Fueling Creativity: Federal Investment in the Arts

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Young black woman wearing an ivory nightgown-like outfit pointing her toes on the ground while raising one arm and holding the other in first position on an illuminated stage Four actors on stage wearing bright red and white clothes performing Departera: the road to the afterlife. Two dancers hold their hands and foot up
In front of a large screen that says Artists 360 Full Circle stand twenty artists in two rows
There are two light-skinned people, with short brown hair and wearing medical masks, performing on a barnyard surrounded by yellow and green trees. One of them plays violin while the other walks on stilts behind them. On a stage, couples are celebrating and holding each other. In the background, someone plays an acoustic guitar with a smile on their face and one arm reaching up, and another person plays an accordion. A group of about ten medium-light skinned dancers are in a line on stage. They are all wearing matching outfits that are blue sleeveless shirts with a red and green stripe across, darker blue capri pants. Every other one of them staggered out to a side, with their heads facing down and their palms up. The first person in line is the focus and is staring directly at the camera.
A group of seven dancers in elaborate outfits and headdresses extend their hands and legs upwards. They dance on an illuminated red stage. Man playing violin in front of a gloomy blue background. Man suspended in the air in a harness with his arms outstretched. Two lights shine on his body.
Three Korean women in vibrant, updated traditional dress and hats, perform on stage in from of a bright purple and pink background. The women stand in a line close-up, and the artist in the center holds a microphone. An actor on a darkened stage reaches toward a rainbow swirl of smoke. They were a light-colored long sleeve top and knit cap. Shot from the back of the performance space, a group of four musicians stand on the stage in a row taking their final bow. They are surrounded by their instruments on a deep blue lit stage and framed with red curtains. The audience stands and claps.
Woman sits on a stage outdoors playing the banjo and singing. A man stand on a scaffold painting the head of an elaborate mural on a vibrant blue background.

Congress appropriated $708.8 Million to Federal Cultural Agencies in 2025, resulting in 3105 grants across 435 congressional districts nationwide, 5 territories and the District of Columbia.

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) 2025 Annual Budget = $207,000,000
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) 2025 Annual Budget = $207,000,000
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) 2025 Annual Budget = $294,800,000
TOTAL = $708,800,00

US 2025 Total Budget = $7.01 Trillion
Percent of Federal dollars spent on arts and culture agencies = 0.001%

Why Public Support for Arts and Culture Matters–especially in rural areas
According to the NEA, “A recent review of arts funding of the top 1,000 private and community foundations found that they don’t reach 65 percent of the counties in the country. In contrast, the Arts Endowment funds projects that reach 779 more counties than private foundations—that’s a quarter of the counties in the United States!” Federal funding ensures that all parts of our country–even those far removed from private philanthropy, have access to arts support that contributes to their community’s vibrancy and well-being.

NEA funding is a critical backbone of support that leverages state and local investment in the arts. For decades, the NEA has awarded 40% of its grantmaking budget to State Arts Agencies (SAAs) and Regional Arts Organizations (RAOs) for local re-granting, which in turn leverages matching government and private dollars. These funds often go to smaller, more rural communities that do not receive federal or private funding. SAA and RAO re-grant distribution data is not yet included in this report.

Federal funds are awarded to each RAO, with collective impact across the entire region through re-granting. Each state receives federal funds, and the federal/state matching funds are also re-granted to organizations statewide.

Data included in this report uses the following definitions of communities by population type, based on this document published by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

  • Metropolitan – at least one urban cluster of 50,000 people or more
  • Micropolitan – an urban cluster of at least 10,000 people but less than 50,000
  • Rural – areas with fewer than 10,000 people