Fifty years ago, the city of San Francisco instituted a hotel surtax which would go towards municipal arts funding. Now, San Francisco is the largest per capita municipal arts funder in the nation, and the city’s reputation as a major arts center is solid.

“Grants for the Arts makes a huge difference,” said dancer Gretchen Murdock of Theatre Flamenco. “Artists are drawn here because they know they have backing and that San Francisco respects them. So the community just keeps getting richer and bigger. And yes, more competitive.”

Read more about Grants for the Arts and Kary Schulman, who’s directed the program for 30 years.

Anything here we can learn from San Francisco – here in New York?