San Diego – May 3, 2006 – The Arts & Culture Working Group of The San Diego Foundation has released the results of a comprehensive study of cultural participation in San Diego County, introducing key findings about the region as part of the Foundation’s “Understanding the San Diego Region” initiative.
The findings of the report, entitled “pARTicipate San Diego: The Case for Increased Patronage for Arts and Culture in the San Diego Region,” reveals:
• The San Diego region places high priority on increasing arts education
• San Diego’s arts and culture community is under-funded
• Cultural participation needs to be deepened and expanded, leading to greater resources for arts and culture
• People care about the arts – two-thirds of San Diegans would be willing to pay more taxes to support arts and culture
Overall, the findings underline the need for San Diegans to increase cultural participation at all levels. This means increasing knowledge about the region’s cultural assets, availing ourselves of these assets and offering support to make them better. The San Diego Foundation’s Working Group envisions a community where every resident shares a stake in arts and culture success.
As the first in a series of research reports by The San Diego Foundation’s Working Groups, the survey represents a diverse picture of San Diego residents. The research included a countywide telephone survey conducted in English and Spanish, interviews and discussion groups with stakeholders, a countywide survey of arts and culture organizations, comparisons of San Diego with other communities and the nation, and investigation of effective strategies and programs in other communities. To date, it is the most complete portrait of San Diego County’s cultural participation.
Chair of the Arts & Culture Working Group, Roger Cornell, MD, says: “We are delighted to be able to deliver this comprehensive research into the state of arts and culture participation in San Diego County, and look forward to developing an action plan, with other community partners, to build further participation."
The Foundation, based on the findings put forward by this research, is developing an action plan exploring five intertwining themes in collaboration with the wider community, to form a coordinated approach to increasing participation, entitled “pARTicipate San Diego.” The themes include increasing:
• Public awareness and advocacy
• Arts education
• Grantmaking in the areas of cultural participation and innovation
• Donor engagement and cultivation
Determined by the findings and driven by the need, the next steps in “pARTicipate San Diego” are to gather community input into the plan, develop key partnerships in the community, create task forces to provide guidance and the completion of additional research into the state of arts education in San Diego County.
For more information on the report, to download a free copy, or to order a hard copy of the report, visit www.pARTicipatesandiego.com.
About The San Diego Foundation:
Founded in 1975, The San Diego Foundation is a broad-purpose community foundation helping individuals, families and organizations carry out their charitable plans, with the common goal of improving the quality of life in the greater San Diego region, now and for generations to come. Through an effort called Understanding the San Diego Region, The Foundation joins other nonprofit organizations, community leaders, experts and government officials to address the needs of the community and build consensus for solutions. Since its inception, The Foundation has granted more than $500 million to nonprofits serving the community. For more information about The San Diego Foundation, visit www.sdfoundation.org or call (619) 235-2300.
About Endow San Diego:
Endow San Diego is a regional, multi-year initiative designed to build permanent endowments on behalf of individuals and organizations. The Nonprofit Partnership of Endow San Diego unites nonprofit organizations in the common goal of increasing endowment and the sustainability of the San Diego region’s nonprofit sector. Since July 1, 2005, Endow San Diego has engaged 202 Nonprofit Partners and generated 87 new endowments: 47 residing at The Foundation and 40 among our Nonprofit Partners. These new endowments now total $11 million, with $5 million held at The Foundation and $6 million spread throughout the community.
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