Mobilizing Business Support for Arts
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading organization for the advancement of the arts in America has merged with Arts & Business Council Inc., the nation’s oldest organization devoted to partnership between the arts and business.
The two organizations said they joined efforts to increase funding from the private-sector for the arts in America in response to a 33% reduction in philanthropy overall from individuals, corporations, and foundations since the 1990’s. Americans gave an estimated $243 billion to philanthropic causes in 2004.
Uniting their constituencies means bringing together some 4,000 local arts agencies and arts funds from Washington-based Americans for the Arts, and the affiliates and national program partners of the New York-based Arts & Business Council.
With this merger, a new organizational framework went into effect – Arts & Business Council of Americans for the Arts. It will however, retain all of its local chapters nationwide.
The entity has already secured increased support from corporations including Met Life, American Express, and Altria.
