Keep our momentum going! Engage Governor Newsom!

Last week 200 advocates met with over 100 legislators as part of Advocacy Day at the Capitol. The Governor saw our parade of advocates from a window and we want to be sure he knows we recognize his support of the arts and his efforts to integrate art, culture, and creativity across state initiatives! 

Send Governor Newsom a letter thanking him for his support over his terms in office and reminding him that we need to increase funding. You can add your own message of how state funding has impacted you and your work. 


Let’s flood his inbox with positive messages!

Send a Letter to Governor Newsom

Our 2024 California Arts Advocacy Field Survey findings are out! Click below to view the full report.

2024 CA Arts Advocacy Field Survey

Support City of Berkeley Arts and Cultural Funding - Sign On Letter

The City of Berkeley Arts budget is again under threat. Please add your name to a letter urging City Council to reverse cuts to the Civic Arts Festival Grants Program and restore funding for the Civic Arts Capital Grants Program. 

Complete the form to add your organization, business or personal name

The letter, with your signatures, will be delivered to the Mayor and Councilmembers ahead of the final vote on June 25th. PLEASE SIGN TODAY

Support City of Berkeley Arts and Cultural Funding

Newsom’s Draconian 58% Cuts to Critical Arts Programming to have Catastrophic Consequences on Creative Industry That Supports 847,688 Jobs; Rural Communities and Communities of Color to be Most Impacted

On Friday, May 10, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom presented his May Revision proposal for the 2024-25 State Budget. With a remaining $27.6 billion dollar deficit in the current year, the arts were among the hardest hit in Newsom’s proposed spending cuts. The May Revise proposes fully cutting the state’s innovative Performing Arts Equitable Payroll Fund ($12.5 million), plus a reduction of 38% ($10 million) in state grant funding for small arts nonprofits through the California Arts Council (CAC).

 “In total, we’re looking at budget cuts upwards of 58% that will decimate California’s small nonprofit arts organizations and industry workers reliant on this funding,” said Julie Baker, CEO, CA Arts Advocates. “While we understand that every agency and sector must play their part to balance the budget with a 7.95% reduction across nearly all departments, the additional cuts to arts and culture are massively disproportionate. We had hoped we were long past the days when the arts were the first to be cut and undervalued. The state’s recent investments recognized the creative industry’s essential service for bolstering the economic and social health of local communities, especially as an industry still very much in post-pandemic recovery.”

 Since 2020, a broad coalition of arts and culture workers, entertainment unions, producers, nonprofits, live entertainment venues, music  film, tv, and movie theater representatives have worked together on public policies and resources to ensure the recovery and sustainability of the creative industries. However, while some parts of the arts and culture ecosystem have recovered from the impact of COVID, many have not, most notably the nonprofit performing arts. The sweep of the $12.5 million intended for the Performing Arts Equitable Payroll Fund, a groundbreaking program that supports live arts workers at smaller, nonprofit companies, was approved just a few years ago with a strong, bipartisan vote from the Legislature. This policy innovation remains critical to stabilizing the performing arts workforce. The Governor's cut erases five years of building a legislative solution to address the deleterious impacts of both rising labor and operational costs and the pandemic on California’s small performing arts organizations. 

 “Over the past four years, our small performing arts nonprofits have suffered severe losses. During this time, our coalition urged the Legislature to act or risk decimating the live arts sector. The stakes today remain high: artists make up one of the most vulnerable populations in California and their jobs are crucial to preserve the State's creative workforce. Last September, pilot funding for the Performing Arts Equitable Payroll Fund (EPF) was welcomed as a strategy to restore sustainability. Though $12.5M won't balance the state budget, it will save many arts workers' livelihoods,” says Martha Demson, Board President of Theatre Producers of Southern California.

Currently, Arts & Culture production drives 8% of California's economy, producing over $290 billion in direct impact and supporting 847,688 jobs; it also drives 7.3% of state tax revenues. Meanwhile, the California Arts Council is already functioning at a cut-level and the performing arts community is facing unprecedented challenges.

 “The state’s commitment to the arts through modest investments deliver outsized impacts for California and must be protected to ensure a future that integrates arts and culture into solving civic issues, fostering social cohesion, revitalizing neighborhoods and ensuring access to the tools of creative expression and innovation for all,” says Al Vincent Jr., Executive Director, Actors’ Equity Association. “When people go to see live arts events, they generate economic activity – everything from spending on dinner and drinks to parking and childcare. When there is less arts funding, there is less economic activity in small cities and towns across the state. California has a chance to be a leader that prioritizes the arts and artists, not just when times are easy, but when times are hard. As the budget process proceeds, we look forward to engaging the Newsom Administration and the Legislature to restore this critical funding for the arts.”

