In 2021, local and state government funding to their arts agencies is expected to decrease due to the pandemic’s impact on government budgets. NEA funding increased to $167.5 million.

Arts Facts...Government Funding to Arts Agencies
In 2021, local and state government funding to their arts agencies is expected to decrease due to the pandemic’s impact on government budgets. NEA funding increased to $167.5 million.

Local arts agencies—arts councils, arts commissions, cultural affairs departments—are an essential tool for community leaders as they rebuild their economies and promote social cohesion. The nation’s 4,500 local arts agencies (LAAs) support, present, and promote the dynamic value of the arts. Through their partnerships and leadership, LAAs are building healthier communities through the arts in the following ways:

In 1966, the National Council on the Arts awarded its first grant for development of the arts in small communities. The three-year grant, reflecting the Council's concern for arts at the grass-roots level, was awarded to the Office of Community Arts Development, Wisconsin Idea Theatre of University Extension, The University of Wisconsin, Madison. The grant, financed by the National Endowment for the Arts, was to be an extension of the aims of the Wisconsin Idea Theatre and dealt specifically with ways of developing greater interest and participation in the arts in communities of 10,000 or less