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Mass. Arts and Culture Nonprofits Key to $4.6B in Annual Spending
More than 8,000 arts and cultural nonprofits in Massachusetts, which employ 27,100 people, spend $2.1 billion annually and generate another $2.5 billion of economic activity across the state, according to a newly released study of the impact of the creative sector.
The report, commissioned by Boston-based New
England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), noted that the creative
sector has a major impact on the larger economy and is "a steady,
reliable industry, less subject to the cyclical ups and downs
of the overall economy than the average New England business."
According to the analysis, completed by Planning Decisions, Inc., The Maine Center for Creativity, and Charles Colgan, the number of arts and culture sector in Massachusetts grew 15 percent between 2002 and 2009 – from 7,042 to 8,125.
While the subsector in Massachusetts was responsible for $2.1 billion in direct spending in 2009 amounted, it accounted for another $1.2 billion in indirect spending and $1.3 billion in induced spending. Annual direct spending by the subsector puts it just behind the information and data processing services sector ($2.3 billion) and just ahead of the food manufacturing sector ($2.1 billion).
Direct spending relates to payments suppliers and employees. Indirect spending corresponds to spending by vendors on other vendors. Induced spending is the consumer-related spending of nonprofit employees and vendors.
In addition to the 27,100 full-time and part-time jobs directly created by Massachusetts arts and culture nonprofits, the subsector is responsible for another 15,276 jobs statewide, the report said. Direct arts and culture employment puts it behind fabricated metal products (30,551 full and part-time jobs in 2009) and just ahead of health and personal care stores (27,101 full and part-time jobs).
Case Study: The Hanover Theatre
The report noted that the impact of nonprofit arts and cultural organizations is more than economic.
It cited the $31 million building renovation projected that
The
Hanover Theatre in Worcester undertook from 2004 to 2007 as
an example of the impact of its spending, as follows:
- Indirect impact – The project employed workers from the construction, architectural, design, and manufacturing sectors.
- Direct impact – Each performance creates jobs for performers, stagehands, stage managers, designers, musicians, and directors, in addition to the theatre’s 15 full-time and 250 part-time staff.
- Induced impact – The theatre has drawn more than 600,000 patrons in the past three years, providing significant revenue for local hotel owners, restaurants, and retail shops.
In addition, the community benefits as more than 230 volunteers give more than 20,000 hours annually to The Hanover Theatre.
"These impacts cannot be fully measured in any model. They are more complex, more subtle, and more far-reaching," according to the report.
The full
report is available on NEFA's web site.
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| © Massachusetts Cultural Council 2012 |
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