Business Contributions to the Arts: 2018 Edition

September 26, 2018 | Report

Americans for the Arts partnered with The Conference Board to conduct this survey which examines trends in business support and employee engagement for the arts. The survey draws on 123 responses from companies of all sizes that made a contribution to a charity or philanthropic cause in 2017. The report offers a comprehensive set of charts segmenting aggregate data across industries and size groups. One of the key findings: businesses are looking to engage their employees through the arts, helping fuel attraction and retention.

The 2018 Business Contributions to the Arts survey has found generally positive outcomes for the arts community with regard to private-sector support during 2017. The data suggest that arts organizations are considered important partners in the public and private sectors, as organizations target both business and social outcomes.

The key findings below are drawn from a survey of 123 participants from organizations that made a contribution to a charity or philanthropic cause in 2017. The survey was conducted in the summer of 2018. It’s important to note that the data in the report are drawn from companies that support the arts, so the findings tend to show a more positive picture for arts support than may be the case in a more comprehensive study of corporate philanthropy, such as Giving in Numbers, published by CECP in association with The Conference Board.

For the full set of benchmarking data including all segmentations, members of The Conference Board can download the accompanying Chartbook at www.conference-board.org.

Companies are broadly engaged in arts support and show loyalty to arts partners

Only 8 percent of companies do not contribute to the arts at all. The growth of the US economy in 2017 has helped the arts sector attract this high rate of private sector support.

More than three-quarters of all companies surveyed make financial contributions to the arts, with 43 percent engaging in noncash support. Financial contributions typically come from philanthropy/foundation budgets, but companies often fund their support through sponsorship budgets as well, which could explain the high response rate of companies making financial contributions.

All 35 financial services companies said they support the arts, noting that a long-term relationship with an arts nonprofit is the primary reason for their decisi

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