Mission:
Americans for the Arts, the nation's leading arts information clearinghouse, is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts.

Background:
Americans for the Arts was established in 1996 as the result of a merger of the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies, which was founded in 1960, and the American Council for the Arts, founded in 1978. The organization provides research and information, advocacy tools and training, leadership development, visibility programs, ongoing educational events and workshops, awards, and customized projects. Its constituency is made up primarily of local arts agencies, but it also works with state and national arts organizations, government agencies, business leaders, educators, individual philanthropists, and other funders.

Americans for the Arts played a key role in organizing lobbying efforts in the late 1990s to keep the National Endowment for the Arts alive despite several attempts to eliminate the agency entirely. The organization most recently made headlines when it received a $120 million gift from Ruth Lilly, heiress to the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical company fortune.

Outstanding Feature:
With more than forty years' experience researching the arts in America, the organization has built a comprehensive National Arts Policy Database containing approximately 7,000 documents published since 1960 with information on the arts and culture in the United States. The database has the date, title, author, publisher, and an abstract for most items. At the end of each listing is availability and contact information for the appropriate publisher, government agency, or service organization. Web users can search the database by keyword or browse publications by category.