August 7, 2009

The U.S. Senate confirmed Broadway producer Rocco Landesman to serve as the next National Endowment for the Arts chair and former Congressman Jim Leach to serve as National Endowment for the Humanities chair. Both are expected to begin work next week. Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert L. Lynch issued the following statement:

"Today's Senate confirmation of Rocco Landesman and Congressman Jim Leach marks a moment of great opportunity for our nation's cultural agencies. Landesman embarks as Chair of the nation's arts agency with a robust agenda, an upward trajectory of funding, broad Congressional approval, and a White House committed to attracting national attention to the value of the arts and integrating them into broader domestic policies."

Upon his nomination, Mr. Landesman said, "I am honored to receive the Senate's vote of confirmation. I look forward to serving the nation as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. I believe this is an auspicious time for the NEA and the country. Art is essential to the civic, economic, and cultural vitality of our nation. It reflects who we are and what we stand for -- freedom of expression, imagination, and vision. I am eager to work with our many partners to bring quality arts programs to neighborhoods and communities across the country."

Congress has now recessed for August. When they return after Labor Day, the House and Senate will resume work on finishing the appropriations process for FY 2010. Currently, the House has approved NEA funding at $170 million but must await the Senate's completion of their bill, which the Appropriations Committee set at only $161.3 million. While both of these funding levels represent increases above its current budget, these bills will need to be reconciled and a final compromise bill signed into law by President Obama this fall.

The National Endowment for the Arts announced direct grants as part of the $50 million federal economic stimulus recovery package on July 7. The NEA will distribute more than $29 million to 631 nonprofit arts groups nationwide. View by state by clicking the link below.

http://www.nea.gov/grants/recent/09grants/states2/arra_states.html

Friday June 26, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $15 million increase for both the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for FY 2010. Currently funded at $155 million, this increase would bring both agencies' budgets to $170 million. Please take two minutes to write to your Senators and urge them to support this important funding increase!

Thanks to the arts leadership of House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks (D-WA) and Congressional Arts Caucus co-chair Louise Slaughter (D-NY), this House-approved funding increase for the NEA exceeds President Obama's budget request by $8.7 million and is the highest proposed appropriation for the NEA since its $176 million peak in FY 1992. On June 25, corresponding legislation in the Senate Appropriations Committee set NEA and NEH funding at only $161.3 million each.

Next Steps:
We must now put pressure on the Senate to match the funding level set in the House of Representatives. Please take two minutes to visit Americans for the Arts E-Advocacy Center to send a letter to your Senators.

Thanks to Will Hammond the STAA website has been successfully moved to our new web host. All STAA members can now make updates and changes to their membership information. Thank you for your patience. If you have not joined the mailing list through Google Groups please Log on and click "Mailing Lists" under the Member Services heading. The mailing list is for members only!

Funding Increase for NEA in House Subcommittee

June 15, Washington, D.C. - The House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee approved a $15 million increase for the National Endowment for the Arts, bringing NEA funding to $170 million for FY 2010. The total for the agency in FY 2009 is $155 million, and this increase reflects years of advocacy since the NEA's budget was severely cut in 1995.

Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA), Chairman of the Subcommittee, championed the NEA funding as a priority issue. In his statement to the subcommittee, Chairman Dicks noted "the endowments are vital for preserving and encouraging America's arts and cultural heritage." The increase represents the first step in the appropriations process, and performing arts advocates just like you will need to call on their Senators and Representatives to support this increase as it makes its way through the House and the Senate.

The Performing Arts Alliance invites you to be in touch with your Members of Congress today and communicate the value of the National Endowment for the Arts support for the performing arts and for your community.

Over the next few weeks we will be changing our website hosting. If you have made updates and changes to your organizational or associate member pages after March 31, 2009 those changes may not have transferred to the new site. In order for us to make the move, we ask the you DO NOT make any further changes until May 1, 2009. Thank you for your cooperation!

Today, hundreds of dedicated arts supporters from across the country have come together in Washington, DC for National Arts Advocacy Day, a united effort to tell Capitol Hill how important culture is to our communities, how much arts education means to our children, and how much the arts improve our daily lives. 83 National CoSponsors have helped us shape this united arts message to Congress.

