Last week the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce held their annual “Art is Good Business” day of advocacy in Tallahassee. I was honored to be a part of the contingency as we made a good case for our state legislators to fund the Division of Cultural Affairs 864 Arts & Culture grants. Our ask was for our state to fund $ 77,343,303 worth of Arts & Culture programs and projects.
- 625 Cultural & Museum Grants $ 54,436,991
- 182 Culture Builds Florida Grants $ 4,251,098
- 38 Cultural Facilities Grants $14,095,214
- 19 Cultural Endowments $4,560,000
Appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis to the Florida Council on Arts & Culture, I’ve had an inside view of the amazing donor matched grant applications covering Cultural & Museum Grants, Culture Builds Florida Grants, Cultural Facilities Grants and Cultural Endowment Grants. Our Council helps the Department of State screen, score, rank and recommend this valuable funding. The funds provided by the state is fully vetted and accountable. Each application is required to have matching funds from 1:1 to 10:1 depending on the budget. Once the funds are received by the Grantee, there are metrics to be met. Reports quarterly and annually are required to make certain the funds go to the uses specified in the applications. This is money monitored and well spent! It is not wasteful spending!
Did you know that there is a 9 : 1 ROI for funding Arts & Culture in Florida? The latest economic impact study conducted in collaboration with Americans for the Arts revealed that this $5.8 billion industry generated $369 million in local and state taxes. The state’s provision of $41 million in grants during the study period played a crucial role in amplifying these tax revenues. Simply put – the money the state uses to fund Arts & Culture returns tax dollars back to the state! It’s a WIN WIN situation!
Here’s some more fun facts :
- Arts & Culture is ranked #3 among top producing Florida industry sectors.
- Arts & Culture programs accounted for $ 39 billion of Florida’s economy.
- Arts & Culture programs are 3.1% of Florida’s GDP.
- Arts & Culture programs serve over 39 million individuals.
- Arts & Culture programs have over 90,000 FTE jobs and paid $ 3.7 billion in Florida Resident Household income.
- Florida Audience spending outperforms the national average.
Sadly over the years appropriations have fluctuated wildly. From 100% funding of all requests in 2014 to a record low in 2019, each year we start from $0.00 with our legislators. Last year our advocacy work helped 65% of the grant applications receive their funding. This year the outlook is more sobering. Many legislators cautioned our group that the funding would not be as robust. As much as they support and understand the value of funding the arts, there are so many competing priorities (many with Federal matching dollars) that may take priority.
To learn more, check out the following organizations that support arts & culture advocacy: