Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, recently announced that more than 300 U.S. communities will be part of Arts & Economic Prosperity® 5 (AEP5), making it the largest national study measuring the economic impact of spending by nonprofit arts and culture organizations and their audiences ever conducted. Surveys will be collected throughout calendar year 2016; results will be released in June 2017. Erie Arts & Culture, www.erieartsandculture.org, is spearheading the data collection in Erie County.
AEP5 is the fifth national study over the past 20 years to measure the impact of arts spending on local jobs, income paid to local residents, and revenue generated to local and state governments. Erie County is one of 300 participating communities, which represent all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. Erie Arts & Culture will be working with Erie County’s nonprofit arts and culture organizations to collect detailed financial information, as well as coordinate volunteers who will help collect anonymous audience surveys at 16-20 different arts and cultural events throughout 2016.
According to AEP4, the nonprofit arts industry in Erie County generated over $18 million in economic activity and supported over 600 full-time equivalent jobs during 2010, resulting in over $1.7 million in local and state government revenues.