 In total, the Governor’s proposed $10 million cut to the California Arts Council’s budget for Local Assistance Funding represents a greater than 38% reduction to the $26 million allocation level at which it has been stalled for the past seven years. The highpoint of support for the California Arts Council’s programming was at $30.7 million in the 2000-2001 budget, which in today’s dollars counting for inflation would be $54.7 million. Since 2018-19, general fund support has plateaued at $26 million – just .67 cents per California resident.  At this level, California ranks 36th in the nation in per capita arts spending. In contrast, Florida spends almost $2.00 per resident. The $10 million cut to this program would position California at 45th in the nation in local arts assistance funding, just above Kentucky, Kansas and Georgia. 

 “It is unthinkable that California would fall to 45th in the nation when it comes to funding for the arts, trailing behind Alabama and Florida. The California Arts Council’s budget is already too small to meet the needs of this state with close to 850,000 workers employed in the arts and culture industry alone. In the 2023 grant cycle, roughly 54% of applicants were denied due to a lack of available funding. If this program is cut further, this will have a devastating impact on the field, especially in rural communities and communities of color,” says Jennifer Laine, Board President, CA Arts Advocates and Executive Director of the San Benito County Arts Council.

Send a letter to the Governor and your State Assembly Member and State Senator, urging them to oppose these measures and restore the modest funding. You can customize your message to let them know how state arts funding impacts your practice, livelihood or community.

Julie Baker, CEO, CA Arts Advocates | julie@caartsadvocates.org | 916-296-1838

Martha Demson,  Board President of Theatre Producers of Southern California| martha.demson@gmail.com | 310-614-6759

David Levy | press@actorsequity.org | 212-869-8530, ext. 115

Protect Arts Funding

Every January, the Governor announces the budget proposal by January 10. While the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) has been predicting a $68 billion deficit, the administration suggests a more conservative $38 billion deficit. Governor Newsom unveiled yesterday how he proposes to manage the deficit, preserve key programs and balance the budget. He called it “a story of correction, a story of normalization after a period of a tremendous amount of distortion.” (source Cal Matters)

For arts advocates to note, the CA budget over the last several years included a lot of one-time funds for arts and culture as an influx of federal funds and a robust economy produced a confluence of unprecedented opportunities. The lobbying efforts of CAA and our partners resulted in unprecedented investments, including over $300 million of relief dollars to our sector, funding for new programs such as $60 million for the CA Creative Corps, $10 million for cultural districts, $25 million for arts in the parks, $40 million investment in creative youth development and $11.5 million for the implementation of SB 1116, Equitable Payroll Fund. 

What we see in the 24-25 budget proposal is a return to baseline levels for the California Arts Council (CAC) without any one-time funds for specific programs or increases to local assistance funds. Overall the agency’s budget for grants is proposed to be around $32 million with $8 million of that specifically earmarked for the Arts in Corrections program which has moved into the CAC’s general operating budget as a grant program (it was previously an inter agency agreement with CA Dept of Corrections with state contracts and not grants). In October of 2023, CAA sent a letter to the Governor urging him to increase the baseline funding to the agency by $20 million, as $26 million in baseline funding for a state of approximately 40 million people means while California drives the biggest sub-national arts and culture economy in the world, our state’’s investment of just $0.67 per person falls far behind Florida’s per capita investment oft $2.71. Unfortunately, due to the budget deficit, an increase to the CAC was not proposed in the Governor’s budget yesterday. In 24-25, CAA will continue to educate lawmakers to why the agency needs more funding, but we anticipate this will be a difficult year to realize any increases and, as the budget process unfolds, we may even need to protect the agency’s current appropriation. We will continue to update the field throughout the year.

The budget process begins in January but now goes to the Legislature to make its recommendations and proposals and negotiations until June 15 when the Legislature must pass a budget for the Governor to sign or veto (see here for the budget process). Arts advocates have an opportunity to influence the budget process by meeting with their state legislators on April 17 for arts advocacy day in Sacramento and sharing why public funding for the arts is necessary and critical for community development, economic vitality and social wellbeing. 

In addition, CAA will be monitoring legislation that affects our sector including ticketing bills, AI, workforce development, affordable housing and more while also monitoring implementation of SB 1116, AB 812 and equitable distribution of what is now proposed to be limited funds for the CAC.

Finally, CAA is pleased to join the creative economy working group under the California Arts Council, a $1 million initiative that CAA proposed last year in our lobbying efforts and thanks to leadership in the Legislature and Administration made it into the final budget. This is a critical opportunity for the state to not only learn about how the creative economy ecosystem functions but to build a strategic plan to ensure a healthy and vital creative workforce can thrive in California for generations to come.

2024-25 Governor’s January Budget Proposal


Latest Update on California Arts Council Grant Program Advocacy

This webpage summarizes the evolution of recent proposals shaping the California Arts Council (CAC) grant programs that will be offered next year - as well as the advocacy efforts undertaken to influence that evolution. Thank you to all who have been participating!


