Last June, the Florida Division of Arts & Culture gave arts organizations three weeks to file applications for this year’s Florida arts and culture grants. United Arts Collier Executive Director Elysia Dawn was in Tallahassee recently to advocate for funding. She reports that 746 organizations have qualified for grants. They’re seeking $76 million. That represents .06 percent of the state’s $117.4 billion budget.
“The legislature has an opportunity to recommend funding at any percentage that they want,” said Dawn. “We'd like to see that at 100 [percent], of course, particularly given the return on investment that the state gets.”
That return on investment is multi-tiered.
“The state tax generated from the amount that was given to the arts, it's two for one,” Dawn observed.
In 2022, Florida paid $32 million in grants compared to $175 million in taxes paid into state coffers by arts organizations. That pales in comparison to the $5.7 billion the nonprofit art section contributed to Florida’s economy in 2022.
But Dawn says that numbers only tell part of the story.
“Looking at mental health, even physical health, we're seeing all of the data coming out around the many benefits of the arts on our health,” Dawn noted. “That's something that should matter to all of us and something that the state should support.”
Then there’s impact on children.
“Arts help contribute to successful graduation rates, in fact at the rate of five times higher than students who don't receive arts education,” Dawn said. “They score higher on their SATs. They are four times more likely to get a secondary degree.”
Improv groups train corporate leaders.
The Naples Players does tabletop training exercises with Collier SWAT teams and NHC hospital staff.
Other theater groups sponsor playwrighting competitions and take shows into area schools.
But to get by on less without cutting staff, arts organizations have had to cut or curtail educational and community outreach programs, including art therapy for Alzheimer’s patients and veterans.
“Sometimes people think of the arts, and they think of some something that is stale or something that is not for them, but there are so many different kinds of ways that we can engage with and benefit from the arts.”
So now is the time to let your state representatives know how the arts have touched your life and the role they play in your community. The legislature will make its grant recommendation to the governor in June.
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What you can do
Dawn encourages everyone to write to their legislators as soon as possible to encourage their support for full funding of the 746 qualifying arts organizations.
“I would encourage anyone who feels led to advocate for, or just even feels passionate about, the arts to speak from their own experience,” Dawn advised. “Send an email or make a phone call to your senator or representative and thank them for their support or take the opportunity to have conversations with those who aren't.”
Dawn has found from personal experience that the best way to deal with a legislator who is against providing grants to arts organizations is by telling them why the arts matter to you.
“Most legislators run for office because they sincerely want to make a positive difference,” said Dawn. “So, they need to hear from the people who care about the arts what difference they make for them, the difference they make in our community. So, give them the opportunity to make a good choice for them to represent us. But they need to know from the people that they're representing what it is that they want.”
Dawn added that, in her experience, even people who disavow any interest in the arts consume the arts in multiple ways. The books they read were written by an author. The movies they watch were written by a screenwriter, portrayed by actors and produced by a team of creatives that includes directors, editors, animators, and sound and lighting engineers. There would be no plays or musicals, video games, television shows or statues and murals without visual and performing artists. Our representatives just need to be reminded of their own connection to and consumption of art, culture and entertainment.
But not everyone has the eloquence they feel they need to effectively advocate for the arts.
“I really encourage anyone who can speak up to do so,” said Dawn. “But if anyone has questions or maybe doesn’t feel confident in exactly how to go about doing this, I would encourage them to reach out to us. We're really happy to talk about some of the process in doing some of this work if that's of interest.”
