This study explores the role that young adult advisory councils (YAACs) can play in helping arts and culture nonprofits address emerging issues, better understand the communities they serve, and achieve their missions. Through interviews with 25 YAAC managers and participants at arts nonprofits across the US, five key themes emerged:

• Young adult participants can be partners with organization leaders, but there are important limitations to acknowledge
• YAACs can help an organization work toward greater diversity, equity, and inclusion, but only if they are intentionally designed to do so
• YAACs offer an opportunity to demonstrate career futures in the creative economy
• Successful YAACs incorporate both omnidirectional and social-emotional learning models
• To be effective, YAACs need to create physical and emotional or psychological spaces where youth can be comfortable

Jointly published by the Department of Arts and Culture and Claremont Graduate University’s Center for Business and Management of the Arts (CBMArts), this report continues a series of studies aimed at building knowledge related to equity and inclusion in the arts. It concludes with a series of recommendations to arts organizations and arts funders for how they can increase the use of YAACs and improve existing ones, as well as recommendations to teens and older youth for how to make the most of their experiences with YAACs.