The Economic Impact of the Arts 

It’s not too difficult for most people to embrace the value that arts and cultural  organizations play in providing entertainment, education, enrichment and connections  for communities. It might not, however, be as easy to appreciate the significant positive  economic impact these organizations generate. Let’s explore….. 

Based on data from Americans for the Arts, nationally, the arts and culture sector is an $878 billion industry, 4.5% of the nation’s GDP, and representing 5.1 million jobs. In  Georgia, the sector contributes $24.4 billion to our state’s economy, more than both the  construction and educational service sectors, and provides 151,683 jobs. Nationally,  the nonprofit segment of the industry, organizations like the Lake County Arts Alliance  members, generate $166.3 billion in annual economic activity that supports 4.6 million  related jobs and $27.5 billion in federal, state and local government revenues. 

Nationally, event spending by arts and cultural audiences generated $102.5 billion annually prior to COVID-19. In addition to event ticket purchases, patrons spent an  average of $24.60 on meals, snacks, refreshments, clothing and accessories, gifts and  souvenirs, overnight lodging, transportation, etc.  

So, what about the specific economic impact from the Lake Country Arts Alliance  organizations? Unfortunately, the national and state statistics provided above are not  easily obtained by county or rural towns. Lacking third-party research data, let’s do  some simple math using just one member organization, The Plaza Arts Center. 

Annually, prior to COVID-19, programs and events at The Plaza Arts Center in Historic  Downtown Eatonton attracted roughly 8,000 attendees (excludes youth educational  programs). Using the national average per person audience spend for non-ticket  expenditures of $24.60 mentioned above, $196,800 (8,000 X $24.60) of economic  impact was generated for local businesses plus the applicable taxes by The Plaza  alone. Now, add to this equation the associated impact from all the other Lake Country  Arts Alliance organization events each year…..significant!  

Another added benefit, based on national data, is that roughly 30% of arts and cultural  event attendees travel from outside the hosting venue’s county. This creates  opportunities for all of us to “put our best foot forward” as we attempt to further our  collective economic development.

All combined, it becomes quite easy to understand just how vital the nonprofit arts and  culture sector is for our community. So, as we wait patiently to safely gather in numbers  again and enjoy all that the Lake County Arts Alliance organizations have to offer, what  can you do now? As individuals and business owners, please make a financial  commitment (e.g., membership, sponsorship, endowment, gift) to the Lake Country Arts  Alliance organizations (list below) of your choice. As you can imagine, the gathering  restrictions resulting from COVID-19 have placed a financial burden on all our nonprofit  organizations. Not only will you be helping them weather this storm, but every dollar  you give creates an opportunity for exponential economic impact for our community as  we move forward! 

Whether you choose to help now, or already have, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!