Colorado Business Committee for the Arts' 2016 Economic Activity Study

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) recently released its 2016 Economic Activity Study, which measures the economic impact of the arts on metro Denver, which includes seven counties in the greater Denver area. The study, conducted every two years, assesses economic and social contributions made by arts, cultural, and scientific organizations across the Denver metro area. The 2016 study showed the cultural community’s continued consistent impact on injecting new dollars into the region’s economy, creating jobs, and providing extensive outreach to metro area schools.

“Since 1992, when we began the study, the arts have shown a significant and sustained impact on our local, state and regional economy,” said Deborah Jordy, executive director of CBCA.

The continued success of the arts is due in great part to the taxpayer-supported SCFD, which since 1989 has distributed funds from a sales and use tax to cultural facilities throughout the seven-county metropolitan area. A public vote for reauthorization of SCFD will be on the November ballot. Other key findings from the report:

  • Corporate sponsorships in the arts was up more than 10 percent since 2013.
  • Outreach to children through educational institutions ensured an average of more than 7 arts experiences annually for each metro area student.
  • Following jobs, total payroll for cultural organizations was up more than 9 percent.
  • Free attendance increased by 3 percent since 2013 indicating increased emphasis on access by cultural organizations.
  • Total volunteer hours are up 15 percent over 2013 at 2 million.

Read coverage of the 2016 Economic Activity Study by Denver Business Journal, Colorado Public Radio, CBS4 Local News, The Denver Post, Denverite.com and NextCity.org.