An Investigation on The Relationship Between NEA Funding and Private Giving to Non Profit Dance Companies

Abstract

Why do dance companies spend valuable time targeting grants from the NEA when so little of their budget is covered by the NEA, and how can they use this information to effectively target future sources of funding? This paper seeks to find out where most dance companies find their funding, as well as why NEA grants are so coveted. Once more informed, dance companies can diversify their funding sources and increase their annual revenue. Ultimately, this paper will investigate the relationship between NEA funding and private giving to dance companies. First, a dance industry background will be established to inform readers about commercial and concert dance. For profit and non profit status will be described, and a breakdown of nonprofit dance funding in the United States will be reported. Next, the history of the NEA's contributions to dance companies from its creation until recent years will be addressed. The crowd-out theory will be defined and researched. A literary review of this topic will be summarized, as the discoveries of several previous academic articles studying direct and indirect crowd-out will be examined. The findings of a theoretical survey will also be brought to light and analyzed. Finally, a decision will be made regarding the claim that NEA funding produces a positive outcome on non-NEA funding for dance companies.