1. What is the Cultural Data Project (CDP)?
2. Why is it important?
3. What are the benefits to arts and culture groups?
4. What are the benefits to the cultural sector?
5. What are the benefits to funders?
6. How was the CDP’s Data Profile developed?
7. What support is available to users of the CDP?
8. How is an organization’s data used and accessed?
9. How many states currently participate in the CDP?
10. How many arts and culture organizations are participating by adding their data to the CDP?
11. How can new states and funders participate in the CDP?
12. How can I contact the CDP?

1. What is the Cultural Data Project (CDP)?
The Cultural Data Project began in Pennsylvania in 2004 as a collaborative project of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, The Heinz Endowments, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Pittsburgh Foundation, and William Penn Foundation. A standardized online system was created for collecting historic financial and organizational data for grant applications to the above funders. Previously, applicants to these funders were required to provide most of this same information in different formats and on multiple occasions. In 2007 the Maryland CDP came online and in 2008 the California CDP went live.

2. Why is it important?
This statewide data collection effort for arts and culture will provide organizations with a useful tool for tracking their individual data and creating future projections. Building information about the cultural sector will help identify opportunities and challenges for cultural organizations and the field that can be addressed through improved grantmaking and policy development.

3. What are the benefits to arts and culture groups?
Organizations will only need to complete the Data Profile (the online form used for collecting financial and operational information) once each fiscal year. It will be available electronically and submitted as part of most grant applications to the participating funding agencies throughout the year. Financial data will be drawn from each organization’s audit, providing accurate and reliable information. Organizations will be able to use this system to track their trends over time. After the first year of data collection, aggregate information will be available to help groups benchmark their organization against others by discipline, budget size and many other categories.

4. What are the benefits to the cultural sector?
In addition to creating a streamlined data collection process for the hundreds of arts and culture organizations in your state, this project will provide a source of consistent and reliable information on your state’s cultural sector. As a result, it will be possible to analyze and report on the impact, assets and needs of the region’s cultural community.

5. What are the benefits to funders?
CDC’s powerful report tool enables funders to search and collect historic financial and organizational data on grant applicants and look at trends in the sector. This will help to identify opportunities and challenges for cultural organizations and the field that can be addressed through improved grantmaking and policy development and may inform foundation program planning and evaluation.

6. How was the CDP’s Data Profile developed?
The Data Profile was developed in Pennsylvania with the assistance of focus groups of executive directors and staff in the areas of development, finance and marketing. It was tested by approximately 20 cultural organizations. Feedback from these participants was used to revise the form and develop training materials and instructions. After three years of development and testing, the Cultural Data Project was launched in Pennsylvania in September 2004. A similar project was launched in Maryland in June 2007 and California in January 2008.

7. What support is available to users of the CDP?
The Data Profile will require information from your audit and financial records, as well as information about attendance, programs, marketing and fundraising. Organizations that do not have audits will be given specific instructions on how to enter their data. You may find that several people from your organization will work on this form. There are detailed instructions for each line of the form. There are also spaces for annotations where you can store notes on how the figures were compiled. You’ll be able to refer to these notes when you complete the form the following year. Additionally, information from past years will automatically appear onscreen as you move forward to complete the forms in future years. The Data Profile will take several hours to complete. Make sure to give yourself enough time to gather all the information you’ll need.

8. How is an organization’s data used and accessed?
Each organization will have a login and password. You will only be able to view your own organization’s information. Aggregate data will be available for the purpose of benchmarking, but it will not identify any specific organization’s data. When you submit your information along with an application to one of the participating funders, they will be able to view your information and use it for grantmaking purposes.

9. How many states currently participate in the CDP?
Currently there are three states participating—California, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

10. How many arts and culture organizations are participating by adding their data to the CDP?
There are more then 1,300 arts and culture organizations who have created an account and begun to enter data through CDP.

11. How can new states and funders participate in the CDP?
In the states that have a CDP, a collaborative of local funders saw the need for the collection of arts and cultural organization data and contacted CDP staff. CDP staff are available to discuss the possibility of your state’s participation in CDP. If you decide to go forward, CDP works with the collaborative to develop and launch the database and instructs both funders and arts and culture organizations on how to use the CDP.

12. How can I contact the CDP?
Contact Barbara Lippman, Project Director or Neville Vakharia, Project Manager by calling 215.575.(main Culture #?) or send an email to info@culturaldata.org.