• SD ARTS COUNCIL FACT SHEET
• The SD Arts Council was established by the Legislature in 1966 (SD Codified Laws 1-22-1)
  
• Federal and private grant organizations provide funding based upon certain rankings. The loss of the Councils’ activities would reduce rankings in quality of life, cultural tourism, economic development, and overall attractiveness to businesses, visitors, and citizens.
  
• In order to be eligible for any amount of NEA funds, a state must have at a minimum an Arts Office and staff. The state would lose a minimum of $746,000 in National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) federal funds sub-granted to local arts program.
  
• A number of annual local grants would be eliminated. These grants reach virtually every legislative district providing 8,000 events annually. This includes: $1.1 million ($746,000 NEA + $354,000 Arts Council) awarded on a matching basis to 530 local arts organizations and other non-profit arts programs, schools, artists and units of government.
  
• The state would lose an additional $14 million annually in matching funds – every dollar awarded by the State Arts Council is matched with $14 in private funds.
  
• More than 2.9 million people attend SD Arts Council co-sponsored events (This includes visitors to the state. Audience members who attend multiple arts events may be counted more than once.)
  
• Some form of financial support for more than 18,000 professional and amateur artists would be impacted.
• This will result in the elimination of the Artists in Schools & Communities Program. This program has been active for 35 years. Each year, 26 artists travel to 162 schools for a total of 231 weeks educating 35,000 SD young people.
• This will result in the elimination of the State’s Touring Arts Program and will impact 45 endorsed performing and visual arts groups providing 255 engagements. These programs reach an audience of 335,000 annually, primarily in rural areas.
  
• The state’s 23 largest arts organizations funded with $300,000 in state/federal funds by the SD Arts Council have budgets totaling $11 million. They attract an audience of 1.6 million people – a number that indicates South Dakotans often attend several events. Americans for the Arts multiplier indicates a local economic impact of $48 million.
  
• The traveling public has an increasing desire for Cultural Tourism. Arts and cultural organizations including arts festivals, Native American events, national monuments and memorials attract more than 3 million visitors per year to the state leaving behind millions of dollars in visitor spending.
  

Steven Larson
Gallery Director
Sioux Empire Arts Council
309 E Falls Park Dr, Sioux Falls SD 57104, 605-977-2002
barn@siouxempireartscouncil.com ~www.siouxempireartscouncil.com