research

National Arts Policy Roundtable

The Americans for the Arts National Arts Policy Roundtable is an annual forum of national leaders who share a commitment to the arts and a willingness to meet and recommend policies critical to the advancement of American culture. The Roundtable is composed of distinguished individuals who serve at the highest levels of business, government, philanthropy, education, and the arts. Americans for the Arts and Sundance Preserve are co-conveners of the Roundtable—teaming the two preeminent national organizations dedicated to advancing the arts and creative industries in the United States. 

The Roundtable was established on the premise that issues important to the arts are also important to society—addressing social and educational needs, quality of life, promoting economic prosperity, enhancing innovation, growing the creative workforce, and fostering diplomacy and cultural exchange. It is the distinctive mission of the Roundtable to elevate these issues by giving them national prominence in a forum of informed discussion—one that will yield public policy options, private sector practices, and identify key research needs. 

The Roundtable is the pinnacle convening of more than 100 meetings sponsored annually by Americans for the Arts—conferences that enable government and business leaders, scholars, funders, arts agency directors, and others to network, share knowledge, and proffer policies for consideration by the Roundtable. Policies recommended by the Roundtable are, in turn, circulated back to these networks for implementation. 

The 2006 National Arts Policy Roundtable Topic: The Future of Private Sector Giving to the Arts in America

Twenty-nine leaders from the public and private sectors convened at Sundance Preserve for the Americans for the Arts National Arts Policy Roundtable in October 2006 to address the serious decline of market share in philanthropy in the arts and The Future of Private Sector Giving to the Arts in America.

The meeting was the culmination of a year-long investigation of this topic, involving commissioned research, 40 professional forums, and the participation of 100 philanthropy, research and arts groups, and more than 3,500 individuals across the country.

Research conducted by Americans for the Arts and presented at the Roundtable suggests that the arts are in the midst of a major shift in how nonprofit arts organizations are supported. These groups derive 43 percent of their revenue from private contributions, so sharp declines in philanthropy can radically alter America’s nonprofit cultural landscape. There are signs that this facet of the arts sector is at risk.

The 2006 Final Report on the National Arts Policy Roundtable provides a summary of the research and focus group findings, along with the policy recommendations that were developed during the October, 2006 event.

• 2006 List of Participants in the Americans for the Arts National Arts Policy Roundtable
• The Future of Private Sector Giving to the Arts—A Report on the Proceedings of the 2006 Americans for the Arts National Arts Policy Roundtable

“The arts are not tangential—they are core to community development in America. The National Arts Policy Roundtable recommendations remind us that we must better communicate the value of the arts in American society and the integral role the arts play in addressing social needs and issues.” 

Robert L. Lynch, President & CEO, Americans for the Arts

“Issues like the economy, the environment, global politics, and energy policy have long had major national and international forums where leaders gather to debate the challenges we face and develop solutions. Now it is time for the arts to have a comparable forum, and I am very pleased to be partnering with Americans for the Arts on this endeavor.”

Robert Redford, Chairman, Sundance Preserve