“Ensuring the health of Dallas cultural institutions by creating lasting and ​engaging partnerships between businesses and arts organizations…”

As citizens of the fastest growing metropolitan area in the country, we have a duty to develop and foster our cultural identity, thereby ensuring that Dallas continues to be a great place to live, work, and play. Our residents have recognized this responsibility and have funded the majority of the cost for this city’s flourishing arts district, now the largest in the world.

However, the tremendous growth of these arts programs, both small and large, can only continue with great financial support and generosity. Unfortunately, private donations and sponsorship simply cannot sustain these art institutions any longer, which is precisely why our city must call upon the business leaders of Dallas to cultivate the arts community. Because as well as being largely important to the cultural fabric of this city, the arts programs’ vital role in the North Texas economy contributes over $1 billion to this booming region. The economic value in the arts simply cannot be contested, and with this potential partnership with the Dallas business community (the largest corporate headquarter concentration in the United States), this number could easily increase to benefit everyone in Dallas.

The Mayor’s Business/Arts Initiative is an opportunity to forge this friendship through educating the business community and the public of the beneficial nature of business/arts partnerships to the arts, to businesses, and to the community. In partnership with Business Council for the Arts, a nonprofit organization that encourages corporate engagement in the arts, the initiative will continue to identify those organizations, institutions, and businesses currently involved in building this relationship and will continue to involve them in this growth process. Most importantly, this initiative will work to engage civic and cultural leaders in partnerships that will promote and guarantee the success of our greater community for years to come.

This initiative should not only be considered as a business opportunity, but also as a cultural investment in the city and its people. We need both sides in order to inspire an entrepreneurial and innovative environment in the city and distinguish Dallas as the most prosperous arts and business community in the world.

Serving as ambassadors for this initiative are: