NYC ARTS SUMMER CALENDAR AND WEB RE-LAUNCH

The Alliance will publish the summer 2004 edition of NYC ARTS Cultural Guide & Calendar on May 26. Published annually since 1996, NYC ARTS is the most complete listing of cultural events available in print and lists events from May 27 through mid-September. It is distributed free at key points throughout the city, including airports, hotels, visitors centers, libraries and cultural institutions. The New York Times will again include the guide in a targeted home delivery on Wednesday, May 26, 2004.

The sponsors and partners of NYC ARTS are the City of New York, American Express, The New York Times, I Love NY and the Liman Foundation.

The Alliance is also re-launching its NYC ARTS Web site in mid-June. The new Web site will include expanded event listings, organization profiles and travel directions and will be the most comprehensive online cultural guide for New York City.

ALLIANCE EXPANDS PUBLIC INFORMATION SERVICES

The Alliance announces the expansion and overhaul of its public information services and cultural tourism promotion. Over the next year, this will include the establishment of a Web-based system to gather and disseminate the most complete event listings and program description information available online and in print. The new Web-based system will also expand coverage to the rest of New York State in partnership with the New York State Council on the Arts and I Love NY with support from Empire State Development Corporation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

FOURTH ANNUAL BENEFIT HONORING MARTIN E. SEGAL

On Monday, May 10, the Alliance for the Arts held its Fourth Annual Benefit honoring Martin E. Segal, a life-long champion of the arts and arts education in New York City. The evening event brought together more than 300 guests from the civic, business, cultural and philanthropic communities and was the Alliance's most successful benefit to date.

Martin Segal has played a prominent role in the arts community in New York for decades. He led a civic campaign to establish the independent Department of Cultural Affairs in the 1970s and has been a staunch advocate for arts education for the last 25 years. His dedication was praised by City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, Commissioner of Cultural Affairs Kate D. Levin and former chair of the Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission, Ronay Menschel.

EARLE MACK TO FINLAND

Earle I. Mack, Chairman Emeritus of the New York State Council on the Arts and former Vice Chairman of the Alliance for the Arts, has been confirmed as the United States Ambassador to Finland.

FUNDING PARTNERSHIPS

Many of the Alliance's most successful projects are made possible by the support of our institutional partners:

American Express. The ninth annual NYC ARTS guide to summer arts and cultural events is again sponsored by American Express. American Express is also working with the Alliance to measure the tangible benefits of cultural tourism in New York through the new Cultural Tourism Barometer project.

Citigroup. Already the leading corporate sponsor of the Alliance's arts education publications, Citigroup has committed to a second, two-year, $100,000 grant in support of NYCkidsARTS, in print and online. Featuring the best programs in arts education available at cultural organizations throughout the city, NYCkidsARTS is a valuable resource for teachers, parents and students.

Microsoft. For the second year in a row, Microsoft has pledged its support of the Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Fellowship for Public Policy and the Arts. Each year affording a young professional the opportunity to participate in the civic life of New York through the Alliance's advocacy work, the Wagner Fellows play a vital role in advancing the Alliance's mission of service to the field.

Special thanks to our partners who support the Alliance's work in its entirety: JPMorgan Chase, Con Edison, IBM, Joyce and Seward Johnson Foundation, The New York Times Company, Jerome Robbins Foundation, May and Samuel Rudin Foundation, Shubert Foundation and Time Warner.

The Alliance also partners with public agencies:

New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. The Alliance has long been a partner of DCA, whose assistance enables the publication of NYC ARTS, NYCkidsARTS, and research on the economic impact of the arts. The Alliance's partnership with the City extends to work on special publications such as 2004's Cool New York guide to winter cultural events, the guide to the 2003 Winter Festival and the guide to memorial and cultural events marking the one-year anniversary of September 11th. DCA is the Alliance's key partner in the Citywide Cultural Database project, a complex data system that will support both our research and promotion work.

New York State Council on the Arts. Support from NYSCA has a direct effect on all areas of the Alliance's work--from publications to research to outreach. The Alliance's partnership with NYSCA in research goes back to early economic impact of the arts studies and continues today with a recent examination of the financial health of the city's arts community. NYSCA is also a partner in the Alliance's work statewide, beginning with the 1997 study of the arts' impact on the state's economy and more recently working in tandem with I Love NY, ensuring that state-funded cultural destinations can be part of the State's cultural tourism promotion.

Empire State Development Corporation. A partnership with the I Love NY division of Empire State Development Corp. is making it possible for the Alliance to expand its work promoting arts and culture statewide, as well study cultural organizations as economic anchors and catalysts. ESDC also lends its support to NYC ARTS, which features events all summer long in the city but also contains expanded content on day trips and other upstate cultural destinations.

NEW DIRECTORS

The Alliance is happy to announce the election of two new Directors:

Robert Clauser is Partner for Communications, Media and Entertainment at Accenture.

Heather Espinosa is the Director of Finance and Operations at Women & Company, a Citigroup company.

DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS BUDGET FOR FY 2005

The Executive Budget for fiscal year 2005, which begins July 1, proposes $103.6 million for the Department of Cultural Affairs (out of a total City budget of $46.9 billion.) This is $15.1 million less than the current budget of $118.7 million but $5.1 million more than the $98.5 million budget proposed in the January preliminary financial plan. The Mayor took the positive step of increasing the baseline for DCA by $10 million in comparison to FY 2004. The City Council must consider whether to add the $15.1 million necessary to maintain the current level of funding. In City Council budget hearings on May 21, Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate D. Levin expressed the hope that "the final budget will be higher than it is now."

ALLIANCE SURVEY PRODUCES NEW CULTURAL ECONOMY DATA

A new Alliance for the Arts study entitled The Health of New York City's Cultural Institutions, examines the effects of 9/11 on the financial health of nonprofit cultural organizations through 2003. The study--based on data provided by the New York State Council on the Arts--showed that cultural groups in the city continued to be a source of local jobs despite hardships caused by the recession and 9/11-related increases in expenses. The principal findings are:

In 2003, cultural organizations in New York City spent a total of $2.1 billion on their annual operations. Half of these expenditures (49 percent), or $1.06 billion, went to salaries and fringe benefits for employees of these organizations.

The study finds that 87 percent of the employees of New York City's cultural organizations live in the city, compared to an overall average of 78 percent.

The findings also show that the cultural sector has struggled over the past few years. After a period of robust growth in the late 1990s, the cultural sector declined by four percent overall from 2001 to 2003, with total budgets increasing by two percent from 2001 to 2002, then falling to below 2001 levels in 2003. These small changes in the total incomes of cultural organizations mask more dramatic shifts.

Admissions income plummeted 14 percent from 2001 to 2002, and regained almost all (98 percent) of this loss by 2003.

Fundraising income overall jumped 25 percent from 2001 to 2002, and fell off only slightly in 2003.

Foundation income increased by 15 percent from 2001 to 2002 with special post 9/11 grants, but in 2003 fell back just below 2001 levels.

Total government support held steady from 2001 to 2002, but declined by 14 percent in 2003.