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Frequently Asked Questions <br /> How were the 341 participating communities and regions selected? <br /> In 2015,Americans for the Arts published a Call for Participants for communities interested in participating in the <br /> Arts& Economic Prosperity 5 study. Of the more than 300 participants that expressed interest,250 agreed to <br /> participate and complete four participation criteria: (1) identify and code the universe of nonprofit arts and cultural <br /> organizations in their study region; (2)assist researchers with the collection of detailed financial and attendance <br /> data from those organizations; (3)conduct audience-intercept surveys at cultural events;and(4)pay a modest <br /> cost-sharing fee(no community was refused participation for an inability to pay). Thirty of the 250 partners <br /> included multiple regions as part of their participation(e.g.,a county as well as a city located within the county); <br /> as a result,the 250 local, regional, and statewide partners represent a total of 341 participating study regions. <br /> How were the eligible nonprofit arts organizations in each community selected? <br /> Local partners attempted to identify their universe of nonprofit arts and cultural organizations using the Urban <br /> Institute's National Taxonomy of Exempt Entity(NTEE)codes as a guideline. Eligible organizations included <br /> those whose primary purpose is to promote appreciation for and understanding of the visual,performing, folk, and <br /> media arts.Government-owned and government-operated cultural facilities and institutions,municipal arts <br /> agencies and councils, private community arts organizations, unincorporated arts groups, living collections(such <br /> as zoos,aquariums, and botanical gardens), university presenters and cultural facilities,and arts programs that are <br /> embedded under the umbrella of a non-arts organization or facility(such as a hospital or church)also were <br /> included if they play a substantial role in the cultural life of the community. For-profit businesses and individual <br /> artists are excluded from this study. <br /> What type of economic analysis was done to determine the study results? <br /> An input-output economic analysis was customized for each of the participating study regions to determine the <br /> economic impact its nonprofit arts and cultural organizations and arts audiences. Americans for the Arts,which <br /> conducted the research,worked with highly regarded economists to design the input-output models. <br /> What other information was collected in addition to the arts surveys? <br /> In addition to detailed expenditure data provided by the surveyed organizations and cultural attendees, researchers <br /> and economists collected extensive wage, labor,tax,and commerce data provided by the U.S. Department of <br /> Commerce(County Business Patterns,the Regional Economic Information System, and the Survey of State and <br /> Local Finance),as well as local and state tax data for use in the input-output analyses. <br /> Why doesn't this study use a multiplier? <br /> When many people hear about an economic impact study,they expect the result to be quantified in what is often <br /> called a multiplier or an economic activity multiplier. The economic activity multiplier is an estimate of the <br /> number of times a dollar changes hands within the community(e.g., a theater pays its actor,the actor spends <br /> money at the grocery store,the grocery store pays the cashier, and so on). It is quantified as one number by which <br /> expenditures are multiplied. The convenience of the multiplier is that it is one simple number. Users rarely note, <br /> however,that the multiplier is developed by making gross estimates of the industries within the local economy <br /> AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS Arts&Economic Prosperity 5 27 <br /> q I 15 <br />