptions that work against the objective of positioning the arts as a public good.

• The arts are a private matter: Arts are about individual tastes, experiences and enrichment, and individual expression by artists.
• The arts are a good to be purchased: Therefore, most assume that the arts should succeed or fail, as any product does in the marketplace, based on what people want to purchase.
• People expect to be passive, not active: People expect to have a mostly passive, consumer relationship with the arts. The arts will be offered to them, and therefore do not need to be created or supported by them.
• The arts are a low priority: Even when people value art, it is rarely high on their list of priorities.

These points represent the “default thinking” of people in the community, and indicate that the existing landscape of public understanding is not conducive to a sense of broadly shared responsibility for the arts.

A new message to inspire public support

Of the many communications approaches explored in our testing, one stood out as having the most potential to shift thinking and conversations in a constructive direction. This approach emphasizes one key organizing idea:

A thriving arts sector creates “ripple effects” of benefits throughout our community.

This message is at the heart of a communications strategy that helps position arts and culture as a public good, and helps people see this topic in a new way. In delivering this message, we have learned that the following two ripple effects are especially helpful and compelling to enumerate:

• A vibrant, thriving economy: Neighborhoods are more lively, communities are revitalized, tourists and residents are attracted to the area, etc. Note that this goes well beyond the usual dollars-and-cents argument and emphasizes creating an environment where people want to live, work, play, and stay.
• A more connected population: Diverse groups share common experiences, hear new perspectives, and understand each other better through the arts.

By conveying this message and describing key ripple effects, we are bringing new language with the power to create a broader sense of collective responsibility for the arts. This organizing concept for our message is simple and vivid, and helps people learn and remember our main idea.

This strategy emerged from significant testing conducted with a range of messages that are often associated with building public support for arts—including messages that emphasize civic inspiration, or focus on strengthening our identity as a great city, or highlight the positive connection between arts and youth.

It is fair to assume that at least some of the default patterns of thinking, as well as responses to messages we tested, reflect patterns that would be repeated elsewhere. We believe this research initiative provides a head start for those planning to embark on similar efforts in other parts of the country and at the national level.

Read the report and reviews.

Margy Waller is Vice President of Arts & Culture Partnership for the Fine Arts Fund, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more information and to discuss replication of this research, please contact her at mwaller@fineartsfund.org.

Is there anything special arts funders can do to help nonprofits and artists deal with the continued effects of a down economy? Something beyond continued funding opportunities, capacity building, and technical support?

That’s the question The San Francisco Foundation (a participant in Irvine’s Communities Advancing the Arts) and a group of Bay Area arts funders took on halfway through 2009. And the result was a welcome relief from hard times for 700 artists and arts leaders who attended the Dynamic Adaptability conference last week at the historic Herbst Theatre.

An untypical gathering

This conference brought together creative thinkers from arts, neuroscience, business, media and philanthropy for a day of conversations. The idea was not to highlight a single strategy, emphasize a certain type of skill, or support a specific new set of relationships. To the contrary, this was a day to do something different—to be stimulated and inspired, and to turn the tide from one of cautious hope to one of genuine optimism for continued vibrancy in the Bay Area’s diverse arts ecology.

The day was keynoted by Jonah Lehrer, neuroscientist and author of How We Decide and Proust was a Neuroscientist. His rich ability to make insightful connections between art and science was catnip for the group. In the context of deep understanding of the human brain and its dual needs for focus and relaxation, he makes the persuasive point that, “Art is truth. Art teaches us something special about the mind.” In particular, he makes the case that, “Arts are deeply practical in helping us think about thinking.” In this way, arts can play a role in helping people learn new ways of thinking—including creative thinking. It’s a powerful argument.

Informative material, informal exchanges

The conference featured doses of data, including new research from Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC) indicating that Bay Area artists are, when compared to their peers nationally:

• More affected financially by the recession (more declines in grant amounts, fewer sales of work, and greater declines in non-arts income)
• More likely to have second jobs in the arts (seven of ten artists nationally hold at least one job in addition to making art)
• More likely to engage in volunteer activities (in and outside of the arts) More likely to say that artists have a special role in strengthening their communities at this time
• More likely to believe that future success will require a new outlook and approach after the economy stabilizes
• More highly educated, less white and African-American, and more Asian and Latino

Brief presentations led to conversations among panels of practitioners and thought leaders on topics such as:

• How has the way that artists engage audiences and markets been affected by the recession? How can we help artists strengthen their connections with their audiences, communities and support systems?
• What inspires people to want to be involved in something beyond themselves, including arts and culture? How can artists and cultural organizations form deeper and more authentic connections with their audiences, donors and communities?
• What are the implications of the demographic and technological changes we are experiencing for arts and cultural organizations? How can we adapt effectively to the evolving environment?

Memorable lessons

The day was a juicy mix of reality check, intellectual calisthenics, and new tools and techniques. A few more highlights:

• Margaret Jenkins, who leads the dance company bearing her name, has navigated through many recessions in 35 years of choreographing community-based dance programs. Her advice spans dance and business: “The only way to keep your balance is to move forward.”
• Perry Chen, CEO of Kickstarter, an online funding platform for artists and other inventors, makes it clear that artists need to make a pointed ask. When artists ask “can you help me?” they will get some response. When they ask “can you help me do X?” they will get a better response. And when they ask “can you help me do X, for which you will get Y?” they get the best response. Donors want to invest in a particular project and outcome, and many really appreciate gaining something (even simple recognition or a pin or a free ticket) in return.
• Philip Huang, founder of Dana Street Theater, and a grantee of the East Bay Community Foundation Fund for Artists, put Perry Chen’s principles to work in a highly animated fashion, making an unexpected bid for arts funding from conference attendees. His new project is street theatre pantomime to be performed in the middle of the night, in view of people working out on the other side of the window in 24-hour exercise facilities. It’s titled Witness to Fitness. Philip’s spontaneous pitch raised nearly $200 of his $300 project funding goal. The trick behind his animated description of the project, his up-front response to questions from the crowd (Q: “Why are you doing this piece.” A: “Art doesn’t need to have a reason.”) and his unabashed request to be “showered with money” is simple. “Thrill yourself,” says Philip, “and the money will come.”

A recurring theme, brought home by several speakers, is the need to always have “faith in our stories.” Artists and arts organization leaders need to keep their stories relevant to donor interests, even if it is a small set of donors who have real interest in the art experience offered, and to make it easy for these donors to become part of the stories. As Perry Chen commented on the colorful and engaging pitch made by Philip Huang, many of those in the audience “will tell this story tonight,” and those who contributed to his art will feel they have “a special place in it.”

Visit the conference website for more information.

The San Francisco Foundation and East Bay Community Foundation are part of Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

What makes arts donors tick? How can we connect with these givers?

These questions are top of mind for all who aim to increase donor support for community arts. Recently, a group of California community foundations turned to research guru Alan Brown to help deepen their understanding of donors. Their aim was clear: to shape more effective donor engagement strategies and accelerate local arts giving.

Alan crafted a powerful donor interview exercise that was put to remarkably good use by these community foundations—all of whom are part of Irvine’s Communities Advancing the Arts initiative. The process and its benefits are shared here, along with key documents, for use by others seeking to connect more closely with arts donors.

A meaningful experience

“I was a little apprehensive to dig as deep as the interview asked us to and was concerned we might be intruding too much into topics people considered personal, but donors had no problems with our questions, and what we learned was very helpful,” said Todd Hansen of Orange County Community Foundation. According to Melissa Kester of Community Foundation Sonoma County, “We had one long-time donor start the interview by telling us that we already knew everything about her giving and motivations… she then proceeded to tell us so many new things that we felt like we hadn’t known her at all!”

Alan, who is a consultant and principal with WolfBrown, created questions, placed them in an interview protocol and constructed a thorough briefing used to train a group of nine community foundations in all aspects of requesting, confirming and conducting the interview.

Once prepped, community foundations sent out staffers in pairs to conduct each interview.  Development, donor services, communications and program people, as well as CEOs, took part. “Everyone has interviewing skills,” suggested Alan.

Each community foundation assembled one or two interview teams. And each team conducted two or three interviews. All together, these teams conducted about 30 interviews with arts donors around the state (including some who give through their community foundation and some who do not). Team members then came together to compare results.

This process was designed to surface new insights about why donors give to the arts, and to help community foundations strengthen their relationships with specific arts donors. It did plenty of both. Hugh Ralston at Ventura County Community Foundation reported, “We had a very positive experience and rich conversation. The interview protocol worked very well. People were pleased to participate… and many valued thinking about the questions that we put forward.”

A ready-made process

Alan and Irvine have made this process and related tools available for use by any interested community foundation. Here’s how it works, in three primary steps.

Step 1. Set the stage and ask probing questions

Because multiple community foundations were involved in these interviews, they were able to introduce this exercise as a statewide study of arts donors. This framing was important—it helped donors know that this activity extended beyond their community and their community foundation. And it was made clear that this activity was about gaining information, not about asking for a new gift.

Interviews were scheduled for a maximum of 60 minutes. They were conducted using a sequence of questions organized in six core areas—each of which is stated below (along with a sample question or two), and presented in full in the attached donor interview protocol.

1. Leisure time. How are you most likely to spend your leisure time? How do you express yourself creatively?
2. Core values. When you think about all your various affiliations and causes, are there any convictions, beliefs or principles that explain why you do what you do?
3. Donor motivations. Generally, how do you decide which arts programs or projects to support? What influences your decision the most?
4. Personal involvement. How much personal involvement do you like to have with the organizations you support? How do you like to be involved?
5. Accountability. How are you assured that your contributions are well used? Do you trust arts groups to use the funds wisely, or do you like to have some proof or evidence that your contributions are well used?
6. Community foundations. Some people prefer to support arts organizations directly, while other people support arts programs through a community foundation. What are the pluses and minuses of each way of giving?

Step 2. Test the values framework

Interviewers then “tested” a values framework, constructed by Alan with content drawn from the comprehensive RAND Corporation 2005 research report Gifts of the Muse, to help donors better identify their motivations for giving to the arts. This diagram provides a visual picture of the many ways that arts programs create benefits for individuals, families and communities. These benefits are organized in five primary categories (each of which is further described in the framework document):

• Personal development
• Economic & social benefits
• Human interaction
• Imprint of the arts experience
• Communal meaning

Interview subjects were presented with the framework, and asked to describe, “Which of its benefits are most important to you? Which of the five areas or ‘spheres of benefits’ resonate with you the most?”

Step 3. Pursue qualitative learning

This interview exercise was designed as a participative learning process—yielding qualitative data and deeper insights into individual donor interests. When the community foundation interviewers gathered to debrief their experience, Alan facilitated the group toward identification of relevant themes and implications. Highlights:

• There is an explosion of creative expression in society today; it is taking multiple forms (cooking, gardening, dressing, designing attractive living spaces, etc.).
• There is a narrative to learn about most donors—understanding how they are put together provides insight into understanding their giving. (One donor attended the interview debrief session, and through an informal exchange expressed a set of core personal values readily identified by the interviewer group. This donor cared deeply about community, investment in community, access to quality education for all people, and respecting and honoring the work of previous generations of family philanthropists.)
• Format innovation is the next frontier in audience development; the range of innovation is broad, and includes experiments such as providing longer intermissions to facilitate Twitter exchanges, to providing interpretive text on personal data devices (e.g., iPhones, Blackberrys) that can accompany musical performances in real time.
• Some donors are really interested in evidence of impact, which arts organizations don’t typically capture. Related, we are seeing emphasis on accountability because of donor interests and the economy.
• Performing arts organizations often lack quality photos and visuals that help people stay connected to their experience and thereby retain evidence of impact. Symbols of the experience are important. This helps explain why rock concerts sell t-shirts and sports teams sell hats at games. Consultant Jerry Yoshitomi was referenced for his emphasis on these “memory elicitation devices.” Alan said that, “printed programs are what people hang on to because they are not yet ready to let go of their emotional connection to the arts experience.”
• People have different attitudes toward engagement and different levels of involvement; part of our diagnostic process is to find out what level of involvement people want, and find interesting ways for them to be involved at that level. On a related note, Alan commented that, “It takes people about three years to learn the cultural assets of a community once they move to it.” And that, “people often get to know their community by going to museums.”
• The ability to identify cross-cutting needs that are not owned by any single institution, and that relate to donor interests, should be a strength of community foundations. An example Alan cited here is keeping older adults involved in creative pursuits. These types of opportunities are often bigger than any individual arts organization, and play to the strengths of community foundations to identify relevant needs, help people champion these needs, and advance a community vitality agenda.
• Local dynamics between the community foundation and arts community have implications for much of this work. Arts nonprofits have their own agendas and interests, and don’t always see community foundations as their advocates. Community foundations need to sit down with arts organizations early in the work of supporting community arts; once relationships develop, the networking and collaborations that follow are phenomenal.

