From the Research Team

SAA Support for Local Arts Agencies

State arts agency (SAA) grant-making data, provided to NASAA through Final Descriptive Reports, are an important source for describing ways in which state arts agencies serve the public. Using that data, our latest edition of the State Arts Agency Fact Sheet, Support for Local Arts Agencies, details how SAAs increase public access to the arts. SAAs help each state cultivate and promote its unique creative assets, with local arts agencies (LAAs) as essential partners in that work.

SAAs’ support for their local partners extends their reach to more artists and audiences throughout their states. SAAs provided $37 million in grant dollars to LAAs, about 12% of grant funding, in fiscal year 2019. Most of these dollars go to regrants at the local level and operating support to assist LAAs’ organizational capacity. This is especially vital in rural and underserved communities, where access to local arts and culture may be limited. Grants to rural LAAs totaled $11.2 million in FY2019.