This year, Arts Advocacy Day will be busier than ever, and not only because of the near-record number of advocates attending. Americans for the Arts has once again been asked by House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks (D-WA) to organize a hearing on the arts on Arts Advocacy Day. We are very pleased that our President & CEO Robert Lynch will be joined by several other national leaders in the arts, including Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center Wynton Marsalis, GRAMMY®-nominated singer-songwriter Josh Groban, GRAMMY®-Award winning singer Linda Ronstadt, and business leader and Philadelphia Federal Reserve Board member Jeremy Nowak, to testify at the hearing. The Subcommittee is expected to webcast the hearing live starting at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. A link to the webcast can be found on theHouse Appropriations Committee website.

Even if you’re not able to join us in Washington, you can still participate in Arts Advocacy Day by asking your Members of Congress to support the arts. By visiting our E-Advocacy Center, you’ll be able to send a message directly to your Representative and Senators telling them why the arts are important to you and your community. We've provided bullet points covering our eleven key Arts Advocacy Day issues, which you can use in the sample letter that we’ve drafted for you. We also encourage you to write your own unique story to illustrate the importance of the arts to your community. Using the E-Advocacy Center, you can create and send your letter to Congress in less than two minutes. We urge you to send your message to Congress today to coincide with our office visits to the Hill. Click here to send your message.

Need more information? Browse the 2009 Congressional Arts Handbook for issue briefs, voting records, latest arts research and trends, relevant Congressional committees, and Congressional contact lists.

In a meeting on January 15, 2009 with key arts service organizations, Bill Ivey, Chair of the Presidential Arts Transition Team, strongly encouraged each arts discipline to gather information on the effects of economic downturn in its respective field.

This survey is to add information from STAA to that of data collected from other disciplines, so it will strengthen the case for the inclusion of the arts in economic recovery programs, as well as inform future arts policies, programs and initiatives. It is critical that the severity of the situation in our field be better understood.

STAA Economic Survey

NEA Access Deadline Extended

The NEA has extended the deadline to submit applications for the grant category of Access to Artistic Excellence, Part One. Access to Artistic Excellence grants are to encourage and support artistic excellence, preserve our cultural heritage, and provide access to the arts for all Americans. This category supports projects that provide short-term arts exposure or arts appreciation for children and youth as well as intergenerational education projects.

Due to technical issues with the Grants.gov website beyond the agency's control, the NEA will accept Access, Part One application materials through March 19, 2009. Visit the below link for further details:

Access to Artistic Excellence Grant Opportunities

Funding Increase for NEA and Arts in Education Program

Last week, President Obama signed into law H.R. 1105, the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009, which includes increases in funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and for the Arts in Education program at the U.S. Department of Education. $155 million has been allocated for the NEA and is a $10.3 million increase from FY08. In addition, a $633,000 increase in funding for the Arts in Education program at the Department of Education was included, which brings the funding level to $38.166 million for FY09.

The Educational and Cultural Exchange programs of the U.S. Department of State received $538 million in funding in the FY09 omnibus bill, a $16 million increase over FY08 levels. At this time, it is unclear how much of the Education and Cultural exchange appropriations will go directly to support international cultural exchange.

Economic Stimulus and the Arts

As a reminder, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 includes $50 million in direct grants to fund arts projects and activities to preserve jobs in the non-profit arts sector threatened by declines in philanthropic and other support during the current economic downturn. The NEA released grant guidelines to apply for the economic recovery funds provided in the economic stimulus package for arts organizations. The Economic Stimulus Bill includes other federal funding streams that are available to arts organizations. The NEA guidelines and a summary of the additional funding opportunities to consider pursuing can be found by linking to the Performing Arts Alliance Economic Stimulus Resource Guide below.

Economic Stimulus Resource Guide

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 includes $50 million in direct grants to fund arts projects and activities to preserve jobs in the non-profit arts sector threatened by declines in philanthropic and other support during the current economic downturn. Forty percent of the funds are to be re-granted through the state and regional arts agencies and sixty percent will be direct grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

Yesterday, March 3rd, the NEA released grant guidelines to apply for the economic recovery funds provided in the economic stimulus package for arts organizations. Grant applicants will be required to submit their applications electronically through Grants.gov, the federal government's online application system. The application deadline is April 2, 2009, so please click below to go directly to the NEA website for the full guidelines and application details.

Click here for the NEA Grant Guidelines.

In addition, the Corporation for National and Community Service has announced they will host conference calls beginning this Thursday, March 5th detailing their own guidelines for the implementation of the recovery funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Click here for the conference call details.

Finally, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has posted a webpage devoted to the economic recovery and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Arts projects and service programs are eligible in most municipalities, and the boost in funding will provide much-needed relief for cultural services and add shovel-ready development jobs.

Click here to visit the CDBG webpage.

Please stay tuned for more information on opportunities for funding from the Stimulus package.