Big take aways

What are the major lessons for all who are dedicated to growing community arts? Recognize donors for their expertise. Gain their opinions. Invite them to describe themselves. Learn and share their stories.
In other words, keep asking questions. And listening.

This learning experience was sponsored through Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

While everyone figured the local arts scene in this Southern California area was booming, the Ventura County Community Foundation decided to get the facts. It turns out that arts are bigger news than anyone knew. The number of nonprofit arts organizations reporting more than $25,000 in revenues nearly doubled since 1996. Plus, at a total economic contribution of $121 million, these nonprofits are a major player in the financial mix—contributing to a regional arts economy that is on par with agriculture and construction.

It’s all in Ventura County and the Arts: Impact and Opportunity for Community. The report takes a holistic look at the state of arts in the region: arts’ scale, scope, and economic significance; the nature and needs of arts organizations and artists at work locally; levels of arts participation; and programs for arts education.  Research findings are in turn fueling strategies for ArtsLIVE in Ventura County, a multi-year initiative to strengthen local arts organizations and support local artists.

Key Findings

The following facts help paint the picture of the local arts landscape—and its contribution to community vitality.

1. Arts organizations in Ventura County are growing in numbers and size. Between 1996 and 2008, the number of nonprofit arts organizations in Ventura County registered with the IRS has grown from 213 to 312, and the number of those filing 990’s (forms required for organizations reporting income of over $25,000) increased from 84 to 158. The total revenue of these organizations increased from $10.6 million in 1996 to more than $74 million in returns sampled in 2008.
2. Arts organizations employ or involve thousands of people in Ventura County. Nearly 140 arts organizations surveyed are estimated to employ more than 2,000 people and about 1,000 artists, and involve nearly 8,000 board members and volunteers.
3. The arts boost the local economy significantly. Nonprofit arts organizations in Ventura County bring more than $121 million to the regional economy, are responsible for nearly 2100 jobs in the county and contribute a total of $21 million of tax payment to various branches of government.
4. The arts span all sectors of the economy. Nearly two-thirds of the arts organizations in Ventura County are nonprofit organizations, just over a quarter are for-profit businesses, and 5% are governmental.
5. The arts represent big regional impact. Arts-related businesses in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties and part of San Luis Obispo County generate nearly $2.1 billion in economic benefits, including supporting nearly 20,000 jobs. The arts sector contributes about the same amount to the regional economy as Ventura County’s agricultural production, construction or wholesale trade industries.

Ventura County Community Foundation is a participant in Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

A middle-schooler streams YouTube videos. A family shares its heritage through a holiday skit. A baby boomer starts a garage band. Today, many forms of cultural engagement take place off the radar of traditional nonprofit arts organizations.

How can community foundations help arts organizations better support the broad range of cultural engagement in diverse and changing communities? In particular, how can this support be provided more effectively and equitably? These questions are at the center of Cultural Engagement in California’s Inland Regions, research that explores patterns of cultural engagement in two rapidly growing, ethnically diverse areas: the San Joaquin Valley and the Inland Empire.

Study highlights

The study, conducted by WolfBrown, prompts new discussion of ways community foundations, donors, and nonprofits can support arts and culture. Key findings are:

• A broad, inclusive definition is important to understanding total cultural engagement—old definitions leave too much out
• Personal participation levels are high—many people are engaged in activities such as photography, painting or drawing, singing or playing an instrument, and social dancing
• Much cultural engagement occurs in non-arts spaces—for example, the home, places of worship and parks are among the prominent places in the cultural life of communities
• Heritage-based and social forms of cultural engagement attract racially diverse participants—many cultural activities are deeply embedded in religious, political and social contexts that vary by community
• The emergence of “curatorial” arts activities is changing the landscape of cultural engagement—many youth and a growing number of adults are selecting, organizing and editing the art in their lives
• Significant interest in arts learning activities goes unmet—for example, a significant number of respondents indicate they would like to take dance or music lessons, or learn more about photography
• Role models are key players in the cultural ecosystem—respondents who could identify a person who inspired or supported their creative expressions were much more likely to engage in participatory cultural activities and attend arts programs
• Certain types of programming may increase broad-based cultural vitality in communities and across cultural groups—examples include helping adults and children chronicle their lives and tell their stories; and helping identify and stimulate use of community venues, such as public schools, parks and outdoor settings, retail establishments and churches as programmable arts spaces

This executive briefing suggests additional program approaches for increasing cultural vitality, and contains questions for consideration by service providers and funders who are looking to broaden the intersection of arts and community.

