Duncanville Arts Foundation
About

A 24-Month
Field Research Project

The Duncanville Arts Foundation is conducting a 24-month field research project to determine whether sustainable arts programming can take root in Duncanville.

All programs operate through Arts Junction at Old Rail Station, a single controlled venue. No program proceeds without full audience pre-commitment. Every activation produces behavioral data: who attended, where they came from, what they chose not to do instead, and whether they returned.

At the end of 24 months, the evidence points in one of two directions.

24-Month Research Outcomes
Path A
If resident spending patterns support independent operation
Graduated programs transition to permanent commercial placement throughout Duncanville. Years three and four scale what the data confirms works.
Self-sustaining arts economy
Path B
If interest is present but buying patterns cannot sustain independent operation
The Foundation will say so plainly and recommend the gap be addressed through public funding. Demonstrated demand that cannot yet sustain itself commercially is a different policy conversation than a community that has never been measured.
Evidence-based case for public investment

Either outcome advances Duncanville.

The Work
Cultural Investment Strategy

The work of the next two years.

Most of Duncanville's cultural investment is invisible to the people who shape its future.

The BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey (2024) reports that the average American household allocates 4.6% of total expenditures to entertainment. Applied to Duncanville's 13,385 households at a local income adjustment ratio of 0.685 ($71,381 median household income against the national average of $104,207), the projected annual entertainment spending pool is approximately $31 million. The BLS entertainment category includes fees and admissions, audio and visual equipment, pets, toys, hobbies, and playground equipment. The CIS-eligible share, live events, dining experiences, and cultural programming, is a subset of this total. The strategy rounds down from the unrounded figure of $33,127,875, introducing a conservative buffer of approximately 6.4%.

The Cultural Investment Strategy is a demand-validated framework for arts development and incubation. It operates on a single governing principle: 100% pre-commitment of projected costs before any activation proceeds. Programs that achieve full validation proceed. Programs that do not achieve full validation do not proceed. Every program that enters the pipeline receives structured development support regardless of validation outcome.

The strategy functions simultaneously as a mechanism to retain existing entertainment spending locally, a learning system that develops arts programming capacity, and a pipeline connecting validated programming to permanent placement in Duncanville's commercial inventory (Cultural Investment Strategy, Version 2.0, May 2026).

$31M
Projected annual entertainment expenditure for a city of Duncanville's size. Source: BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey, applied to Duncanville population profile.
How the baseline is derived
01
Duncanville households: 13,385 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2019–2023)
02
Income adjustment ratio: 0.685 ($71,381 local median income ÷ $104,207 national average, BLS CEX 2024)
03
Entertainment share of total expenditures: 4.6% (BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2024)
04
Per-household annual entertainment spending: $2,475 ($53,797 income-adjusted × 4.6%)
05
Total pool: $33,127,875 (13,385 households × $2,475). Strategy rounds down to $31M, a conservative buffer of 6.4%.
Measurement System

Four indicators of revenue retention.

01: Geographic

ZIP Code Distribution

Purchaser ZIP code captured at point of sale through the ticketing platform. Geographic participation is mapped by activation to determine what share of attendees are Duncanville residents (ZIP codes 75116 and 75137) and at what rates specific neighborhoods participate.

02: Behavioral

Substitution Survey

A standardized post-event survey administered to all attendees asks: "What would you have done tonight if this event did not exist?" Response categories capture whether attendees substituted a local experience for one they would have traveled outside Duncanville to find, or whether the event created new demand entirely.

03: Commercial

Adjacent Business Impact

Old Rail Station tenant transaction volume is measured on activation nights and compared against four baseline nights (same day of week, within the preceding 60 days, excluding holidays and private events). This controls for day-of-week variability and seasonal trends, and produces the Adjacent Business Lift figure for each activation.

04: Longitudinal

Repeat Attendance

Attendance data is cross-referenced across multiple activations of the same program. Repeat attendance distinguishes programs generating temporary interest from programs generating sustained behavioral change in the entertainment habits of Duncanville households.

Cultural Investment Index

What the Index measures.

The Cultural Investment Index evaluates every program on a standardized five-factor scoring algorithm. Each factor is scored 0–100 based on observed performance data, multiplied by its weight, and summed to produce a composite score. The algorithm applies identically across all discipline categories. Graduation threshold: CII score of 70 or above. Targeted development: 50–69. Redesign or sunset: below 50.

Financial validation and geographic targeting account for 55% of the composite score, reflecting the strategy's priority: demonstrating that Duncanville residents are choosing local programming over out-of-city alternatives. A program can sell every ticket and still score below the graduation threshold if those tickets were purchased by non-residents or if attendees report no substitution behavior (CIS v2.0, Section 6).

Year One produces CII scores across 16 activations in 5 disciplines. Year Two tracks change, with graduated programs entering permanent placement in Duncanville's commercial inventory.

Five Weighted Factors
Pre-Commitment Achievement
Percentage of 100% cost threshold reached through ticket sales, sponsorships, or deposits
30
Duncanville Resident Share
ZIP code distribution of purchasers; percentage from 75116 and 75137
25
Substitution Signal
Survey responses indicating attendees chose a Duncanville experience in place of traveling outside the city
20
Repeat Participation
Return attendance across multiple activations of the same program
15
Adjacent Business Lift
Measured change in Old Rail Station tenant traffic on activation nights vs. baseline nights
10
Operational Base

Arts Junction at 202 West Center Street.

Arts Junction is located within Old Rail Station, a 3.35-acre mixed-use campus at 202 W. Center Street in downtown Duncanville. The campus includes approximately 4,000 square feet of event-capable space with full-service kitchen access, 8,400 square feet of flexible retail and office space, and outdoor patios and gathering areas. Existing tenants include a coffee house, fitness studios, dining, and professional services. All Year One CIS activations occur at Arts Junction. Arts Junction provides a known venue with fixed, predictable costs, which simplifies production planning and financial modeling during the development and validation stages. Whether a program can achieve full pre-commitment against those costs is a central test of the validation gate (CIS v2.0, Section 3.2; LoopNet, 2025).

Schedule a Visit
Address
202 West Center Street, Suite 101
Duncanville, TX 75116
Campus
3.35-acre mixed-use development
Old Rail Station
Event Space
~4,000 sq ft with full-service kitchen
Flex Space
8,400 sq ft retail and office
Phone
(972) 435-9842
Email
ron@duncanvillearts.org
The Foundation

Infrastructure precedes programming.

The Duncanville Arts Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working to build the governance, measurement, and fiscal infrastructure for arts and culture in Duncanville, Texas. The Cultural Investment Strategy is the Foundation's primary work for its first two years, establishing the measurement framework that will determine what sustained cultural investment in Duncanville can realistically support.

Four Operating Functions
01
Fiscal Sponsorship. 501(c)(3) infrastructure for arts projects and emerging organizations before they have independent nonprofit status.
02
Governance Support. Board development frameworks and organizational design resources for cultural organizations at all stages.
03
Strategic Coordination. Alignment between municipal entities, regional institutions, and cultural organizations around shared investment goals.
04
Cultural Measurement. The Cultural Investment Index, which translates cultural activity into the policy language that civic decision-makers and funders use.
Leadership & Governance

Board of Directors

Organizing Board
Sarah Macias
Chair
Rhonda Allen
Secretary
Patricia Ebert
Treasurer
Ron Thompson
Founding Executive Director
Ex Officio, Nonvoting Member
Advisory Board

Community, business, and cultural leaders providing guidance on arts development initiatives. Advisory Members advance the Foundation's work by offering expertise, fostering partnerships, and supporting the long-term development of cultural infrastructure in Duncanville.

Denise Lee
Founder & Executive Director, Visions for Change and Denise Lee Onstage
Bria Maiden
Supafly Studio
Dr. Anne Perry, PhD
Duncanville Arts Commission (FY 2022–2025)
Tim Perry
Duncanville Arts Commission (FY 2022–2025)
Brad Pritchett
Chief Experience Officer, Dallas Museum of Art · Lifetime Advisory Board, Black Tie Dinner
Robbie Robbins
Painting Prairies: Art & Science · Artist, Texas Master Naturalist
Joanna St. Angelo
Executive Director, Sammons Center for the Arts
Dennis TenWolde
Development Manager, SMU DataArts: The National Center for Arts Research
Samuel Thomas
Co-Founder & Artistic Director, Deep in the Heart Film Festival
Laura K. Wise
Co-Chair, Dallas Museum of Art Junior Associates (FY 2025–2026)
Tiffiney Wyatt, MBA
President & CEO, Corbett Mitchell Media · Duncanville Arts Commission (FY 2022–2025)
Governance documents are publicly available.
DocumentBylawsView → DocumentArticles of IncorporationView → RecordBoard ResolutionsView →
Governance Transparency

Resolutions &
Meeting Notices

The Foundation maintains a complete public record of all board resolutions. Each resolution links directly to the governing document. This record reflects the full sequence of organizational actions taken since formation on September 13, 2025.

Request Records

Complete resolution documentation and meeting minutes are available upon request. Contact the Foundation at ron@duncanvillearts.org.

Contact

Connect with
the Foundation

We welcome inquiries from artists, arts organizations, municipal partners, funders, and community members. Use the contact details to reach us directly, or indicate the nature of your inquiry.

Cultural Investment Strategy Fiscal Sponsorship Arts Junction Funding & Grants General Inquiry
Address
202 West Center Street, Suite 101
Duncanville, TX 75116
Phone
(972) 435-9842
Email
ron@duncanvillearts.org
Web
duncanvillearts.org
Privacy Policy

How we handle your information

The Duncanville Arts Foundation collects only the information you provide directly through contact forms, email correspondence, and grant applications. We do not sell, rent, or share personal information with third parties except as required by law or as necessary to administer fiscal sponsorship relationships.

Information collected through the website is used solely to respond to inquiries and communicate with artists, organizations, and community members about Foundation activities. We do not use tracking cookies or behavioral advertising. Email addresses are used only for the correspondence initiated and are not added to mailing lists without explicit consent.

Fiscal sponsorship agreements and organizational grant information are maintained as confidential records. Board meeting minutes and formal resolutions are available as public governance documents upon request.

For questions about this policy, contact ron@duncanvillearts.org.

Data Sources

Bibliography

All quantitative claims on this website are derived from primary federal data sources, official property records, or internal Foundation documents. Each citation below identifies the specific claim it supports, the source, and the access or publication date. Sources were verified February 2026.

  • 01
    U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Consumer Expenditures—2024. News Release USDL-25-1630. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor, September 2025. Table B: Percent Distribution of Total Annual Expenditures by Major Components for All Consumer Units.
    bls.gov/news.release/cesan.htm ✓ Verified
    4.6% entertainment share of total expenditures $104,207 national average income before taxes Income adjustment ratio 0.685
  • 02
    U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Consumer Expenditure Surveys: Entertainment Category Definitions and Subcategories. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor. Entertainment subcategories include: fees and admissions; audio and visual equipment and services; pets, toys, hobbies, and playground equipment; and other entertainment supplies, equipment, and services.
    bls.gov/cex · bls.gov/cex/tables.htm ✓ Verified
    BLS entertainment category components Category definition as cited on website
  • 03
    U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2019–2023: Selected Social, Economic, and Housing Characteristics—Duncanville City, Texas. Tables DP02, DP03, DP04, DP05. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, 2024.
    data.census.gov ✓ Verified
    13,385 Duncanville households $71,381 median household income ZIP codes 75116 and 75137
  • 04
    Franchise Real Estate Group. 202 W. Center Street, Duncanville, TX 75116—Old Rail Station. Commercial Lease Listing No. 35042319. LoopNet, Inc., 2025. Property description documents 3.35-acre lot, 4,000 sq ft Building 1 with full-service kitchen, and 8,400 sq ft Building 2.
    loopnet.com/Listing/202-W-Center-St-Duncanville-TX/35042319 ✓ Verified
    3.35-acre campus ~4,000 sq ft event space with full-service kitchen 8,400 sq ft flexible retail and office space
  • 05
    Thompson, Ron. Cultural Investment Strategy, Version 2.0. Duncanville Arts Foundation, May 2026. Internal governance document. Establishes the five-stage pipeline, five-factor CII scoring algorithm, 100% pre-commitment threshold, graduation scoring thresholds (70+, 50–69, below 50), and Year One program count of 16 activations across 5 disciplines.
    CII five-factor scoring weights Graduation threshold: 70+ 100% pre-commitment requirement 16 activations, 5 disciplines, Year One Five-stage pipeline model 55% weight on financial validation and geographic targeting
  • 06
    Derived Calculation: Duncanville Entertainment Spending Baseline. Applied methodology: ACS 2019–2023 household count (13,385) × income-adjusted per-household entertainment expenditure. Income adjustment: $71,381 (local) ÷ $104,207 (national, BLS CEX 2024) = 0.685 ratio. Adjusted income: $104,207 × 0.685 = $71,382. Entertainment share: $71,382 × 4.6% = $3,284 per household (unadjusted). Corrected per-household figure using ratio applied to national per-household total expenditures: $78,535 × 0.685 = $53,796; $53,796 × 4.6% = $2,475. Total pool: 13,385 × $2,475 = $33,127,875. Strategy rounds to $31M (6.4% conservative buffer).
    $31M entertainment spending pool $33,127,875 unrounded total 6.4% conservative buffer $2,475 per-household annual entertainment spending