Arts Advocacy – 

Arts Advocacy 

United Arts’ role in arts advocacy: 

United Arts and Orange Arts & Cultural Affairs Advocacy Committee work in concert with the Florida Cultural Alliance statewide advocacy agency, primarily for increased state arts funding through the Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs. 

State and Local Partners: Division of Arts and Culture, Council on Arts & Culture | State Legislators & local Orange County delegation | local cultural partners, boards, leaders and arts advocates | Orange County Arts & Cultural Affairs Advisory Council – Advocacy Committee | Florida Cultural Alliance & contracted lobbyists |

National Partners: Americans for the Arts and Arts Action Fund – on advocacy for NEA funding, federal relief support, and other initiatives.

Activities:

• Each year, a group of Central Florida arts leaders makes a trip to Tallahassee to meet with our legislators. United Arts coordinates the travel and accommodations, sets up the legislative appointments, prepares talking points, and conducts a debrief with area participants for the separate teams’ legislative meetings.
• Local delegation meetings at Orange County – annual opportunity to present a case for the arts; let me know if you can and would like to present a compelling 2-3-minute testimony (Trudy@UnitedArts.cc)
• Advocacy alerts – when we need your help to contact legislators to request support for increasing statewide arts funding, or voice your opinion in a survey about National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) funding, please engage quickly to help us, and pass it on to others, as appropriate. These alerts usually require immediate action, based on a legislative session, or pending budget appropriation. Your voices matter! The more our legislators hear from us, the better. There is power in numbers, voters, donors, constituents, and the communities affected by the government funding and legislative decisions.

Your role in arts advocacy:  

• Participate. Annual arts advocacy trip on Arts & Culture Advocacy Day in Tallahassee with the Central Florida area delegates (That’s you – arts leaders, arts workers, community members, board members, corporate workers, development.
• Review and USE the 2023 Legislative Advocacy Guide, Florida Arts & Culture Grants; Statewide PLATFORM only – 2 pgs (the ASK; 4 budget line items; key data)
• Listen. Inform. Invite. Thank. Repeat: Your 2023 State of Florida Legislative Directory – Senate and House members;

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Respond to ADVOCACY ALERT 3/29/23:

Send thank you emails and ask for 100% support
Contact list –  2023 State Appropriations Committee and Subcommittee members (House and Senate) 

Reference: Email from Trudy Wild and Florida Cultural Alliance 3/29/23
Statewide platform (2 pg) – four grant programs/budget line items

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• Attend local delegation meetings of state legislators  (usually in  October before session starts in Tallahassee), such as local Orange County delegation members/meetings. Attend Board of County Commissioner meetings when arts and culture reports are being presented.
• Share your story: Invite your city and county commissioners, mayors, legislators, congressmen/women to your events. Send newsletters and impact reports. Meet with them to share about your organization and how you impact their districts. LISTEN to what their needs are in their districts.
• Thank elected officials for their support; for their participation and actions in the community that support arts and culture.

Resources – For state funding and advocacy:

• Arts & Culture Day in Tallahassee – Join fellow arts advocates from Central Florida on the ArtsBus by GoPegasus on March 21 & 22, 2023. Networking event – Rally at the Capitol – Legislative Appointments (Trip Information HERE)
  – Book your hotel now; make plans to join us. Contact Trudy@UnitedArts.cc to travel with us, or for questions.– Prepare for the trip: Review the statewide Legislative Advocacy Guide – The Platform, prepared by Jennifer Jones, executive director of the Florida Cultural Alliance.
• To participate in monthly statewide arts advocacy calls, register online at Florida Cultural Alliance, our statewide arts advocacy partner.
• Next call April 24, 2023, 10a, on Zoom.
• To seek funding from the State of Florida, Division of Arts and Culture: Visit their website grants page.
  – NOTE: workshop schedule is temporarily unavailable; check back for updated grant workshops and deadlines.
  – Next Deadline: 5:00 p.m. EST, June 1, 2023 for General Program Support, Specific Cultural Projects, Cultural Facilities, Cultural Endowment
• Each spring (April), United Arts hosts a “Tips and Tricks” workshop for State of Florida DAC grants, where experienced grant writers shared advice on how to write a strong application. A link to a recording of the workshop from last year can be found here: https://bit.ly/DACWorkshopUA. If you are interested in the next state workshop session, contact Trudy@UnitedArts.cc

Exercise your access to your legislators.

• Arts & Culture Advocacy Day in Tallahassee: March 21-22, 2023 for the next trip to Tallahassee for legislative visits. (Trip Information HERE)

     

Thank you to GoPegasus for the beautiful Art on Wheels coach to travel to Tallahassee!
The Art Elevates Life bus wrap, with Trompe-l’oeil artwork, designed by Katherine Larson.
#ArtElevatesLife 

 

 

 

Next Statewide Advocacy Call/Meeting:

• Florida Cultural Alliance: Jennifer Jones, executive director; info@flca.net, and the Alliance board lead the statewide advocacy efforts. In partnership with Capitol Consulting Group lobbyists and arts and cultural leaders from around the state, we seek to gain our legislators’ and governor’s support for state arts funding.
  – The Florida Cultural Alliance statewide call is monthly on the 4th Monday at 10 a.m. (usually)
  – Next call is Mon, April 24, 2023, at 10 a.m. (Zoom). Must register for each call; Zoom link to register.  More information at  https://flca.net/

 

LAST YEAR’S ARTS FUNDING in the FY23 BUDGET

• It’s always the right time to write a thank you message to the Governor and all our legislators for all their work in the past budget session and the unprecedented funding for arts and culture! Download the list of budget conference committee and local legislators here. They need to hear “THANK YOU” from us) for their final funding recommendations in the state budget, which includes the highest level of support for arts and culture — 100% in Cultural and Museum Grants, and Culture Builds Florida Grants, and $10 million for Cultural Facilities (top 23 on the list), to bring home $5.7M to the Central Florida area.
  • 100% of the Cultural & Museum Grants (General Program Support) – 556 grants, $46,010,129 (Locally: 57 grants, $4,520,438)
  • 100% of the Culture Builds Florida Grants (Specific Cultural Projects) – 131 grants, $3,077,996 (Locally: 131 grants, $3,077,996)
  • $10M of the Cultural Facilities line item, (63% of requests – covers through ranked application # 23 of 47 grants) (Locally: 2 grants, $1,000,000)
  • In total, $59M arts and culture funding, 710 grants, statewide. That’s 221% of last year’s total funding ($26.7M) and 85% of this year’s total requests! A C&M grant that received $75,000 last year, would be $150,000 this year!
  • And locally: $5,796,488 to 71 of Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties’ arts & culture,  science and history organizations!
  • Sample letter to say Thank you to our legislators on the conference committee, Appropriations Subcommittees’ Chair and Vice-Chair, and local legislators; list linked here.

Go to Grants …

• United Arts Grants
• Orange County Grants

Other Information

• Orange County Commissioners’ District Map