AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS INC

Americans for the Arts technical assistance and training programs serve a wide array of arts professionals 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.

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.

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.

Americans for the Arts also offers a series of webinars, high quality online professional development tools that are held regularly to provide online training resources for professional members.

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; 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.

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; Arts and Business Partnership Awards (formerly known as 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; 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.