Reasoning & Evidence
Establishing dedicated and sustainable funding streams for arts, culture, and leisure initiatives enables communities and health systems to support consistent access to creative and recreational opportunities across the lifespan. Allocating funds within annual budgets–across public health, healthcare, aging services, parks and recreation, libraries, and cultural affairs–allows jurisdictions to align arts, culture, and leisure initiatives with broader community development goals. Participation in arts and cultural activities over time is associated with improved mental health and well-being, increased social support, and reduced loneliness.(34,73) Leisure participation plays a distinct role in fostering belonging and social connection by providing accessible, everyday opportunities for interaction and community participation.(34) Sustained engagement in and access to diverse cultural opportunities have also been linked to lower social isolation and improved quality of life among older adults and other populations.(73) Dedicated funding also helps sustain community-based organizations, cultural institutions, recreational spaces, and other forms of social infrastructure that provide essential spaces and programs where people gather, build relationships, and feel a sense of belonging.(64) Investments can expand culturally responsive programming and reduce participation barriers such as cost, transportation, accessibility needs, and outreach gaps. Cross-sector partnerships and pooled financing models can further leverage resources and align priorities to support integrated initiatives that advance social health and community resilience.(74)
Emerging research highlights that arts and culture organizations can function as “anchor institutions” within communities. These anchor institutions are long-standing entities that contribute to local economic development, workforce opportunities, and community stability. When funding supports not only programming but also the broader operations and partnerships of these organizations, arts and culture can play a more intentional role in strengthening both economic and social infrastructure.(152) Embedding arts, culture, and leisure funding within long-term planning and budgeting processes helps ensure continuity and enables evaluation of outcomes over time to assess opportunities to adapt initiatives to community needs. Treating these initiatives as core community assets may support prevention-oriented health strategies and strengthen population well-being.(11)
Examples of Community Implementation
USA: Percent for Art programs establish dedicated funding streams for public art by allocating a small percentage of public construction budgets to arts and cultural projects. More than 350 cities and states have adopted these policies to support arts commissions, community arts projects, and cultural programming integrated into public infrastructure. Percent for Art offers a scalable policy model that can create predictable, long-term investments for arts, culture, and leisure.
USA: KaBOOM! is an organization that partners with cities, school districts, and community organizations to fund and build playgrounds and play spaces in underserved communities across the USA. Through grant programs, public-private partnerships, and community-led design processes, KaBOOM! Helps local governments and nonprofits secure funding to develop and maintain recreational spaces and strengthen social infrastructure.
Reference: The SOCIAL Framework Report: Arts, Culture, and Leisure Sectors
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