Here’s a list of Southwest Florida’s State Senators
Following is a list of the senators who represent the districts that comprise Southwest Florida:
District 20 (Hillsborough, Manatee counties)
Senator Jim Boyd (R)
Email, office addresses, legislative aides and telephone numbers
District 22 (Sarasota County and part of Manatee)
Senator Joe Gruters (R)
Email, office addresses, legislative aides and telephone numbers
District 27 (Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee counties and parts of Lee)
Senator Ben Albritton (R)
Email, office addresses, legislative aides and telephone numbers
District 28 (Collier, Hendry and part of Lee County)
Senator Kathleen Passidomo (R)
Email, office addresses, legislative aides and telephone numbers
District 29 (Glades, Highlands, Indian River and Okeechobee counties)
Senator Erin Grall (R)
Email, office addresses and telephone numbers
District 33 (Part of Lee County)
Senator Jonathan Martin (R)
Email, office addresses, legislative aides and telephone numbers
Here’s a list of Southwest Florida’s State Representatives
Following is a list of the representatives from the districts that comprise Southwest Florida:
District 72 (Part of Manatee)
Rep. William “Bill” Conerly (R)
Email, mailing addresses and telephone numbers
District 73 (Part of Sarasota)
Rep. Fiona McFarland (R)
Email, mailing addresses and telephone numbers
District 74 (Part of Sarasota)
Rep. James Buchanan (R)
Email, mailing addresses and telephone numbers
District 75 (Parts of Charlotte, Sarasota
Rep. Danny Nix, Jr. (R)
Email, mailing addresses and telephone numbers
District 76 (DeSoto and Parts of Charlotte)
Rep. Vanessa Oliver
Email, mailing addresses and telephone numbers
District 77 (Part of Lee)
Rep. Tiffany Esposito
Email, mailing addresses and telephone numbers
District 78 (Part of Lee)
Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka (R)
Email, mailing addresses and telephone numbers
District 79 (Part of Lee)
Rep. Mike Giallombardo (R)
Email, mailing addresses and telephone numbers
District 80 (Parts of Collier, Lee)
Rep. Adam Botana (R)
Email, mailing addresses and telephone numbers
District 81 (Part of Collier)
Rep. Yvette Benarroch (R)
Email, mailing addresses and telephone numbers
District 82 (Hendry and Part of Collier)
Rep. Lauren Melo (R)
Email, mailing addresses and telephone numbers
District 83 (Glades, Hardee, Highlands, Okeechobee)
Rep. Kaylee Tuck (R)
Email, mailing addresses and telephone numbers
Before you call, here’s what you should know about the recent history of arts and culture grants
Two years ago, the Florida Legislature recommended that $32 million should be allocated in the state budget for arts and culture grants. However, Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed all grant funding, citing gay and trans programming in fringe festivals in Tampa and Orlando as the reason for denying support to arts organizations statewide.
Last year, the state’s $115.5 billion budget included more than $18 million for the 184 arts organizations that received a score of 95 or higher from the Florida Division of Arts & Culture, which ranked the 900-plus nonprofits and public entities that applied for state assistance.
Only four Collier County-based arts and culture organizations made the cut last year: the Naples Art Association, The Naples Art District, The Naples Players and the Southwest Florida Holocaust Museum. They divided an allocation of $407,000.
Lee County had only two organizations that qualified for grants last cycle in the cultural and museums category. They were Florida Arts, which operates the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, and Arts Bonita Center for the Arts. Each received a $150,000 grant.
Eight Sarasota-based arts and culture nonprofits qualified for grants: Embracing Our Differences, $145,675; Art Center Sarasota, $90,000; City of Sarasota, $150,000; Ensemble NEWSRQ, $37,925; Sarasota Opera Association, $150,000; Artists Series Concerts of Sarasota, $90,000; Florida West Coast Symphony, $150,000; and Florida Studio Theatre, $150,000.
No Charlotte County-based nonprofit qualified.
The $18 million allocated for arts and culture grants last year represented one one-hundredth (.00015866) of a percent of the state’s total budget. It was also less than 10 percent of the estimated $175 million in tax revenues paid last year into state coffers 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 generate more than $147 million in economic activity and pay nearly $4 million in local tax revenue and $2.9 million in state tax revenue each year. The $407,000 returned to Collier’s four grant recipients was 13.9 percent of the economic activity Collier arts organizations generated.
Lee-based arts organizations contribute more than $135 million to the county’s economy annually. These entities and the audiences who attended their exhibitions, performances and other events pay nearly $4 million in state tax revenue. The $300,000 in grants paid to Florida Arts and Arts Bonita was just 7.5 percent of the $135 million in economic activity generated by the nonprofit art sector.
