A man wearing a camouflage shirt with the number 93 and beige cargo shorts pushes a child sitting on a swinging blue netted ball, part of a colorful, large-scale netted play structure.

Families explore the interactive exhibits at the New Children’s Museum in San Diego during a Blue Star Museums event. Photo by Brandon Colbert Photography
 

2025 Poetry Out Loud winners (left to right) Second place winner Teonna Randle (SD), National Champion Isavel Mendoza (PA), and third place winner Kaitlyn Lubega (NM). Photo by James Kegley

2025 NEA Jazz Master Marshall Allen and the Sun Ra Arkestra perform at the 2025 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert. Photo by Jati Lindsay

A man in military uniform and two children sit at a table coloring with crayons.

Military families participate in art-making activities at the Dayton Art Institute during a Blue Star Museums event. Photo by the Carrs & Co Photography House

Musicians perform on a dramatically lit stage.

In honor of 2025 Jazz Master Gary Giddins, David Murray performs alongside Russell Carter, Emma Dayhuff, and Marta Sánchez at the 2025 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert. Photo by Jati Lindsay

Two boys engage in an art exhibit at a museum. In the foreground, one child points at an information board while another takes notes.

Military families explore the Tampa Bay History Museum during a Blue Star Museums event. Photo by Octavio Jones

A man dressed in military uniform holds a child to allow access to a brightly lit table featuring colored squares.

Military families explored the Dayton Art Institute during a Blue Star Museums event. Photo by the Carrs & Co Photography House

A young woman with her hands upraised speaks into a microphone

National Champion Isavel Mendoza of Pennsylvania competes at the 2025 Poetry Out Loud finals. Photo by James Kegley

Three men and a woman smile and walk single-file onstage while musicians play behind them.

2025 NEA Jazz Masters. Photo by Jati Lindsay

Three smiling students smile hold trophies in front of a Poetry Out Loud backdrop.

2025 Poetry Out Loud winners (left to right) Second place winner Teonna Randle (SD), National Champion Isavel Mendoza (PA), and third place winner Kaitlyn Lubega (NM). Photo by James Kegley

A man plays upright bass onstage in front of a backgroup of an illustration of piano keys.

2020 NEA Jazz Master Reggie Workman plays at the 2025 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert. Photo by Jati Lindsay

What’s Happening at the NEA

Two boys engage in an art exhibit at a museum. In the foreground, one child pointing at an information board while another take notes.
Military Families Can Visit Participating Blue Star Museums for Free Now though Labor Day
Logo of red lines for ACPSA
Arts and Cultural Industries Grew at Twice the Rate of the U.S. Economy, Adding $1.2 Trillion
Photos of the winning songwriters alongside their names, schools, location, and song title. Text provides the details on the concert on June 16, 2025.
Announcing the Winners of the 2024-2025 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge for High School Students

Stories

See All Stories
Painting of a woman with text "When there's help, there's hope."
Read
Addressing Substance Use Disorder with the Arts
Black man with gray beard and glasses wearing red sequined suit, sitting, laughing.
Watch
NEA Jazz Masters: Tribute to Marshall Allen
A man surrounded by carousel and carvings.
Listen
Todd Goings
Carousel Carver, Restorationist, and 2024 National Heritage Fellow

News

See All News
Isavel Mendoza smiling and holding his trophy while confetti falls around him
Congratulations to 2025 Poetry Out Loud National Champion Isavel Mendoza of Pennsylvania
A colorful collage of seven individual artists with a medallion in the upper right corner being held by a red, blue and yellow ribbon. Text reads 2025 National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowships
Meet the 2025 NEA National Heritage Fellows!
Black woman in yellow hat and flowery shirt stands in foreground with hand on her heart, group of people seated behind her also have hands over the heart, Black man at back plays a trumpet.
National Endowment for the Arts Announces Arts, Health, and Well-being Demonstration Projects

Grants

The National Endowment for the Arts awards grants to nonprofit organizations, creative writers and translators, state arts agencies, and regional arts organizations in support of arts projects across the country.
Go to the Grants section »
Volunteer to be an NEA panelist »

Impact

See the impact of the Arts Endowment on your state, and how the agency's work in research, accessibility, and other areas has had a major impact in the arts and culture of the country.
Go to the Impact section »

Some Facts about the National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that funds, promotes, and strengthens the creative capacity of our communities by providing all Americans with opportunities for arts participation.

Approximately 2,400 Grants

Recommended for grant awards annually in all 50 states, DC, and U.S. territories.

More than 60 Percent

Percentage of Arts Endowment grants that go to small and medium-sized organizations (budgets up to $2 million).

Approximately 34 Percent

Percentage of Arts Endowment-funded activities in high-poverty communities.

Some Facts from the National Endowment for the Arts

These facts are based on the most recent data (2023) from the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (ACPSA), which is produced jointly by the National Endowment for the Arts’ Office of Research & Analysis and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Commerce Department. The ACPSA tracks the annual economic impact of arts and cultural production from 35 industries, both commercial and nonprofit.

$1.2 trillion

Amount the arts and cultural industries contribute to the U.S. economy.

4.2 Percent

Percentage of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product is accounted for by arts and cultural industries.

Nearly 5.4 Million

Americans work in the arts and cultural industries on payroll.

Some Facts about the National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that funds, promotes, and strengthens the creative capacity of our communities by providing all Americans with diverse opportunities for arts participation.

62 Cents

The Arts Endowment’s annual cost to each American.

0.003 Percent

The Arts Endowment’s percentage of the federal budget.

Nearly $6 Billion

Amount awarded by the Arts Endowment since its beginning in 1965.

Some Facts from the National Endowment for the Arts

These facts are based on the most recent data (2022) from the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA), a national survey conducted in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau that has allowed cultural policymakers, arts managers, scholars, and journalists to obtain reliable statistics about American patterns of arts engagement.

Utah

The state’s percentage of adults who attended a live performing arts event (62 percent) exceeded that of the national percentage of U.S. adults (38 percent).

Vermont

The percentage of the state’s adults who read a literary work (60 percent) far exceeded the national average (38 percent).

Wisconsin

The state’s adult population created or performed any type of art at a higher percentage (73 percent) than the national average for U.S. adults (52 percent).

Some Facts about the National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that funds, promotes, and strengthens the creative capacity of our communities by providing all Americans with opportunities for arts participation.

Approximately $8 million

Amount of arts education funding for lifelong learning projects annually.

More than 24 million

Estimated number of people who attend a live arts event annually.

42

Percentage of NEA grants awarded to localities of less than a million people.