Economic Impact of American Evolution 2019 Commemoration Events

The Problem

In 2013, the Virginia General Assembly established the American Evolution 2019 Commemoration to mark the 400^th anniversary of several landmark events in Virginia’s history, including:

• The first representative legislative assembly in the New World,
• The first recorded Africans to be brought to English North America,
• The first official Thanksgiving in North America, and
• The arrival of more women to Colonial Virginia.

From 2016 to 2019, American Evolution hosted many events commemorating the modern significance of 1619.

From the beginning, it was important to American Evolution that the commemoration  generates a positive economic impact for the Commonwealth of Virginia. But American Evolution needed to a way to measure those results—and measure their success.

Based on Chmura’s experience and excellent reputation, American Evolution chose Chmura to be their partner in measuring the economic impact of the Commemoration programs.

The Solution

Chmura’s study measured the economic impact of the 2019 Commemoration, including their operational spending, events and grants spending, visitor spending, and fiscal impact. You can read our full study here and media coverage of the event here.

Our report helped American Evolution…

• Assess the economic value of the 2019 Commemoration. Our analysis estimated that the economic impact of the 2019 Commemoration was $197.0 million from 2016 to 2019.
• Show how the commemoration events and programs led to jobs. We discovered that the 2019 Commemoration created an estimated 1,998 cumulative jobs in Virginia from 2016 to 2019. That’s a big deal!
• Communicate American Evolution’s value to the public and to corporate sponsors. Since American Evolution was set up by the Virginia General Assembly, they needed solid data that showed the commemoration programs were worthwhile. Our report did just that.

The Chmura Difference

It’s not easy to measure the economic impact of a multiyear series of events. But with our extensive experience in economic impact studies, the Chmura team was able to confidently measure the economic and fiscal impact of American Evolution. With our study, American Evolution was able to show that remembering the past is both culturally important and beneficial for Virginia’s local economies. 

As a company headquartered in Virginia, we were proud to contribute to the American Evolution 2019 Commemoration effort. Do you need to know the economic impact of a local event? We have the expertise to help you. Contact us today to see how our consulting services can help you.