New England Creative Economy Network  

Americans for the Arts (AFTA) Spring Webinars 

Did you know that New England nonprofit arts and cultural organizations spent nearly $3.7 billion in 2009? Find out your state's cultural sector spending with the CultureCount financial tool. You can learn more in the 2011 research report, New England's Creative Economy: Nonprofit Sector Impact.   

Headlines from around the region...   

• The Arts Foundation of Cape Cod announces CapeCreative. "We know that there is a substantial economic impact on our region driven from arts, culture, sciences and humanities. CapeCreative hopes to be catalytic in maximizing the potential of those sectors," says Kevin Howard, executive director of the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod. 
• Maine Economic Growth Council releases 2012 Measures of Growth report. Local business owner and Council co-chair Tim Hussey notes, "managing cost drivers like energy and health care while making investments in the Maine work force and the state's innovative capacity will keep us competitive and successful into the future."    
• "An art center [in Southington, CT] could bring in businesses and help the downtown economy," according to Lauren Miller, Director of Cultural Advancement for the Greater Hartford Arts Council. 

...and the nation:  

• "Cities are Banking on the Arts: Once the first thing to be cut in a time of recession, the arts are proving their worth."   
• "It is these regional economies that foster quality places," claims John Eger, director of the Creative Economy Initiative at San Diego State University. He emphasizes that providing regional infrastructure, such as broadband internet, is key to supporting the creative economy.

Data Without Borders matches nonprofits in need of data analysis with pro bono data scientists who can work to help them with data collection, analysis, visualization, or decision support.  

Summer of Maps is a program that offers stipends to student GIS analysts to perform geospatial data analysis for non-profit organizations. March 16 is the deadline for requests.