2007 National Survey of Business Support to the Arts
Business Gave $3.16 Billion to the Arts in 2006

To order a copy of the survey, click here.

Business support to the arts totaled $3.16 billion in 2006 according to the triennial national survey released by the Business Committee for the Arts, Inc. (BCA), a national not-for-profit organization established in 1967 to bring business and the arts together.  Titled, The BCA Report: National Survey of Business Support to the Arts 2007, this survey revealed a 5% decline in support in comparison to the $3.32 billion business allocated to the arts in 2003. 

Other key survey findings include:

  • There was a 6% increase in the number of companies supporting the arts from 2003 to 2006.
  • The median contribution per business remains unchanged at $800 from 2003 to 2006.
  • The median contribution of small businesses to the arts remained unchanged at $500, but the percentage of small companies contributing to the arts declined from 34% in 2003 to 29% in 2006.  Nevertheless, given the tremendous number of small businesses in America, those with revenues of under $1 million are responsible for about half of all arts giving (52%).
  • The median contribution of midsize companies to the arts was $2,000 in 2006, a decline from $2,600 in 2003.  Similarly the percentage of midsize companies contributing to the arts went from 46% in 2003 to 42% in 2006. 
  • The percentage of large companies contributing to the arts in 2006 (57%), compared to 2003 (58%) was relatively unchanged, however, the median contribution increased from $15,800 in 2003 to $25,000 in 2006.
  •  The number of companies making contributions to philanthropic causes declined to 69% in 2006, compared to 74% in 2003.

The survey margin of error is +/- 4%.


Survey Ordering Information:

-Executive Summary: $10 (including shipping and handling)
-The BCA Report: National Survey of Business Support to the Art 2007 (Unabridged): $125 (including shipping and handling)

Please send a check payable to Business Committee for the Arts, Inc. to:

Timarie Harrigan
Business Committee for the Arts, Inc.
29-27 Queens Plaza North
Long Island City, NY 11101

Questions: 718.482.9900 or tharrigan@bcainc.org.

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