40th Anniversary Facts

The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the nation's largest funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases.

• The National Endowment for the Arts is the largest national funder of the arts in the United States. While the NEA’s budget ($125.6 million for FY 2006) represents less than 1 percent of total arts philanthropy in the U.S., NEA grants have a powerful multiplying effect, with each grant dollar typically generating seven to eight times more money in matching grants. No other federal agency or private organization facilitates nationwide access to exceptional art.

• In its 40-year history, the National Endowment for the Arts has awarded more than 124,000 grants totaling more than $3.9 billion. The NEA has helped bring art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. Projects range from artist residencies in schools to museum exhibitions, Internet initiatives, literary fellowships, national tours, international exchanges, theater festivals, design competitions, folk arts and historic preservation, and much more.

• Over the past 40 years, the NEA has increased its support of the arts across the country. For example, in FY 1966-70, the NEA awarded dance grants to organizations in eight states and the District of Columbia. In FY 2004-2005, the NEA supported 588 dance and dance-related grants in 46 states, the District of Columbia, St. Croix, Virgin Islands, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

• Through direct grants, partnerships, research, and initiatives, the NEA has led efforts to make the arts a part of the core education for all pre-K through grade 12 students and to increase opportunities outside of school settings for additional arts learning. In the past 10 years (1996-2005), the NEA has awarded more than $221 million to 7,193 projects involving arts education. In 2005 alone, the NEA awarded more than $38 million to 1,515 projects involving arts education.

• The NEA has provided critical seed funds to develop regional theater, opera, ballet, symphony orchestras, museums, and other art organizations in small and mid-size cities across the country. Some of these regional arts organizations, which received critical early support from the NEA, have developed worldwide acclaim, including Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater Company and Spoleto Festival USA, a performing and visual arts event in Charleston, South Carolina.

• The NEA has created national initiatives that offer model programs of artistic merit and national reach.

  • The 2005 NEA Jazz Masters Initiative celebrates this distinctly American musical tradition through the NEA Jazz Masters Award, a 50-state NEA Jazz Masters tour with performances and educational activities, broadcast programs, and educational resources.

  • Shakespeare in American Communities is the largest tour of Shakespeare in American history, having brought new Shakespeare productions and special in-school programs to more than 500 communities, military and civilian, across all 50 states.

  • Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience brought distinguished writers to 44 domestic and overseas military installations from April 2004 through July 2005. An open call for writing submissions resulted in more than 1,200 submissions from troops and their families. Random House will publish an anthology of select writings in September 2006.

• NEA-sponsored research has helped shape the public dialogue on the arts. The 2004 report "Reading at Risk" sounded a warning bell on the decline of literary reading in America. Other studies on creativity and aging, cultural tourism, arts education, and artists in the workforce highlight the significant economic and social impact of the arts in America.

• The NEA website introduces "Highlights in NEA History," a compendium of historic and current programs made possible by NEA support. For more information, visit www.arts.gov.

National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal agency
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20506