This research was commissioned by The James Irvine Foundation.

A bigger table means room for more people. Sacramento Region Community Foundation is expanding the table—virtually—with a blog aimed at encouraging conversation about local arts. It’s at advancesacarts.blogspot.com, and it supports multiple gatherings that are taking place around a single question: What’s the best way to bring new, long-term resources to arts organizations in Sacramento?

The first of these sessions drew more than 35 of the region’s most influential and passionate supporters of the arts. The second involved leaders from more than 20 local arts organizations. Highlights of both sessions are reported on the blog, which invites additional input from community members.

Information, ideas and insights generated will fuel the work of an Arts Advisory Committee this summer; in turn leading to a new round of grantmaking in the fall. “We wanted to capture knowledge in real time,” said Priscilla Enriquez, the Community Foundation’s Chief Giving Officer, and creator of the blog.

And the blog will play an ongoing role—helping the foundation and community track progress and keep an open line of communication.

Check out this site and register for automatic updates at advancesacarts.blogspot.com.

This project was launched through Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

Take a moment to imagine what Los Angeles would be like without theatre, dance, music or paintings. That line, penned by Antonia Hernández, President and CEO of the California Community Foundation, opens a new brochure making the case for arts and culture as the lifeblood of a vibrant community. Everyone knows L.A.’s reputation as a hotbed of artistic innovation and diversity. Less known is the extent to which arts and culture are underfunded in this locale.

For example, the City of Los Angeles spent $.78 per person in arts grants compared with San Diego at $5.48 and San Francisco at $20.67.

Overlooked: smaller organizations and individuals

Especially vulnerable are small to midsize organizations and individual artists in the county. One study showed that more than 80% of arts funding went to groups with budgets of $2 million or more; these larger players make up less than 6% of the total nonprofit arts sector. Another study showed that only 2% of all arts funding in L.A. between 1998-2002 went to individual artists.

Funders in Los Angeles put their money in specific projects and events (78%), with far less (22%) going to general operating costs, endowment building, and capital campaigns.

Launching a community campaign

Through its Arts & Culture Fund, the California Community Foundation seeks to change this situation for the better. The foundation is calling on community to grow its endowment to $27 million by 2015. The goal is to help 150 emerging and mid-career artists rise to the next level, and 100 small and midsize organizations reach new audiences. In particular, the foundation aims to increase participation of diverse, ethnic and low-income individuals and communities in the arts.

This brochure includes more research data on the L.A. arts and culture landscape, as well as stories of the big impact that relatively small investments can make in this arena.

It was created with support from Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

Who knew? A surprising 64 percent of residents say that they or their family members create or participate in arts. It’s a fact that shows the value of research, and it came from the Orange County Cultural Indicators Report, this community’s first-ever study of arts giving and donor perceptions. The study was conducted by the Orange County Community Foundation and Arts Orange County. The attached report describes resident values and behavioral drivers related to the arts. It includes the case for investing in a creative community, a review of the research findings summarized below, and a set of recommendations for advancing the arts and culture sector.

Key findings

1. Orange County residents agree on the importance of a vibrant cultural sector in Orange County and recognize the social and personal benefits of the arts: 64 percent revealed that they or their immediate family members actively create or participate in the arts.
2. A deepening relationship with the arts leads to attendance and financial investment. Research reinforced that early or informal family involvement in the arts are the strongest drivers for future attendance.
3. The county’s nonprofit arts sector is young and undercapitalized. Seventy-five percent of local arts organizations were founded in the last 35 years.
4. Orange County residents place a high priority on the importance of the arts in the development and education of children. A remarkable 98 percent of residents agree that arts are critical for the education and development of children.
5. Orange County has a unique set of cultural assets that tells the story of the county’s cultural history and creates the cultural face it presents to the world. The County of Orange and its 34 cities have the capability to leverage these cultural assets to help create a unique sense of place for Orange County residents and visitors.
6. Leadership at all levels will be required to make Orange County a more creative community. These leaders can be bolstered by evidence of community support: 92 percent of residents agree on the importance of a vibrant cultural sector in Orange County.

This activity was conducted as part of Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

While lots of communities want to build a creative economy, too few are able to pull everyone together around a plan. Not so in Monterey County, where collaboration, research and dialogue led to a countywide blueprint for collective action. The process was led by the Community Foundation for Monterey County in tandem with the Arts Council for Monterey County. And it produced the first comprehensive approach to advancing local arts and culture.

Seeing the big picture

The attached report states the case for investing in a creative economy. It then presents goals, recommended strategies, and a timeline for implementing an action plan to advance this creative economy over a five-year period. It addresses the role of arts and culture in community life, makes a case for increased donor support to sustain arts and culture as part of a vibrant region, and describes an approach for increasing cultural patronage. It includes a review of local demographic trends pertinent to the arts.

Purpose and goals

The purpose of this planning was three-fold:

1. To guide actions of and collaborations among artists, arts agencies and arts educators regarding research, program development and public awareness
2. To guide public and private investment, including an array of short-term and long-term loans, grants and earned revenues
3. To guide the Arts Council for Monterey County in leading countywide research, planning, advocacy and support

Four goals resulted from this process:

• Develop greater participation in Monterey County’s culture and creative activities by residents and visitors
• Build and strengthen the creative industries as a major economic cluster in the region
• Make effective use of arts, culture and creative opportunities to promote vibrant and healthy communities, including education and workforce development
• Develop visible support mechanisms to nurture and promote arts, culture and creativity

This planning activity was conducted as part of Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

A new study helps answer the old question: What do arts bring to communities? It documents the economic impact of the nonprofit arts and culture industry, and covers 156 communities and regions representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The study was conducted by Americans for the Arts. It includes diverse communities, both rural and urban, ranging from four thousand to three million people.

The attached study focuses solely on nonprofit arts and culture organizations and their audiences and excludes spending by individual artists and the for-profit arts and entertainment sector. The two largest U.S. cities, New York and Los Angeles, each with more than $1 billion in organizational expenditures, were excluded from this study to avoid inflating the national estimates.

Arts are big business…with big benefits

America’s nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $166.2 billion in economic activity every year—$63.1 billion in spending by organizations and an additional $103.1 billion in event-related spending by audiences. The national impact of this activity is significant, supporting 5.7 million jobs and generating $29.6 billion in government revenue.

The impact of spending by nonprofit arts and culture organizations is far reaching; they pay their employees, purchase supplies, and acquire assets within the local community. Additionally, unlike most industries, nonprofit arts and culture leverage significant event-related spending by their audience. Whether serving the local community or out-of-town visitors, a vibrant arts and culture industry helps local businesses thrive.

San Diego has lots of arts and culture. But no one really knew how much the community cared about this arena… until the community foundation took a look. This research project studied who in the community is involved (or not) in the arts. It measured commitment to arts. And it examined the state of the nonprofit arts sector. The study was commissioned by The San Diego Community Foundation.

The attached report captures results of the study. It describes the role of arts and culture in community life, makes a case for increased donor support to sustain arts and culture as part of a vibrant region, and presents a plan for increasing cultural patronage. It includes an overview of the research methodology used.

Key findings

Five items headlined the results of this study.

1. Cultural participation needs to be deepened and expanded.
2. San Diego’s arts and culture community is under-funded.
3. People care about the arts: two-thirds of San Diegans would be willing to pay more taxes to support arts and culture.
4. The region places high priority on increasing arts education.
5. The San Diego Foundation should be a catalyst to help strengthen the arts and culture community.

Today, the foundation has advanced beyond this initial research to create a set of strategies for deepening the connection of arts to community throughout the San Diego area.

This research activity was conducted as part of Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.

“I am raising my son differently because of our work in the arts.” Shelley Hoss, President of the Orange County Community Foundation, is taking her organization’s newfound role in the arts personally. The story begins in the mid-1990s, when Shelley’s team recognized that arts represented “a gap in both our knowledge base and our role in this county. Living up to our responsibility to serve donors and community meant building more knowledge, relationships and value in the arts arena.” Three years into Communities Advancing the Arts, this sense of responsibility morphed into genuine passion. Says Shelley, “I have become a convert to the critical role of the arts in a healthy community, and for healthy individuals. Art is not an add-on or a bonus or something to do if you can get to it. It’s a key part of quality of life, which is what we are all about.”

Todd Hanson, Vice President for Donor Relations and Programs, is a believer as well. “Prior to this initiative, we would not have said much about the importance of the arts when talking with donors. Now, when a donor wants to know about community needs, we add arts to the mix, and we do it without detracting from any other area of community need.”

