Sponsor Highlight

National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector.

MISSION

The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector.

GRANTMAKING

The NEA is the largest annual national funder of the arts in the United States. In FY 2010, the NEA invested nearly $139 million through more than 2,700 grants across the country; in turn, these organizations had direct expenditures in their communities of $2.1 billion. NEA grants have a powerful multiplying effect, with each grant dollar typically matched by nine dollars of additional investments in this country's nonprofit arts organizations.