{"id":126160,"date":"2022-11-30T16:14:49","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T21:14:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/?p=126160"},"modified":"2023-08-15T11:50:47","modified_gmt":"2023-08-15T15:50:47","slug":"investing-in-culturally-significant-businesses-and-community-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/investing-in-culturally-significant-businesses-and-community-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"Investing in Culturally-Significant Businesses and Community Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Investing in Culturally- Significant Businesses and Community Growth<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Leveraging Post-Pandemic Community Investment to Ensure Cultural Preservation<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

November 2022<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i>\u00a9Inga \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/i><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Funding for this study was provided by the Kresge Foundation.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Joshua Devine, <\/strong>Director of Racial Economic Equity, NCRC<\/em>
Jason Richardson,<\/strong> Senior Director, Research, NCRC<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCONTENTS<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

\u2014 Key Takeaways<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Small businesses owned by people of color that focus on the arts and reflect the historic culture of their communities are not getting the resources they need to survive.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Culturally-significant\u00a0Small Businesses (CSBs) are a\u00a0crucial driver of neighborhood economic prosperity\u00a0<\/strong>that also provide a bulwark against gentrification and displacement.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Major funders\u00a0should be more proactive and generous <\/strong>in supporting both large \u201canchor institutions\u201d like museums and\u00a0theaters,\u00a0and<\/em><\/strong> reaching out to offer technical assistance and funding resources to CSBs that currently struggle to access such support.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDownload Report<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\n<\/svg>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Introduction<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Arts and culture are an important component of overall quality of life for every person on earth. Access to cultural resources and connections \u2013 or the lack thereof \u2013 shapes many aspects of our society. It also influences economic outcomes, as economists who study the role of \u201chuman capital\u201d in wealth-building and opportunity creation have identified.<\/p>

What do we mean by \u201cculturally significant businesses?\u201d It is a far-ranging category that includes everything from locally-owned neighborhood eateries where people can see familiar faces and enjoy something that tastes like home, to music and art spaces that serve as local nightlife hubs, to small independent museums, photography studios, flower shops and the like. It also entails cultural innovation championed by entrepreneurs from fashion designers and techies to service-based businesses of historic legacy like barbershops, salons and main-street mom and pop shops. These are the businesses that help define the line between \u201ca geographic area where many people live\u201d and \u201ca community where neighbors greet one another on the street and support one another in times of need.\u201d Either of these types of places can be accurately labeled a\u00a0neighborhood<\/em>. But only the latter is apt to foster the support networks, word-of-mouth job opportunities and other key elements of human capital that facilitate community resilience to crises \u2014 whether an acute force of nature like a natural disaster or pandemic, or a slow-moving economic force like gentrification.<\/p>

Culturally significant businesses also afford people opportunities to find meaning in their\u00a0lives, and\u00a0seek pride in their culture and what it offers to the neighborhoods they call home. Such meaning-making opportunities are found in the vast diversity of the American people, in the practices and purposes of our institutions, and woven within the unique identities of our neighborhoods. Despite this prevalence, however, the synergy of art and culture has been absent in the landscape of COVID-19 community and economic recovery and investment. Pandemic impacts and post-pandemic realities reveal missed opportunities to meaningfully center art and cultural preservation in small business resilience. Consequently, businesses and communities continue to fight against historic cultural extraction pressures.<\/p>

The disproportionate economic impact of the pandemic on small businesses owned by people of color and the subsequent uneven landscape of support to aid in their recovery and growth has revealed a critical need to reexamine how we invest. Private and public funders who are seeking to support solutions to overturning pandemic impacts must expand their frameworks of investment to include culture, and do so in a way that centers equity, race and nontraditional cultural actors. This reimagining can help bridge the gap between diverging issues of minority business development, community revitalization and displacement.<\/p>

This report seeks to amplify the importance of art and culture (what Kresge Foundation staff sometimes refer to as \u201csmall \u2018\u201ca\u2019\u201d and big \u2018\u201cC\u2019\u201d) to cities in general. Within this broad topic we specifically examine the role of artistic and culturally significant businesses (CSBs) to Black communities in those cities. The report expands upon our initial research<\/a> of cultural significance to help build a framework that guides the development of investment vehicles, policies and programs supporting CSBs in communities of color.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Culturally Significant Businesses in Post-Pandemic Recovery<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

With performances and events canceled, and many people unwilling or unable to spend money on tickets, the sector has been\u00a0hit hard financially<\/a>. To some extent, the current situation shares some similarities with the 2008 financial crisis. Though there are signs that the arts and culture sector will have difficulty in recovering or returning to its pre-pandemic status, COVID-19\u2019s widespread impact (which differs from the financial crisis) make it difficult to predict how quickly or deeply the arts will regain lost ground. However, there are a few assumptions we can make. Economists are predicting an economic\u00a0recession<\/a>\u00a0that is likely to have a major impact on the arts sector. Three common sources of funding for the sector \u2013 government funding, private donations, and income generated by sales and ticketing \u2013 are also likely to be affected by a potential recession.<\/p>

COVID-19 also had an immediate and devastating impact on artists and culturally significant businesses, such as forcing businesses to close and\u00a0leading to job losses<\/a>. Consumers of art and cultural goods and services still exist, yet the way they engage with the sector may be changing. Gathering in groups for live performances remains problematic for many, due to personal health concerns or public health restrictions. Outdoor events, online performances, curbside pickup and other asymmetrical ways of consuming art and culture have flourished in many ways during this period. Concert halls and museums have been forced to close their doors. Many artists have found themselves out of work. As a result, the art and culture sector faces a long road to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Pandemic Impacts Give Rise to the Threat of Cultural Displacement<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The arts and culture sector\u2019s slow recovery; government failures to emphasize identifying and supporting\u00a0culturally-significant\u00a0businesses; and other general demographic trends and COVID-19 impacts has weakened community response to threats of cultural displacement. Cities like Detroit and Baltimore are experiencing a changing demographic landscape \u2013 an exodus of their Black populations, unequal pandemic recovery and rising costs of living \u2013 that make it difficult to identify and achieve inclusive growth.<\/p>

Both cities have seen an exodus of people since 2000. Since that time Baltimore has lost 10% of its residents, falling from 651,000 to just under 586,000 people. Detroit has lost a stunning 30% of its population during that\u00a020 year\u00a0period, falling from 951,000 in 2000 to just 639,000 in 2020.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t