New England’s Cultural Database, developed by the New England Foundation for the Arts
An online data warehouse containing financial, demographic, geographic, and other information about cultural nonprofits, businesses, and professionals in New England
Provides the New England state arts agencies, researchers, cultural organizations, funders, artists, policy makers, and the general public with a wealth of research information to support analysis, advocacy, and policy development
A geographically coded directory to allow searches by location and support a variety of analyses based on geographic area
Uses a system of tiered admittance providing varying levels of access to the information contained in the database
Expanding as for-profit creative industry businesses are added to the present listings of nonprofit cultural organizations and individual artists to encompass the entire creative economy of New England
Includes an Impact Calculator, an interactive cultural economic impact analysis tool that demonstrates the economic impact of the nonprofit cultural sector and then estimates how changes in the sector affect a community or region’s employment, income, and property values
Currently houses 22,856 active records
ABOUT THE DATA
CultureCount provides useful data you can trust. The online database collects and matches financial and descriptive data from:
federal, state and local arts agencies
IRS digitized Form 990 data
public agencies
private funders
annual NEFA regional survey of nonprofit cultural organizations
Directory listings are compiled and vetted by NEFA. Organizations are matched by tax ID number and coded by funders or the IRS. Listings are then cross-coded according to standard federal classification systems and NEFA’s creative economy definition categories.
Directory listings represent:
Organizations surveyed by NEFA
Organizations that have filed IRS Form 990
Organizations that have received grants from NEFA
Organizations that have received grants from the six New England state arts agencies
Organizations that have received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts
Organizations that have added themselves to the database
Individuals who have added themselves to the database
Individuals imported from MatchBook.org
CultureCount shares data with MatchBook.org, an online cultural marketplace designed to bring together New England’s performing artists and the people and organizations who present them.
Financial data: Most recent digitized IRS Form 990
Grants data: Grants databases of public funders listed (SAA’s, NEA, NEFA)
Geographic data: Most recent U.S. Census
BACKGROUND
NEFA's past research into the economic impact of cultural organizations, and role as research partner on New England's Creative Economy Council led to the conceptualization and creation of the New England Cultural Database (NECD). Now called CultureCount, this online database is the only comprehensive and consistent data collection resource for New England's creative economy. Senior NEFA Research Consultant Douglas DeNatale, president of Community Logic, Inc. developed and built CultureCount. CultureCount complements the research activities at NEFA by providing a centralized location for the collection of local creative economy data for New England. This local data supplements the federal data analyzed by NEFA in research reports on the creative sector and fits within the creative economy definitional structure outlined in
The Creative Economy: A New Definition - November 2007.
CultureCount IMPACT CALCULATOR (Piloted in Massachusetts)
The Impact Calculator is the interactive cultural economic impact analysis tool built right into CultureCount. It demonstrates the economic impact of the nonprofit cultural sector and then estimates how changes in the sector affect a community or region’s employment, income, and property values. Using property tax information combined with IRS and other data from a sample group of communities, creative industry leaders, community members, and policy makers can use this analysis tool to help advocate for investments in community cultural assets. If you would like to attend a CultureCount Impact Calculator training workshop, please email culturecount@nefa.org.
PARTNERS AND FUNDERS
New England Foundation for the Arts
Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism
Maine Arts Commission
Massachusetts Cultural Council
New Hampshire State Council on the Arts
Rhode Island State Council on the Arts
Vermont Arts Council
Community Logic, Inc.
MASS MoCA/Williams College Center for Creative Community Development (C3D)
The Boston Foundation
Fidelity Foundation
The Heinz Endowments
The Davis Family Foundation
The Cabot Family Charitable Trust
DATA PROVIDERS
New England Foundation for the Arts
Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism
Maine Arts Commission
Massachusetts Cultural Council
New Hampshire State Council on the Arts
Rhode Island State Council on the Arts
Vermont Arts Council
National Center for Charitable Statistics
National Endowment for the Arts
National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
Maine Humanities Council
Maine State Archives
For more information about CultureCount: New England’s Cultural Database, please email culturecount@nefa.org.
