Photo by Flickr user MaxTheMightyy

Congratulations, art lovers! At a time when government and foundation funding is majorly on the decline in D.C., you folks are singlehandedly buoying the cultural ecology of our fine city.

“Culture Across Communities: An Eleven-City Snapshot” compares data from more than 5,000 cultural nonprofit organizations in nearly a dozen cities, including Washington D.C. The report from the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance seeks out the health of the arts following the financial downturn, from 2009 to 2012.

“There are clear signs that the arts, museums, and the broad spectrum of cultural nonprofits have been able to navigate past the recession,” said Maud Lyon, president of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. “But progress is fragile.”

D.C. was one of three cities, along with Boston and Cleveland, that actually saw an increase in individual giving during the timespan, boasting a 42 percent change in revenue. Along with Boston, the District is the only area that coupled that bump with an increase in Board giving.

A less positive bucking of the trend was the change in foundation funding. While most cities saw a boost, D.C. dealt with the second-largest decline—a nearly 48 percent decrease.

All of the cities included saw less government funding, including the District. (It’s also important to note that the study did not include the Smithsonian Institution in its data, because it’s federally funded rather than a nonprofit.)

Earned income for cultural organizations still grew by 3 percent in the city. This is thanks to the strongest ticket revenue increase in the report. And in the one calculation that did include the Smithsonian—total attendance—D.C. was second only to New York City.

But while attendance is up, those working these cultural events are in trouble. D.C. has a 3.1 percent drop in paid employment, the largest of any examined region.

Hat tip to Rebecca Ritzel for flagging the study.

You can read the full report here: