Business Committee for the Arts, Inc. Bringing Business and the Arts Together The Arts Add Value to Business

Business Committee for the Arts, Inc.Bringing Business and the Arts Together

The Arts Add Value to Business

• The arts add value to business.

• The arts in education produce a prepared workforce.

• The arts build a community ideal for doing business.

The Arts are Good for Business


• Attract and retain employees. 93% of respondents indicated that they would rather work for a

company that supports the arts than one that does not. Source: BCA Online Survey Results, Business Committee for the Arts, Inc.

• Develop and increase customer/client loyalty. 88% of respondents indicated they would more likely purchase

products and services from a company that supports the arts than one that did not, with all factors being equal.

Source: BCA Online Survey Results, Business Committee for the Arts, Inc.


• Spark employee creativity and productivity adding value for investors. 78% indicated that art in the workplace increases creativity

and productivity. Source: BCA Online Survey Results, Business Committee for the Arts, Inc.

• Stimulate new ideas and innovation. Wieden+Kennedy – an advertising agency in Portland, OR –

invites artists to share its space and attend creative sessions to generate new ideas.


• Offer opportunities to network with customers, clients and investors. Companies recognized for their community citizenship may

experience a 3 to 1 advantage in attracting customers, business

partners, investors and employees. Source: Public Relations Strategist

• Increase awareness of a company’s core values and community citizenship. 41% thought well of a company’s values and business practices

if they were consistent with individual’s beliefs. Source: Doing Well by Doing Good 2004, Deloitte Touche USA


• Offer collaborative opportunities resulting in new products and services. Golden Star Inc. – a manufacturer of textile cleaning products,

North Kansas City, MO – created a line of upscale floor mats and tripled its margins by working with a college professor and his students at the Kansas City Art Institute.

The Arts in Education Produce a Prepared Workforce

The arts in K-12 education:• Improve academic performance, increase SAT scores

and produce a skilled and prepared workforce. Students who participate in the arts for at least four

years consistently outperform their peers on the SAT. They score:

• 59 points higher on the verbal section.• 45 points higher on the math section.

Source: The College Entrance Examination Board


The arts in K-12 education:• Nurture self-expression and self-esteem.

Students who participate in the arts at least three hours a day for three days a week for at least one year are:

• Four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement.

• Three times more likely to win an award for school attendance.

• Four times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem.

Source: Americans for the Arts


The arts in K-12 education:• Broaden understanding and appreciation of cultural

diversity. Tuscarora Yarns Inc. – a small textile company, Mount

Pleasant, NC – engaged an artist to work with elementary schoolchildren to create clay tiles for a community mural to celebrate the cultural heritage of Native Americans and pre-Columbian peoples.

The Arts Build a Community Ideal for Doing Business

The arts:• Are a key component of a creative community that

attracts talent to drive knowledge-based economy. “…Economic growth occurs in places that are tolerant,

diverse and opened to creativity.…These are places where creative people of all types want to live.”

Source: The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida

• Attract new companies and those relocating. The arts are one of three factors companies consider when

deciding on an operating location.Source: BCA Online Survey Results, Business Committee for the Arts, Inc.


The arts:

• Stimulate tourism. Arts and cultural tourists spend an average $615 a trip,

compared to $425 spent by other travelers.Source: Travel Industry Association of America

76% of the respondents indicated that the arts are very important while on vacation.

Source: BCA Online Survey Results, Business Committee for the Arts, Inc.


The arts:

• Add to economic growth and vitality. For every dollar spent on the arts, nearly $4 are generated in

additional spending.Source: National Endowment for the Arts

The development of MASS MoCA increased storefront occupancy from 35% to 75% and reduced unemployment from 18% to 5% in North Adams, Massachusetts.

Source: BCA’s Forum for New Ideas, Joseph C. Thompson, Director, MASS MoCA


The arts:• Generate $134 billion in economic activities annually.

$80.8 billion – spent by arts audiences on restaurant bills, parking, lodging, retail purchases and transportation.

$53.2 billion – spent by the arts on products and services. Source: Americans for the Arts

Is Business Investing in the Arts?

• Nearly 50% of the companies in the U.S. supported the arts in 2003.

• Business invested a record $3.32 billion in the arts. 49% was from companies with annual revenues of

less than $1 million.

40% was from companies with annual revenues of $1 million to $49.9 million.

11% was from companies with annual revenues of more than $50 million.

Source: The BCA Report: 2004 National Survey of Business Support to the Arts, Business Committee for the Arts, Inc.

Business Invests in the Arts – Important to Its Customers

• 76% of adults in the U.S. – 157 million – made the arts

part of their lives.

• 39% of adults in the U.S. – 81 million – attended a classical music or jazz concert, an opera, musical, ballet, play or visited a museum.

• 40% of adults in the U.S. – more than 81 million – personally performed or created art.

Source: The 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts

“Small businesses may think they can’t do much to support the arts, but they’d be surprised at just how much they really can do.”

— Anthony T. Pressley, President MECA Real Estate Services, LLC Charlotte, North Carolina

Business Committee for the Arts, Inc.Bringing Business and the Arts Together

29-27 Queens Plaza NorthLong Island City, NY 11101

T: 718.482.9900 www.bcainc.org


If your company is not investing in the arts, contact us:

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Business Committee for the Arts, Inc. Bringing Business and the Arts Together The Arts Add Value to Business