While federal funding for the arts has declined in recent years, local governments have increased support for artists and cultural projects in an effort to generate tax revenue, create new businesses and jobs, and improve the performance of existing businesses and creative industries, a report from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation finds. According to the report, How Cities Can Nurture Cultural Entrepreneurs (13 pages, PDF), direct cultural expenditures by county and municipal governments rose nearly 3 percent, to $747 million, on a year-over-year basis in 2013. At the same time, the report notes, fostering cultural entrepreneurship requires new policies and programs tailored to local artists and community characteristics. Recommended strategies include knowing the demographic, socioeconomic, and other traits of local artists; encouraging the development of convening and equipment-sharing centers; developing sustainable studio and live/work buildings; providing customized entrepreneurial training; creating networking and marketing opportunities for artists; embedding artists in city development strategies; and partnering with arts and policy faculty at local colleges.