Funding for the arts and culture by United States foundations has more than doubled since 1995, according to a new report from the Foundation Center.
The report, Arts Funding IV provides a detailed examination of the growth and distribution of foundation funding for the arts, culture, media, and humanities from 1995 to 2001, a period of record increases in foundation giving overall, and estimates of overall foundation arts giving through 2002. The report also explores how the arts fared relative to other foundation priorities such as education and health, and examines changes in giving by arts field, type of support, and funder and recipient locations.
According to the report, giving for arts and culture by all U.S. foundations climbed to an estimated $4.2 billion in 2001, up more than twofold from $1.6 billion in 1995. After peaking in 2001, foundation giving for arts and culture decreased 3.5 percent to an estimated $4.05 billion in 2002; this decline in arts dollars totaled an estimated $147 million.
According to the 2005 edition of Foundation Giving Trends, based on grants of $10,000 or more awarded by a sample of over 1,000 of the largest U.S. foundations, arts and culture funding accounted for 13 percent of overall grant dollars in 2003, compared to 14.8 percent in 1998 and 12 percent in 1995. Despite fluctuations in the share of grant dollars, arts and culture accounted for a relatively consistent 14 to 15 percent share of the number of grants awarded between 1995 and 2003 — suggesting that foundations in the sample maintained a steady commitment to the arts.
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