These analytics reflect a less than robust support for the arts, a conclusion buttressed by the elimination last year 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, Gov. 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.
What you should know about where this currently stands
The grant applications filed last July have been scored, and the Division of Arts & Culture has recommended 746 applicants for full or partial funding. Each received a score of 80 or higher.
“Last year the recommendation was a 90 or higher which ended up becoming a 95 or higher from the secretary,” Dawn noted. “This year the Florida Council voted to have it be a score of 80 or higher, which I think many arts groups are going to be very relieved to hear. Of course, now we have to await the secretary's decision on what to put forward. So that's what we're waiting on at this point.”
If all 746 arts organizations that received a score of 80 or higher on their applications receive full funding, that would amount to $76 million in grants.
“The Legislature has yet to decide how much to allocate for arts and culture grants, but many Legislators are gravitating toward a 0.02 percent allocation, or roughly $24 million,” Dawn noted.
While that’s more than the state provided last year, it is less than the $32 million the Legislature approved and the state paid out three years ago
“Given the foregoing economics coupled with the hardships imposed on arts organizations across the board by the veto of all funding two years ago, a 0.06 percent allocation or $76 million in grant funding is in order this time around,” Dawn argued. “It’s something that just makes sense on an economic level as well as on the human level.”
While Dawn is lobbying in Tallahassee for full funding, she concedes that the actual number could be far less.
“It could even be zero,” she cautioned. “In the past couple of years, we were just thankful to see a healthy recommendation; we certainly want to see more going forward. But we're encouraged to see things going in the right direction and are really grateful to many of the Legislators who recognized some of the unintended consequences that started happening when the arts didn't receive funding. There were a lot of people who were negatively impacted by that and we even had FGCU do a great brief on the potential consequences economically. So, it's something that I think a lot of our officials understood needed to be corrected. We're really grateful to see it moving in that direction particularly because a lot of the organizations that didn't receive funding the last two years are really hurting."
How the arts impact health, education and community
When advocating for the arts, Dawn tends to focus on stories that seek to evoke an emotional connection. She talks about the short and long-term impact that arts have on education and quality of life. She mentions the benefits that Alzheimer’s and dementia patients derive from art therapy. She discusses the benefits realized by underserved communities from art programming and after-school education.
She tells the story of meeting with a Legislator who told her flat out that the arts was far down on his list when it came to government funding. But when she pointed out how some theater companies in her community were helping train SWAT teams and hospital staff and providing art therapy for veterans groups, he suddenly saw the wisdom of providing state support for the arts.
“Everyone wants safer, healthier constituents and communities,” said Dawn. “We know, for example, that art therapy is really beneficial for that. So, we're impressing the need for that as we're looking at what is a worthwhile expenditure for us from the state. This is something that impacts all of us, whether we care about engaging in the arts directly. The arts impact us one way or another here and we certainly encourage everyone to explore the ways that the arts can benefit them directly.”
Dawn also recounted that she frequently hears people say that since only a few arts organizations had to shutter after being denied grants the past two cycles, they obviously didn’t need state support after all. Her response is instructive.
“While I'm really grateful that they didn't close their doors,” she tells people who say this, “they nevertheless had to zero up their budgets. They had to find ways to creatively deal with the loss of funding. That typically meant pulling programs rather than cutting staff, which would have resulted in even more programs being cut, which they certainly didn’t want to do. So, they had to pull the rug out from underneath those programs that were providing services in our community, such as art therapy programs for people with Alzheimer's and dementia, veteran art therapy programs and some programs that were benefitting school children in Collier County.”
Not everyone sees value in programs like those. But many do.
“As we continue to share stories like these, I really do feel like many of [our state Legislators] are listening. For so many, the creation of art speaks to the very human need for expression and connection. But beyond that, there's just tremendous value to be had when we can think about these applications of the arts to make safer, healthier, stronger communities.”
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.