A fragmented arts scene

Orange County is home to nearly 500 arts organizations. Fewer than 20 are big players with more than $1 million in revenue; well over 400 are small organizations with revenue of less than $99,000. Arts venues, like the population, are dispersed throughout this urban county. A centralized art district does not exist, so attracting audiences is a challenge, and there is limited awareness of Orange County’s rich arts programming and offerings.

The community foundation saw the need to know more about the arts landscape before attempting to engage donors in this arena. It took action, conducting research with Arts Orange County to better understand local attitudes.

Opening eyes

Released in 2006, the research report made it clear that Orange County residents care about the arts:

• Sixty-four percent of residents (and/or their immediate family members) actively create or participate in the arts.
• Seventy-five percent of local arts organizations were founded in the last 35 years.
• Ninety-eight percent of residents agree that arts are critical for the education and development of children.

“This research sent us in a whole different direction,” says Shelley Hoss. The community foundation had begun with an assumption that it would be building a case for more arts giving among its traditional donor base. The effect of the research was revolutionary, Shelley reports. “It caused us to see that our work is about bringing arts to all the people of Orange County. It’s about drawing the entire spectrum of our community into a pipeline to generate support for arts.”

Going deep

This new view led to strategies for building infrastructure that could support this pipeline. Key ingredients include:

• A working partnership with Arts Orange County, and an ongoing commitment to help this local arts council become stronger and more sustainable
• An increased grantmaking emphasis, with a record level of $2.4 million in arts support in 2007
• Intentional support for small arts nonprofits, including using Irvine regranting funds to supply $250,000 across 25 organizations, and launching a series of customized technical assistance workshops designed to help these organizations move forward in a sustainable way.

More depth will be added in a next stage of work, featuring continuing partnership with Arts Orange County to:

• Engage local donors and raise a $1.2 million endowment for local arts programs
• Support local arts organizations’ efforts to build endowments
• Focus on youth, including grants and support for arts education in all schools across the county
• Launching a comprehensive website promoting Orange County arts events, venues, and organizations

It’s all part of a new awareness. According to Shelley, “Impact in arts lies largely with the arts organizations themselves. Their ability to plan, market, attract audience, deliver quality experiences… that’s what makes this sector go.”

Transformative power

Early into its learning curve, the community foundation saw the possibilities for impact. “We talked about it with lots of people and heard about these ideas from enough local arts organizations to see that all kinds of things were doable, if someone could get the ball rolling,” says Shelley. “There was plenty of pent-up demand, and we could help match it with supply.

“Our role of neutral convener really came to bear here. We were positioned nicely to say things other people were thinking, and to get groups talking who wouldn’t normally talk to each other.”

The community foundation has benefited enormously from this process. For example, Shelley and Todd now have regular contact and “warm, collegial relationships” with virtually all leaders of the 10 major arts organizations in the county; just three years ago they were zero for 10 in this arena. They also report a huge transformation in how the arts community views the community foundation. At the beginning, attitudes “probably ranged from being curious to thinking of us as a competitor,” says Shelley. Today the perception has completely shifted. The community foundation is seen as having a strong commitment to arts, and to having an impact for all arts organizations from small and new to big and mature.

Broader value

“The learning from this is transferable to other things we are doing,” says Todd Hanson. Of particular relevance is the community foundation’s broad interest in growing more field-of-interest funds, with appreciation that work building an arts endowment will set the stage for expansion to other program areas.

Shelley adds that, “Experience with arts has forced us to think about our messaging relative to other nonprofits. It affects how we describe the community foundation to grantees as well as to other nonprofits that we are not funding. Several of them are bigger than us, yet we can show how we add value to their work.”

“Working with the Orange County Community Foundation to cultivate local donor interest has helped to increase our long-term viability,” said Lawrence Rosenberg, Founder and Co-director of Anaheim Ballet, which promotes the practice of ballet among diverse youth in Orange County. “We’re proud of the work we do to introduce more than 30,000 students annually to ballet and performance art through community outreach, education, professional concerts and our online video series. Thanks to this help from the Orange County Community Foundation, we have a greater ability to raise awareness and positively impact the lives of more young people.”

Arts have been good for Orange County Community Foundation. And for Shelley’s family, “My husband and I are doing things in arts that never would have happened before this initiative. Our son was introduced to the symphony at age 2, and is in dance at age 4. It’s a whole new way of looking at life.”

Orange County Community Foundation is a participant in Communities Advancing the Arts, a major funding initiative of The James Irvine Foundation.