10 reasons the visual arts are important and why your support is needed!

1. Arts improve individual well-being. 63% of the population believe the arts “lifts me up beyond everyday experiences,” and 73% say the arts are a “positive experience in a troubled world.”
2. Arts unify communities. 67% of Americans believe “the arts unify our communities regardless of age, race, and ethnicity” and 62% agree that the arts “helps me understand other cultures better”.
3. Arts improve academic performance. Students engaged in arts learning have higher GPAs, standardized test scores, and lower drop-out rates. These academic benefits are reaped by students regardless of socio-economic status.
4. Arts have social impact. Researchers have demonstrated that a high concentration of the arts in a city leads to higher civic engagement, more social cohesion, higher child welfare, and lower poverty rates.
5. Arts drive tourism and revenue to local businesses. Attendees at nonprofit arts events spend beyond the cost of admission on items such as meals, parking, and babysitters; creating valuable commerce for our local businesses.
6. Arts spark creativity and innovation. Creativity is among the top 5 applied skills sought by business leaders with 72% saying creativity is of high importance when hiring.
   
7. Arts drive the creative industries. The creative industries are arts businesses that range from nonprofit museums, symphonies, and theaters to for-profit film, architecture, and design companies. An analysis of Dun & Bradstreet data counts businesses in the U.S. involved in the creation or distribution of the arts at 4% of all businesses and 2% of all employees.
8. Arts strengthen the economy. Arts and cultural goods in the U.S. add billions to the economy. The arts represented a larger share of the nation’s economy (4.2% of GDP) than transportation, tourism, and agriculture (source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis). The nonprofit arts industry alone generates billions in economic activity annually which supports 4.6 million jobs and generates billions in government revenue.
9. Arts improve healthcare. Nearly one-half of the nation’s healthcare institutions provide arts programming for patients, families, and staff. 78% deliver these programs because of healing benefits to patients; shorter hospital stays, better pain management, and less medication. The arts also heal the mental, physical, and moral injuries of war for military service members and veterans. They rank the creative arts therapies in the top 4 (out of 40) interventions and treatments. 
10. Halo Arts Project programs fill the financial gaps that artists experience and give them support to continue their work.  If projects like this don’t happen then how can reasons 1 thru 9 continue to enrich our lives?  Statistics by Randy I. Cohen, VP of research and Policy at Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading arts advocacy organization.

We thank you for your consideration!