The $115.5 billion budget signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis includes more than $18 million for 184 arts organizations. Each received a rank of 95 or higher from the Florida Division of Arts & Culture, which scored the 900-plus nonprofits and public entities that applied for state assistance.
Only four Collier County-based arts and culture organizations made the cut: the Naples Art Association, The Naples Art District, The Naples Players and the Southwest Florida Holocaust Museum. They will divide an allocation of $407,000.
Lee County had only two organizations that qualified for grants in the cultural and museums category. They are Florida Arts, which operates the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, and Arts Bonita Center for the Arts. Each will receive a $150,000 grant.
Eight Sarasota-based arts and culture nonprofits qualified for grants this cycle.
No Charlotte County-based nonprofit qualified.
In September, an additional $1.5 million will be divided among second -tier arts organizations – those that scored between 85 and 94.99. The bad news is that while a number of Southwest Florida arts organizations qualify for these allocations, they will receive only a fraction of what they requested, and the division approved.
The Americans for the Arts insists that funding from state and local government represents an investment in the arts industry rather than a handout.
According to a 2024 survey, the nonprofit art sector contributed more than $5.7 billion to the Florida economy in 2022, a down year coming out of the pandemic and marred by Hurricane Ian. Florida art organizations and their audiences paid more than $176 million in state tax revenues, compared with the $18.3 million in grants just awarded by the state.
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This year’s grant recipients are counting their blessings. After Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed the $32 million in grants approved by the Legislature last year, there was considerable concern over whether the Governor would approve any arts funding this grant cycle.
To qualify, an applicant had to receive a score from the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs of 95.0 or higher.
The scores received by the four Collier-based grant recipients follow: the Naples Art Association (98.0), The Naples Art District (96.5), The Naples Players (96.5) and the Southwest Florida Holocaust Museum (95.0).
Florida Arts and Arts Bonita each received a score of 95.0.
Following are the eight Sarasota-based arts organizations who are receiving grants this year, including their scores and the amount they were awarded: Embracing Our Differences, 100.0, $145,675; Art Center Sarasota, 97.5, $90,000; City of Sarasota, 96.0, $150,000; Ensemble NEWSRQ, 95.5, $37,925; Sarasota Opera Association, 95.5, $150,000; Artists Series Concerts of Sarasota, 95.5, $90,000; Florida West Coast Symphony, 95.0, $150,000; and Florida Studio Theatre, 95.0, $150,000.
Sixteen arts organizations in Sarasota received scores of greater than 85 and are therefore eligible for the secondary round of awards in September:
- Key Chorale, 94.5
- Sarasota Ballet, 94.5
- Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 93.5
- Circus Arts Conservatory, 93.0
- Venice Theatre, 92.0
- Sarasota Concert Association, 92.0
- Perlman Music Program Suncoast, Inc., 92.0
- Sarasota Pops Orchestra, 92.0
- Venice Symphony, 92.0
- Asolo Repertory Theatre, 91.5
- Chorale Artists of Sarasota, 91.5
- WSLR, 91.0
- La Modica de Asolo, 91.0
- The Hermitage Artist Retreat, 90.0
- North Port Symphony, 87.5
- Arts & Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County, 87.0
Two Charlotte-based arts and cultural organizations are in the running for grant money in September: Peace River Botanical and Sculpture Garden (86.5) and The Charlotte Chorale (86.0)
In Lee County, the following arts & culture nonprofits received scores above the 85.0 threshold for grant money in September:
- Gulf Coast Symphony, 94.0
- Symphonic Chorale of Southwest Florida, 93.0
- SWFL Symphony Orchestra & Chorus Association, 93.0
- Barrier Island Group for the Arts (BIG Arts), 92.5
- FGCU Board of Trustees, 92.5
- Florida Repertory Theatre, 92.5
- Gulfshore Opera, 92.5
- Lee County Alliance for the Arts, 92.0
- Players Circle Theatre, 92.0
- Ding Darling Wildlife Society, 91.0
- Grand Piano Series, 91.0
- Cultural Park Theater Co., 90.0
- Shell Museum & Educational Foundation, 87.5
- Royal Palm Players, 85.5
Seven Collier-based nonprofits are in the running for grant money in September:
- Artis-Naples, 94.0
- Gulfshore Playhouse, 93.0
- TheatreZone, 90.5
- Naples Botanical Garden, 90.5
- Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples, 88.0
- Naples Concert Band, 88.0
- United Arts Collier, 85.5
Guidelines have yet to be announced regarding how the September awards will be calculated.
In addition to the $1.5 million set aside for additional grants in September, the budget also earmarks $1 million for organizations and projects focused on observing the 250th anniversary of the nation’s birth.
The $18 million allocated for arts and cultural grants represents one one-hundredth (.00015866) of a percent of the state’s total budget and is less than 10 percent of the estimated $175 million in tax revenues paid each year by Florida-based arts and culture organizations and their audiences.
According to the Americans for the Arts’ Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 survey, Collier-based nonprofits generated more than $147 million in economic activity in 2022 and paid nearly $4 million in local tax revenue and $2.9 million in state tax revenue. The $407,000 being returned to Collier’s four grant recipients is 13.9 percent of the latter figure.
Lee-based arts organizations contributed more than $135 million to the county’s economy. These entities and the audiences who attended their exhibitions, performances and other events paid nearly $4 million in state tax revenue. The $300,000 in grants being paid to Florida Arts and Arts Bonita is just 7.5 percent of the latter figure.
These analytics strongly suggest less than robust support for the arts, a conclusion buttressed by the elimination of grant money expected by the Florida Museum of Black History in St. Augustine ($750,000), Moriami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach ($500,000) and Tampa Museum of Art ($375,000). On top of that, Governor DeSantis vetoed $5.7 million for public radio and television, which reports on and supports the arts organizations and events that proliferate across the Florida peninsula.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.