Provides an overview of nonprofit cultural heritage organizations in the and a snapshot of their structure, finances and programs. Cultural heritage organizations include community cultural and arts centers, ethnic and cultural awareness organizations, and festivals. Most of these organizations focus on promoting and preserving ethnic, cultural, racial, regional, linguistic, or religious traditions. The monograph confirms that cultural heritage organizations are fundamentally community oriented, and that their primary intent to preserve communities and to benefit youth, elders, immigrants, ethnic groups, neighborhoods, towns, and cities is both explicit and reflected in a broad programmatic range of cultural, educational, and human service activities beyond the arts. It also finds that cultural heritage organizations are small and lack financial resources compared with the nonprofit arts, culture and humanities subsector. Moreover, organizations affiliated with Black/African American and Hispanic ethnicities and cultures are shown to be potentially more vulnerable financially than are organizations affiliated with other race/ethnic groups. This monograph is the first systematic national study of nonprofit cultural heritage organizations using descriptive statistics and data on charitable nonprofits from the National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) at the Urban Institute. It establishes a basis for measuring the size and scope of cultural heritage organizations that can be used to assess their growth and financial health in future years. It also sets out a framework for studying the seriously under-theorized and under-researched culture component of the arts, culture, and humanities subsector.

Overview of nonprofit cultural heritage organizations in the and a snapshot of their structure, finances and programs.