ARTS NONPROFITS

In 2022, nonprofit arts and culture organizations and their audiences generated over $51 million in economic activity in Buncombe County. This included $25 million in spending by the organizations themselves, which then leveraged an additional $26 million in event-related spending by their audiences. The Arts & Economic Prosperity Report, a comprehensive impact study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry in the U.S., is conducted approximately every five years to measure the economic effects of spending by these organizations and their audiences. Previous studies were published in 1994, 2002, 2007, 2012, 2017, and the most recent in 2023.

Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6) is a detailed economic and social impact study of the nation’s nonprofit arts and culture industry. This report documents the economic and social contributions of arts and culture in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Local and statewide research partners from 373 study regions collected expenditure and attendance data from over 16,000 arts and culture organizations, along with event-related spending information from nearly 225,000 attendees. This extensive data helps capture the broader impact of the arts on both local economies and communities.