This Arts Fact one pager shows the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) appropriations history for fiscal years 1966-2018.

The arts are fundamental to our humanity. They ennoble and inspire us—fostering creativity, goodness, and beauty. The arts bring us joy, help us express our values, and build bridges between cultures. The arts are also a fundamental component of a healthy community—strengthening them socially, educationally, and economically—benefits that persist even in difficult social and economic times.

This report discusses the history and issues surronding government support for the arts.

Highlights from the 2015 public opinion poll, Americans Speak Out About the Arts, conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Americans for the Arts. 

The arts and culture sector is a $730 billion industry, which represents 4.2 percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—a larger share of the economy than transportation, tourism, or construction—according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.  

With billions in arts funding, businesses play a key role in ensuring the health and vitality of the nation’s arts sector.  Business support for the arts is less driven by a charitable focus than it is targeted on how the arts impact the communities in which their employees live and work.

Schools and employers rank a degree in the arts among the most significant indicator of a job candidate’s creativity and innovation skills.

Government Funding to Arts Agencies, Federal, State, and Local: 1997 - 2017 

This one pager provides an overvie of key daat from the 2015 Local Arts Agency Census about the most effective arts advocacy arguments for different stakeholder groups, as ranked by LAA leaders. 

Students with four years of high school arts and music classes have higher SAT scores than students with one-half year or less.