A recent survey says the arts generated $41.4 million in economic activity in the greater Portsmouth area last year.

When Portsmouth conducted its last survey of the economic impact of the arts in 2007, the business climate was much more favorable. That survey found that local arts and culture generated about $38 million in economic activity.

After five years of economic doldrums, arts advocates weren’t sure what to expect from the Arts and Economic Prosperity Survey IV.

“It was a little bit of a nail biter,” said Nancy Pearson, president of the Art-Speak Board of Directors. “The last time we did this, the economy was really booming, so we weren’t sure what was going to happen.”

To Pearson’s surprise, the new survey found the arts generated $41.4 million in economic activity in 2011, an increase of 8.5 percent.

“It was a huge relief,” Pearson said.

Art-Speak, Portsmouth’s cultural commission, released the findings last month and will detail the results during a series of upcoming events. Among the key findings are that the arts support 1,270 full-time jobs in the area and generate nearly $5 million in combined revenue to state and local government.

And that’s only scratching the surface. Conducted by Americans for the Arts as part of a national study, the survey includes only non-profit arts and culture organizations. Of the 74 eligible nonprofits in the Portsmouth area, only 20 participated in the survey—an overall participation rate of just 27 percent. The findings do not factor in estimates for the remaining 73 percent of non-profit organizations, or any for-profit businesses like concert venues, dance schools and art galleries.

“It really does not represent the whole picture,” said Pearson, director of marketing and communications at the University of New Hampshire’s Department of Theatre and Dance. She noted that UNH’s artistic programs also are not included in the survey, because Durham is considered outside the Portsmouth area.

Americans for the Arts conducted five regional surveys in New Hampshire, with the others based around Rochester, Newmarket, Concord, and the North Country. They also conducted a statewide survey for the N.H. Department of Cultural Resources. Findings for the other surveys will be unveiled on Monday, Sept. 17.

Van McLeod, commissioner of the Department of Cultural Resources, declined to reveal details of the statewide findings but said he was “very pleased with the numbers.” He said he hopes to expand the state’s stock of data on the economic impact of the arts. Statewide, he said, only 21 percent of eligible nonprofits participated in the survey.

“The thing that is a real joy for me is that we in the cultural community have moved from the anecdotal into having some data,” he said. “To me, the data is not complete. This is only the tip of the iceberg, so until we get below and find out the rest of those numbers, we’re not going to have the whole story.”

Americans for the Arts is a national non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the arts and arts education. They conduct the Arts and Economic Prosperity Survey every five years. The latest survey included 182 regions across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Nationally, the arts industry generated $135.2 billion of economic activity—again, only including nonprofits that voluntarily participated.

Despite the positive numbers, art funding in New Hampshire and across the nation is perennially in jeopardy. In a recent interview with Fortune magazine, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said one of his priorities as president would be to cut federal funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Romney’s stance echoes that of many conservatives across the nation. In New Hampshire last year, the Republican-led House of Representatives considered abolishing the Department of Cultural Resources, eliminating the State Council on the Arts and the State Art Fund (also known as the Percent for Art program).

In the end, the Legislature chose to keep those programs intact. But, with budgets still strapped, the threat could reemerge in years to come.

Pearson noted that New Hampshire was one of the first states to legislatively establish an official state arts council back in 1965—the same year Congress established the National Endowment for the Arts.

“How they did that was by explaining and showing how the economic impact was going to be a positive thing in all the regions throughout the state, and that is still obviously true today,” Pearson said. “I think the data is clear. (The arts industry is) a business sector like any other that contributes jobs and profits to the state.”

The New Hampshire findings provide participating organizations with hard numbers to help convince patrons and sponsors that investing in the arts is worthwhile. They can also share those numbers with state and local policymakers.

“Local organizations can use this to tell their story. They can tell their story to local municipalities. They can also tell it to legislators. We need to be able to tell it to all of the above,” McLeod said.

Because New Hampshire had never previously participated in the survey on a statewide basis, there are no pre-recession figures with which to compare the findings. But the results in Portsmouth show people are still spending money on the arts despite the sluggish economy. Perhaps, Pearson said, that’s partly because residents are traveling less and seeking more of their entertainment locally.

Indeed, according to the survey, attendance at local arts and culture events was higher among residents than visitors (although visitors spent more on event-related expenditures like meals, souvenirs, transportation and lodging).

But Pearson also attributes the success of local arts organizations to the supportive environment in the city of Portsmouth.

“I don’t think this happens by accident,” she said, noting that Portsmouth established its Cultural Plan more than a decade ago. “Clearly, they were focused on having this be one of the hallmarks of Portsmouth’s character and personality.”

In addition to Portsmouth, the local survey included the towns of Rye and Kittery, Maine. The 20 participating organizations included Arts in Reach, Art-Speak, Historic New England (Rundlet-May House, Gov. John Langdon House, and Jackson House), New Hampshire Theatre Project, The Players’ Ring, Albacore Park, Portsmouth Historical Society, Portsmouth Music and Arts Center, Portsmouth Public Library, Prescott Park Arts Festival, Pro Portsmouth, Seacoast Repertory Theatre, Seacoast Science Center, Seacoast Wind Ensemble, Strawbery Banke Museum, The Music Hall, Portsmouth Museum of Art, Warner House Association, Wentworth-Coolidge Commission, and Wentworth-Gardner and Tobias Lear Houses Association.

The survey found that participating local arts and culture organizations spent a total of about $10.5 million on things like employee wages, purchase supplies, service contracts and other expenditures. Attendees of arts and culture events, meanwhile, spent about $30.9 million—excluding the cost of admission.

Randy Cohen, vice president of research and policy at Americans for the Arts, will speak at three events on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 13 and 14. On Thursday at 7:30 a.m., he’ll participate in a breakfast forum hosted by the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce at Sheraton Harborside Hotel. That afternoon at 12:15 p.m., he’ll speak at the Portsmouth Rotary Lunch at Portsmouth Country Club. On Friday at 8 a.m., he’ll attend a public reception at Strawbery Banke Museum. A workshop for non-profit organizations will follow at 9 a.m. For more information, visit www.art-speak.org.