H. Res. 1582 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

September 23, 2010. 

Whereas Americans for the Arts is the Nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education in the United States; 

Whereas celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2010, Americans 

for the Arts is dedicated to representing and serving local 

communities and creating opportunities for every person 

in the United States to participate in and appreciate all 

forms of the arts; 

Whereas Americans for the Arts was founded and chartered 

in 1960 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, by then-first 

board president George Irwin, Philip Hanes, Ralph 

Burgard, Arthur Gelber, Charles Mark, Keith Martin, 

Leslie White, and Edgar Young with the mission of enhancing public and private support for the nonprofit arts 

and serving local arts councils in United States; 

Whereas Americans for the Arts is now currently 

headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in New 

York, Massachusetts, California, and Florida under the 

leadership of Americans for the Arts President and CEO 

Robert L. Lynch; 
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•HRES 1582 EH 

Whereas Americans for the Arts played a key role in the formation and establishment of the National Endowment for 

the Arts in 1965; 

Whereas Americans for the Arts has provided leadership and 

training to local public and nonprofit arts agencies 

through a national network consisting of Arts and Business Councils, Business Committees for the Arts, State 

arts agencies, State arts advocacy organizations, and 

community-based cultural organizations across the country serving 5,000 local arts agencies and their communities; 

Whereas Americans for the Arts continues to produce 

groundbreaking research that is the industry standard 

for reliable and credible information on the size and economic impact of the nonprofit arts industry through its 

series on ‘‘Arts and Economic Prosperity’’, which reports 

that approximately 100,000 nonprofit cultural organizations generate $166,200,000,000 in economic activity 

every year supporting 5,700,000 jobs and generating 

$29,600,000,000 in government revenue; 

Whereas Americans for the Arts produces annual events that 

heighten national visibility for the arts and arts education, including Arts Advocacy Day in cooperation with 

the Congressional Arts Caucus in Washington, DC, and 

the Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy that 

has featured illustrious artists and policymakers with 

speakers such as Maya Angelou, Arthur Schlesinger, 

Leonard Garment, Wynton Marsalis, Representatives 

John Brademas and Barbara Jordan, Senator Alan K. 

Simpson, and Robert Redford, National Arts and Humanities Month, and National professional and leadership 
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development convenings annually for 50 consecutive 

years; and 

Whereas Americans for the Arts has been a leader in promoting active participation in arts education both in and 

out-of-school through its professional development work 

and national visibility PSA campaigns, ‘‘The Arts. Ask 

for More’’: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives congratulates and honors Americans for the Arts for its 50 years of 

service in advancing the arts and arts education in the 

United States. 

Attest: 

Clerk.