The Arts and the Economy: Exploring the Impact of the Nonprofit Arts Industry

This paper examines how the nonprofit arts industry impacts and behaves within the economy of a community, and explores relatively new and exciting trends in community economic development in which the nonprofit arts industry can play a major role. An internship spent surveying arts organizations and their audiences in Frederick County, Maryland, served as an opportunity to witness first-hand the economic activity generated by the nonprofit arts industry. The economic impact of the nonprofit arts can sometimes be overlooked; however, it does, in fact, generate a positive impact.