The fiscal year 2020 findings are based on 580 survey responses that were collected from participating local arts agencies (LAAs) during October 2020 through February 2021.
Local Arts Agencies by the Numbers in 2020:
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70% of the survey respondents applied for funding from one of the sources provided by the federal CARES Act.
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34% reported that their LAA is likely to eliminate at least one paid position permanently as a result of the pandemic (including 16% that already did so).
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79% reported that their most prominent operational challenge is difficulty in predicting future scenarios. Other prominent operational concerns include survival of the arts and culture organizations in their community (74%), loss of income/revenue and the resulting financial ramifications (71%), and the wellbeing of the artists in their community (70%). Respondents were allowed to choose multiple answers options.
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60% of the respondents reported that their LAA has partnered other non-arts organizations to integrate the arts, culture, and creativity into community-wide COVID-19 initiatives. 55% participated in efforts to ensure that the arts/culture/creative sector is eligible for relief/recovery funds that some from state or local sources. 41% participated in efforts to compensate individual artists/creative workers to use their creativity to address community recovery, morale, and/or cohesion.
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39% of administrators think the financial outlook for their LAA will be better in two years than it is right now; however, only 24% think their LAA's financial outlook will be better in two years than it was before the pandemic started.
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Similarly, 35% of administrators think the financial outlook for their LAA's constituents will be better in two years than it is right now; however, only 21% think their constituents' financial outlook will be better in two years that it was before the pandemic started.
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67% of the survey respondents anticipate that the demand for services from their LAA will increase during the next two years (including 28% who anticipate that demand will increased signficantly).
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42% of respondents agree that, "My LAA has a diverse income/revenue stream that is sustainable."
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63% of respondents agree that, "My LAA's staff/board/commission reflect the demographic diversity of our community."
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84% of respondents agree that, "The participants in my LAA's programs and the recipients of my LAA's services reflect the demographic diversity of our community."
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While only 43% report that racial equity was a key focus of their LAA at the beginning of 2020, 71% report that racial equity is currently a key focus of their LAA.
Resources: 2020 Profile of Local Arts Agencies
- Statistical Report of Aggregate National Findings
- 2-Pager: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Local Arts Agencies (PDF)
- Budget Trends: LAAs in the 60 Largest U.S. Cities FY2016–FY2021 (PDF)
- Detailed Data Tables (XLS)
- Acknowledgments: The 580 Participating LAAs (PDF)
- Survey Instrument (PDF)
- Description of Local Arts Agencies (PDF)
- WEBINAR—2020 Profile of Local Arts Agencies: Pandemic Edition (recorded 06/17/21)
- ARTSBLOG—Unpacking the 2020 Profile of Local Arts Agencies Study by Randy Cohen (COMING SOON)
The 2020 Local Arts Agency Dashboard
The Local Arts Agency Dashboard lets you compare your organization to another LAA or to a group of LAAs with similar characteristics. You can customize graphs based on characteristics like budget, service area population, legal status, or state.
