American for the Arts Announces New Planning Effort

Americans for the Arts is pleased to announce an exciting strategic planning initiative that will have a significant impact on the future of the arts in this country. During the next few months, we will be conducting a comprehensive scan of the arts environment to help us determine a five year roadmap for advancing the arts in America.

We have taken on this challenge before—with the announcement of an extraordinary gift from Ruth Lilly in late 2002, Americans for the Arts embarked on a field-wide analysis and strategic planning process that identified needs and opportunities for the future. In 2004, based on the feedback we received, we launched an organization-wide five year strategic plan.

The 2004 plan challenged us to continue fostering environments in which the arts can thrive. As a result, we expanded our already strong professional development, research, and advocacy programs and services. The plan also directed us to build individual appreciation of the value of the arts. As a result, we formed the Arts Action Fund, a 501(c) (4) organization that seeks to engage citizens in education and advocacy in support of the arts and arts education. The Arts Action Fund is now a thriving mechanism through which we are working to enlist and mobilize 100,000 citizen activists who will help ensure that arts-friendly public policies are adopted at the federal, state, and local levels and that public and private resources are maximized. That plan also called for us to generate more public and private sector resources for the arts. As a result, in 2005 we merged operations with the Arts & Business Council Inc., allowing us to elevate and expand upon the great work that the New York based organization was already accomplishing both on the national and local level.

Americans for the Arts is proud and excited about the growth and opportunities directed by our current strategic plan, but we realize that during the past few years much has changed in our landscape. It is now time to take another in-depth look at this environment and determine the most effective ways to meet the needs of our growing stakeholder base and ensure we are dedicating our resources correctly in the future.

In the coming months, we will be asking stakeholders to participate in web-based surveys, online forums, focus groups, or one-on-one interviews; their input will be invaluable. We are confident that, with the input collected, we will emerge from this intensive project with an updated strategic plan for Americans for the Arts.

We are excited about partnering with AMS Planning & Research, an arts management consulting firm based in Fairfield, CT, in this effort. Since the firm was founded in 1988, AMS has gained national recognition for its counsel on a range of important planning projects across the country. Project leads are Steven Wolff and Amy Freidman, experts in research, strategic planning, and broad-reaching analytical projects like this.