Funding for the arts in America, over the next decade and into the 21st Century, will mirror the economic realities brought about by Congressional action in the 1990s - devolution, mergers, diversification , and privatization. Future sustainable and adequate arts funding on a local, regional and state-wide basis will require a diverse revenue base. Many new creative funding strategies will transfer from one part of the country to another with slight tweaking, while others will not. Therefore it is incumbent on the field to be current on all possible revenue streams developed to support the arts, to evaluate the potential success of duplication, and to leverage support by providing information to decision-makers on successful models.
To analyze the most effective ways to increase or maintain a level revenue stream, the process should begin with a standard fundraising practice - a scan of the environment. In the last two years, Congressional devolution has shifted economic decision-making from a centralized federal focus to local and state block grants, and with efforts in some areas, including the arts and humanities, to shift away from public support to private. This shift requires arts and humanities programs to identify new avenues of local public sector funding, private sector funding, and organizational restructuring to maintain sustainability.
In the public sector, devolution of many federally funded programs increases
decision-making at the level of city, county and state, and can actually expand the partnerships and funding opportunities for the arts with housing, labor, tourism and transportation. New local and state strategies for a secure public funding base for the arts are being developed. Foundations are evaluating requests more stringently, rewarding only organizations that eliminate deficits and adopt sound strategic planning and management to achieve artistic growth and community focus. New avenues of private support must be sought through an entrepreneurial approach and mutually beneficial partnerships with private enterprise. Restructuring and rethinking management and operations through mergers, collaborations and partnerships will reposition cultural organizations to maximize existing resources.
The following paper looks with a critical eye at some current methods that support cultural programs on a local and state level. There is no method that is sure to work in all communities - the country and its resources are too diverse. Public funding mechanisms are more widely used in the western half of the country, which, until recently, lacked the private family foundations and Fortune 500 company headquarters found in the East. But established eastern institutions are also seeking new revenue streams as the income from family foundations and endowments cannot keep pace with inflation, deteriorating infrastructure, and federal mandates such as the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
[This essay was prepared for Creative America: A Report to the President by the President's
Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. That report describes the system of support
for cultural life in the United States today.]
CONTENTS
1. Public Sector - General fund appropriations.
2. Public sector, alternative funding sources.
3. Public funding - endowments.
4. Public funding infrastructure - line item, bonds, percent for art.
5. Public funding through transportation and ISTEA.
6. Public sector - devolution and social service partnerships.
7. Economic development and for-profit partnerships.
8. Corporate support of the arts and humanities.
9. Foundations refocusing cultural support.
10. Restructuring and collaborations to maximize existing resources.
Summary.
Sources for each section.