Findings from our 1993 Survey of Local Arts Agencies.

Services provided by local arts agencies:

• LAA activities can be divided into five general areas. All LAAs are involved in one or more of these:

1. Cultural programming:
   86 percent of LAAs present music, dance, drama, visual arts, arts in education, art in public places, festivals and gap programming. Gap programming fills an arts discipline void that may exist due to a limited number of arts organizations in the community, or targets programming to a specific underserved segment of the community.
   
   
2. Grantmaking:
   61 percent of LAAs provide public and private financial support to arts organizations and artists. LAA funds are provided to both emerging and established organizations for operational support or to produce a special project. The dollars are usually required to be matched by another funding source.
   
   
3. Facility management:
   42 percent of LAAs manage one or more cultural facilities such as rehearsal and performance spaces, gallery spaces, museums, or arts organization incubators.
   
   
4. Services to artists and arts organizations:
   87 percent of LAAs provide a myriad of services including technical assistance, fundraising, block booking, central accounting and marketing, group health insurance and advocacy.
   
   
5. Community cultural planning:
   39 percent of LAAs lead the community-inclusive process of assessing the cultural needs of the community and mapping a plan of implementation.

Highlights of survey findings:

• LAAs projected an 8.6 percent increase in their 1993 budgets.
  
  
• Two-thirds of LAAs have received an annual increase in budget each year since 1989.
  
  
• More LAAs than ever before are using the arts in their communities as a tool to impact economic development and revitalization, social issues, education and cultural equity.

Budgets:

• The average LAA budget grew 16 percent from 1989 to 1993, and 7 percent annually since 1991. Two-thirds of LAAs have received an annual increase in budget each year since 1989. While pockets of the country continue to feel the recession's pinch in the form of budget freezes or reductions, regions that experienced difficulties early in the recession are receiving budget increases. Diversity, however, remains the rule in the LAA field: some LAA's in depressed regions regularly receive budget increases, while some in prosperous regions are facing budget cuts.
  
  
• LAAs projecting a budget increase in 1993 - 72%.
  Average change in 1993 budget - 8.6% increase.
  Largest source of LAA revenue - Local government (35.3%).

Arts and community development:

• LAAs use the arts to address their community's social issues such as crime prevention, youth, racism, and homelessness. Local leaders are discovering that supporting an arts program that impacts youth at risk is more productive and less costly than adding officers to the police force.
  
  
• LAAs using the arts to address social issues - 61%.
  LAAs in the 50 largest cities using the arts to address
  social issues - 88%.

Collaborations:

• LAAs collaborate with other offices of local government to develop programs and initiatives that increase community livability:

  • economic development departments to develop cultural districts;
  • chambers of commerce to attract new businesses;
  • parks and recreation departments to develop afterschool programs;
  • convention and tourism bureaus to increase cultural tourism; and
  • police departments to prevent crime.
    
    
• Convention and visitor's bureau - 71%.
  Parks and recreation - 61%.
  Neighborhood and community organizations - 60%.
  Economic development department - 39%.
  Social services - 33%.
  Law enforcement - 10%.

Arts in Education (AIE):

• LAAs increase the quality of education by supporting artists in the schools and designing AIE curricula. AIE programs result in higher standardized test scores, increases in attendance, and fewer student discipline problems. Arts participation while young results in greater arts participation as an adult.
  
  
• LAAs with an active AIE program - 84%.
  LAAs with AIE staff - 33%.

Grantmaking:

• LAAs provide grants to support arts programs and general operating support to cultural organizations. These grants provide stability to the arts community and make its diverse art forms accessible to the public.
  
  
• LAAs that award grants to arts organizations - 61%.
  LAAs that award grants to individuals - 32%.
  Grantmaking LAAs that award grants to non-501(c)(3)
  organizations - 35%.
  Percentage of grants awarded for project support - 62%.
  Percentage of grants awarded for operating support - 32%.

Services:

• LAAs provide services and information to both the arts community (technical assistance, marketing, group insurance) and the general public (arts programming schedules, volunteer opportunities). These services facilitate the operation and responsible growth of the arts industry, and promote greater community participation in the arts.
  
  
• Services to artists and arts organizations - 87%.
  Community information services - 93%.
  Manage facilities - 42% International programs - 39%.
  LAAs with a community cultural plan - 39%.
  Volunteer recruitment - 31%.

CONTENTS
What is a local arts agency?
Services provided by local arts agencies.
Highlights of survey findings.
Budgets.
Arts and community development.
Collaborations.
Arts in Education (AIE).
Grantmaking.
Services.
About this report.
Survey respondents.
How this 1994 report compares to local arts facts 1992.
Five year budget history (1989 to 1993).
1992-93 revenues.
1992-93 expenditures.
Grantmaking.
Categories funded by grantmaking local arts agencies.
Arts and community development.
Collaborations and partnerships.
Cultural facilities.
International.
Community cultural planning.
Cultural tourism.
Programs, information and services.
Summary.

November 1994 Monograph highlights findings from our 1993 Survey of Local Arts Agencies.