AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS INC

Program: ADVOCACY

Program Description:

Americans for the Arts advocates for greater public and private support for the arts and arts education at the national level, while providing tools and training to people nationwide so that they can make the case for investment in their communities.

• The Online E-Advocacy Center presents an overview of Americans for the Arts’ advocacy efforts, and provides our constituents with the tools to advocate for the arts in their own communities through the following information and services: E-advocacy through Capwiz; issue briefs; legislative news and updates; useful research; information on advocacy events and registrations; links to State Arts Action Network (SAAN) members; and the Activist Toolkit.

•  Arts Advocacy Day provides advocacy training to over 500 arts advocates—arts administrators, educators, artists, and civic and business leaders—from across the U.S. that take to Capitol Hill to underscore the importance of developing strong public policies and appropriating increased funding for the arts.

• The pARTnership Movement advocates for arts and business partnerships in communities nationwide, informing business leaders throughout the United States in how to partner with the arts to strengthen competitive advantage. 
  

   

  
  

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Program: POLICY

Program Description:

Americans for the Arts spearheads the development of arts friendly public policy through an array of programs that allow the nation's leaders to get involved in, advocate for, and help shape the creative sector of the country. Signature events include:

• The National Arts Policy Roundtable (NAPR), convened at the Sundance Preserve, is an annual forum of national leaders who serve at the highest levels of business, government, philanthropy, education, and the arts, and who share a willingness to meet and recommend policies critical to the advancement of American culture.

• The Aspen Seminar for Leadership in the Arts is a collaboration between Americans for the Arts and the Harman-Eisner Program in the Arts at the Aspen Institute. It is an opportunity for the nation’s leaders to discuss and act upon a policy issue affecting the health and vitality of the country.

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Program: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Program Description:

Americans for the Arts technical assistance and training programs to serve a wide array of arts professional based on where they are in their careers, the types of communities that they serve, targeted sectors within the field, and services that cross all three.

•  Networks: Six (6) networks allow Americans for the Arts to provide specialized resources addressing the needs of its constituencies and ensure peer-to-peer engagement. These affinity networks include the: Public Art Network, Private Sector Network, Arts Education Network, Emerging Leaders Network, United States Urban Arts Federation, and State Arts Action Network

• Conferences: Two (2) main conferences offer training and networking opportunities to professionals in the field. Americans for the Arts’ Annual Convention convenes the largest gathering of arts and community leaders in the country to explore critical issues in the arts, and the annual National Arts Marketing Project (NAMP) Conference provides information, tools, and practical ideas for arts marketers and fundraisers to design high-quality, cost-effective marketing programs and strengthen arts organizations.

• The National Arts Marketing Project (NAMP) provides nonprofit marketing training through its annual conference, monthly webinars, quarterly E-books, regional training programs, and on-site workshops that offer must-have marketing resources to local constituencies.

• Webinars are high quality online professional development tools that are held regularly to provide online training resources for Americans for the Arts professional members.

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Program: RESEARCH & INFORMATION

Program Description:

Americans for the Arts championS a research-based understanding to how the arts are being used to address social, educational, and economic development issues in communities across the country. Ongoing initiatives include:

• Arts and Economic Prosperity, the national economic impact study on the nation’s nonprofit arts organizations and their audiences.

• The National Arts Index, a highly distilled annual measure of the health and vitality of the arts in the United States using 76 equal weighted, national-level indicators of arts activity. This report covers an 11-year period, from 1998 to 2008.

• The Local Arts Index - a companion to The National Arts Index - which is designed to give communities across the nation a much needed tool to analyze the macro and micro trends impacting the health and vitality of local cultural organizations over time and to inform the collaborative work necessary to chart a course for a more sustainable future.

• Creative Industries, which uses Dun & Bradstreet data to map and report the number of arts-related businesses and employees in any geographic region or political jurisdiction in the country.

• Ready to Innovate [PDF], a report identifying the shared importance of creativity in both the classroom and the workforce. 
  

   

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Program: RECOGNITION & VISIBILITY

Program Description:

Through its national network and array of public and private sector partners, Americans for the Arts works to shine a spotlight on the contributions of the arts and arts education. Signature programs include:

• National Arts Awards, held during National Arts and Humanities Month, hosts 400 of America's top artists and philanthropic and corporate leaders to recognize and celebrate the achievements of individuals and corporations who have exhibited outstanding leadership in the visual and performing arts, arts education, advocacy, and philanthropy. Recent awardees include: Angela Lansbury, Herb Alpert, Sidney Harman, Robert Redford, Wells Fargo, and Dame Julie Andrews.

• THE BCA TEN: Best Companies Supporting the Arts in America is an annual gala that recognizes the corporate leaders who are dedicated to increasing partnerships between the private sector and the arts.

• Keep Arts in Public Schools (KAIPS) Causes campaign provides advocate toolkits, research, testimonies, news, and resources that allow anyone to successfully engage with their community and impact policies that ensure arts learning reaches all students.

• National Arts and Humanities Month is a coast-to-coast collective celebration of culture in America. Coordinated by Americans for the Arts, it has become the largest annual celebration of the arts and humanities in the nation. From arts center open houses to mayoral proclamations to banners and newspaper articles, over 10,000 communities across the United States make sure their citizens pay attention to the cultural gems surrounding them. Coinciding with NAHM are Creative Conversations, 50 sessions that bring together more than 1,000 young people across the country to talk about the future of arts and arts education.
  
  
• The Public Leadership in the Arts Awards and our annual local arts achievement awards celebrate public and private leaders for their contributions to arts and education.
  

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