From the Field

Designing Inclusive Virtual Events

Folk Alliance International has published an e-book on Designing Inclusive Virtual Events. Though live performances are returning in person, there are still benefits to hosting them virtually. Virtual events come with lower costs, fewer safety risks and smaller structural barriers. This makes accessibility and inclusion more attainable for both the artists and audiences. The e-book lays out the organizing components needed to make virtual events accessible and inclusive.

State Budgets Holding

Stateline, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts, provides a moderately optimistic examination of the state economic and fiscal prospects. Despite Economic Headwinds, Most State Budget Experts Aren’t Worried suggests that state economists and budget analysts anticipate slowing revenue growth in the coming years, prompting lawmakers to consider less risky spending strategies. However, according to experts, there is reason to be cautious but little need to fear the cloudy economic outlook, because state incomes are just beginning to be higher than they were in the past, and the revenue raised during past years would serve as a safety net for many states. In the event of a recession, states’ reserves will help them maintain balanced budgets.

Artists in the Workforce, 2015-2019

The National Endowment for the Arts released a data profile series showcasing 2015-2019 artists in the workforce American Community Survey (ACS) data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The series features an interactive map that allows users to review state and national counts of artists by selected occupations. Data sets can be downloaded.

Also available are several related briefs pertaining to the ACS artist workforce data:

Artists in the Workforce: Selected Demographic Characteristics Prior to COVID‐19 sets the workforce stage prior to the pandemic so that changes can be measured.
State Locations of Artists, by Race and Ethnicity: 2015-2019 summarizes race and ethnicity compositions of artists by state.
Arts Managers by Race, Ethnicity, and Gender: 2015‐2019 summarizes the race and ethnicities of managerial occupations that fall into the arts industries.

Philanthropy and COVID-19

Candid and the Center for Disease Philanthropy have just released a third report on philanthropic trends during COVID-19: Philanthropy and COVID-19: Examining Two Years of Giving. Forecast data on giving suggests that overall grant making increased by 11%, but funding for COVID-19 specifically fell by 31% across community, corporate and independent foundations. The report includes breakdowns of giving data along demographic lines, case studies on global COVID-19 philanthropy, and recommendations for funders on increasing giving and grant flexibility.