North Carolina Arts Council

It was founded by executive order in 1964 by Governor Terry Sanford, and it became a statutory state agency on April 11, 1967.

The agency issues a number of grants to support artists and arts organizations in North Carolina.

It showed the nonprofit arts and culture sector in North Carolina generated $2.12 billion in direct economic activity and supported almost 72,000 full time jobs in 2015.

The newest October 2023 study released by Americans for the Arts, (AFTA) found that nonprofit arts and culture organizations generated $151.7 billion - $73.3B in organizational spending and an additional $78.4B in event-related revenue nationwide.

[3] North Carolina generated $2.23 billion in economic impact - $1.05B in spending by nonprofit arts and culture organizations, $1.18B in event spending, 37977 jobs supported and $439M in tax local, state and federal tax receipts.