Research Guides: U.S. Arts Organizations: Comparable Lists

Creating Lists of Organizations

Lists of competitors or comparable organizations can provide helpful financial benchmarks, professional standards, or identify possible collaborators on projects. You can also dig into the competitors' profiles to identify your own operational or strategic advantages.

Identifying the closest competitors is always a rather inexact science, but consider things like:

Geography (how far would your audience reasonably travel to gain similar services? Or if there are online services, geography may not matter as much.)
Financials (either by expenditures or by income)
Number of employees

GuideStar Pro This link opens in a new window
A database of non-profits that allows you to sort by location, subject, financials, and more.
Mergent Intellect This link opens in a new window
Use the Advanced Search to build custom lists of companies (both profit and non-profit) by location, NAICS code, employment size, and more. Click on individual companies for a company profile. You can also use this tool to look up a profile for your specific arts organization that includes number of employees, company family tree, and key executives.
To access First Research industry reports, click on First Research below the main search box and then, the orange Submit button on the left side of the page.
View the Company Searching tutorial for more insights.

NAICS codes

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is used to classify business establishments by the U.S. government. Find the NAICS codes through this lookup tool. You will also find a company's NAICS codes on any company profile page in databases like Mergent Intellect.

Here are some commonly used NAICS codes for arts organizations:

711110 Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
711120 Dance Companies
711130 Musical Groups and Artists
711190 Other Performing Arts Companies
711310 Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities
711320 Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities
711410 Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures
711510 Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers
712110 Museums