Centro de Economía Creativa

What Centro de Economía Creativa does

Centro de Economía Creativa (CEC) is a private nonprofit civic organization (entidad cívica, sin fines de lucro) headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, that supports Puerto Rico's cultural and creative sector through a platform of interconnected programs. Its portfolio centers on four main program lines: the Observatorio, a cultural data observatory generating statistics on arts, culture, and creative industries; Maniobra, the principal cultural employment initiative providing salaries, benefits, health insurance, management support, and project budgets to approximately 50 artists; Guarida, a mental health and self-care initiative; and Nuestros Tambores, a documentation project preserving musical instrument craftsmanship traditions. Supporting services include Nido Cultural (managerial services scholarship), Calculadora de Impacto Económico (an economic impact calculator based on the 3rd Cultural Consumption and Participation Survey), and managerial services plus fiscal sponsorship for arts organizations lacking tax-exempt status.

CEC is led by founder Dr. Javier Hernández Acosta (PhD, MBA), with Dr. Siri Y. Rolón Rivera serving as Director. The organization evolved from Inversión Cultural (founded 2014 for creative industries business training) and was formalized as Centro de Economía Creativa, Inc. around 2020, with the Cultural Census (Censo Cultural) launched in 2019.

The business model is grant-funded philanthropy plus service fees. Primary revenue comes from foundation and government grants — the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the anchor funder (with a $10M co-investment in Maniobra announced October 2025 alongside a $2.6M Wallace Foundation research grant in January 2025 and additional support from Flamboyán Arts Fund, Filantropía Puerto Rico, and the National Endowment for the Arts). Secondary revenue comes from fiscal sponsorship fees (accepting grants on behalf of projects without their own tax exemption) and public donations accepted via PayPal, ATH Móvil, Apple Pay, and credit/debit cards. The go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, with services distributed directly to artists, cultural organizations, and government entities across Puerto Rico's 78 municipalities through program delivery, fiscal sponsorship, and direct consulting.

Name

Centro de Economía Creativa

Legal name

Centro de Economía Creativa, Inc.

Website

https://centrodeeconomiacreativa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Centro de Economía Creativa is a Puerto Rico-based nonprofit that supports the island's cultural and creative sector through the Observatorio research platform, the Maniobra cultural employment program serving ~50 artists, fiscal sponsorship, management services, and cultural heritage documentation initiatives, funded primarily by foundation grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts and Cultural Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (81341), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71), Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (81399)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultural Centers & Community Cultural Organizations (BPAGAHAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cultural Festivals & Events Organizations (BPAGAHAG), Cultural Centers & Multidisciplinary Arts Institutions (THAJADAJ)

Keywords

• Cultural economy research
• Arts management services
• Fiscal sponsorship programs
• Cultural employment initiatives
• Creative sector consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

San Juan

HQ country

Puerto Rico

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grants and Foundation Funding: Primary revenue from philanthropic grants and foundation investments to support cultural employment programs, research initiatives, and organizational operations.
2. Fiscal Sponsorship Services: CEC accepts responsibility for receiving grants on behalf of projects without their own tax exemption, charging fees for this service.
3. Donations: Public donations accepted through various payment methods including PayPal, ATH Móvil, Apple Pay, credit/debit cards, and checks.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Centro de Economía Creativa (CEC) is a nonprofit civic organization in Puerto Rico that sustains the cultural and creative sector through a portfolio of programs: the Observatorio (cultural data observatory and research), the Maniobra cultural employment program (salaries, benefits, and project budgets for artists), managerial support services including fiscal sponsorship for non-tax-exempt projects, mental-health self-care initiatives (Guarida), and documentary/preservation projects such as Nuestros Tambores and the Cultural Census.

Product overview

Centro de Economía Creativa (CEC) operates as a cultural economy research and support organization with a portfolio of interconnected programs. The core offerings include: the Observatory (Observatorio) for cultural data research and statistics; Maniobra, its flagship cultural employment program providing salaries and benefits to artists; Guarida, a mental health support initiative; Nuestros Tambores, documenting musical instrument craftsmanship; Nido Cultural, a managerial services scholarship program; and the Economic Impact Calculator tool for measuring cultural activity effects. Supporting services include Gerencial Services for organizational support and fiscal sponsorship. The organization also leads the Sistema de Información Cultural strategic initiative to build a cultural information system for Puerto Rico. The product architecture functions as a platform of programs addressing different aspects of the creative sector ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Observatorio: Cultural observatory that generates, updates, analyzes, and disseminates statistics on the arts, culture, and creative industries sector in Puerto Rico.
• Maniobra
• Guarida
• Nuestros Tambores

Products and services

• Observatorio (Cultural Observatory) A cultural observatory initiative that generates, updates, analyzes, and disseminates statistics about the arts, culture, and creative industries sector in Puerto Rico. It serves as a tool to support informed decision-making for cultural policies, businesses, and organizations.
• Maniobra Cultural Employment Program The principal cultural employment program in Puerto Rico, providing artists with salaries, marginal benefits, health insurance, managerial support, and project budgets. Includes the Leyenda subprogram supporting veteran musicians with 12-month stipends.
• Guarida Mental Health and Self-Care Initiative

Quantifiable outcome

• 165 artists/entities supported across 35 municipalities through Nido Cultural program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Flamboyán Arts Fund: Puerto Rico-based arts funder that supports Nido Cultural and other CEC programs; shares the same mission of strengthening PR's cultural economy and often co-funds CEC initiatives, making it the most directly comparable local peer.
• National Arts Strategies: U.S. nonprofit that builds capacity and leadership across the cultural sector through training, research, and convenings—closely mirroring CEC's combination of research (Observatorio) and managerial support (Servicios Gerenciales).
• Springboard for the Arts: Community-based artist service organization running artist-employment programs (e.g., Community Artist Fellowships) that closely parallel CEC's Maniobra model of paying artists to do community-oriented creative work.
• Fractured Atlas: Provides fiscal sponsorship and business services to artists and arts organizations; directly comparable to CEC's fiscal sponsorship and Servicios Gerenciales offerings for non-exempt cultural collectives.
• Filantropía Puerto Rico: PR-based philanthropic infrastructure organization that funds CEC's cultural sector research; shares the territory and a mission of strengthening Puerto Rico's social-sector capacity through data and grantmaking.
• New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA): Regional arts organization funding and supporting artists across New England; comparable as a mid-sized arts intermediary combining grantmaking, research, and capacity-building similar to CEC's multi-program model.
• Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation: Regional nonprofit that administers grant programs and artist services across multiple U.S. states; comparable in operating model (programs + research + distribution) and grant-driven funding structure.
• Creative Capital: Provides integrated financial and professional support to artists via grants, advisory, and career development; comparable to CEC's blend of direct artist support and management services.

Broad incumbents

• Americans for the Arts: Large U.S. arts advocacy and research organization producing national arts-economic datasets (AEP6); broader in scope than CEC but highly relevant as an incumbent operator in arts economic research and policy support.

Regional players

• Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute: Cultural heritage and arts education institution rooted in the Caribbean diaspora; adjacent geographic and cultural positioning, though operating primarily in New York rather than PR.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/centrodeeconomiacreativa
• Instagraminstagram.com/centroeconomiacreativa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centrodeeconomiacreativa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Centro de Economía Creativa