The new year rings in new leadership at the CAC - Danielle Brazell has been appointed by Governor Newsom to serve as the new Executive Director and the Council members voted in Roxanne Messina Captor as their new Chair and Leah Goodwin as Vice Chair.  Learn more

The slate of 2024/25 CAC grant programs has been determined - in the 12/12/23 meeting, the Council members determined which grant programs will be made available next year. See below for more details. The guidelines have NOT been determined.

Advocacy works! - Almost 1600 advocates signed letters or provided public comment to the CAC and Council members were receptive and proactive, making several changes to the initial proposals based on input from the field.

2024/25 CAC grant program guideline recommendations will be presented in January - In their next meeting (date still TBA), the Council will present and discuss recommendations for the guidelines, or eligibility criteria, to be used for next year’s grants. They will vote on guidelines at a later meeting.

STAY TUNED FOR NEXT STEPS - CFTA will be sure to distribute the recommended guidelines when they become available. To receive updates, be sure to sign up for CFTA e-news


CURRENT STATUS OF CAC 2024/25 GRANT PROGRAMS

As of their 12/12/23 meeting, members of the California Arts Council (CAC) have decided on their slate of 2024/25 Grant programs, which will include funding for State and Local Partners (SLPs) and State Regional Networks (SRNS). The guidelines, such as budget caps or other criteria for awarding grants, have NOT been determined. The Council will be presenting the general guidelines for the grant programs in the January meeting for discussion and with a vote on guidelines taking place at a later meeting. The grant programs to be offered include:

Impact Projects
Arts & Cultural Organizations General Operating Support Tier 2 (budgets $250,000 to $1 million) 

Arts & Cultural Organizations General Operating Support Tier 3 (budgets $1 - $1.5 million)
Statewide and Regional Networks (SRN)
State-Local Partners (SLP)
SLP-Mentorships
Arts Education Exposure
Arts Integration Training
Creative Youth Development
Emerging Cultural Districts

To read about the full slate of programs and other details from the 12/12/23 meeting, please visit our Notes From The Field webpage or access the full 12/12/23 CAC Meeting Packet on the CAC website.


Background On Recent Advocacy For CAC Program Changes


In October the CAC released proposed guidelines for the 2024 grant programs that included a number of concerning items, including the elimination of the State Regional Networks program, and the addition of multiple new programs, despite the fact that current programs are already oversubscribed and underfunded.  It was particularly concerning that these proposals were being made without seeking input from the field, and with very limited notice.

More than 1,400 advocates from around the state signed on to a letter expressing our concerns and asking the CAC to reconsider these proposals. These voices were heard, during the November meeting new proposals were offered, and Council members commented how helpful the input from the field was, including the Public Comment offered during the meeting.  During the Council discussion of the proposed guidelines multiple times members cited comments made during the Public Comment periods.  Thank you to all who participated. ADVOCACY WORKS!!

For more details and to view the related CAC meeting packets and proposals, see our Notes From the Field meeting summaries:

Notes from the Field: CAC Dec 12th Meeting 

Notes from the Field: CAC Nov 17th Meeting

A heartfelt thanks to the 1,400 passionate advocates who dedicated their time to signing our letter to the California Arts Council, urging a reconsideration of significant program changes. Your collective action made waves and guess what? It worked!

The committee released an updated memorandum ahead of their Nov. 17th meeting, and their amended proposals and subsequent discussion at that meeting reflect that the council members are listening and responding to the needs of the field.

For those tracking this process, please let us know how proposed changes to CAC grant programs may positively or negatively affect your work or organization by emailing our Director of Field Engagement, Tracy Hudak at tracy@californiansforthearts.org.

Link to our Notes from the Field Meeting Summary

Thanks to close to 1,400 signers to a petition to the California Arts Council (CAC) urging them to reconsider the proposed changes made by the Programs Policy Committee in an updated memorandum ahead of the Nov. 17th meeting their current proposals reflect that the council members are listening and responding to the needs of the field. You can read the updated Program Policy Committee report via the links below:

 Link to Programs Policy Committee Report for 11/17/23

 Link to Full CAC Packet (see pages 99-105)

In summary, below are the updates to the committee’s proposal related to issues we identified and took action on. The new committee report proposes:

To NOT end the State and Regional Network grant program but to clarify "the proposal from the SRNs must describe a functioning statewide or regional network of artists or arts organizations." They also propose not allowing "CAC funding to simply provide administrative staff overhead for the organization’s general mission.” The memo also states that “CAC funds must directly serve artists and arts producing organizations.” 

To limit eligibility of the Impact Projects and State and Regional Network grant programs to organizations with budgets under $3 million and to require matching grants for awards larger than $25,000.

To continue funding all 53 State-Local Partners and to consider limiting those with budgets above $3.5 million to request no more than $40,000 a year “with the funds directed to historically underrepresented artists and organizations.” Additionally, grantees will need to provide information on individual artists and arts organizations served through regranting, technical assistance and engagement activities.

The committee is also proposing that State-Local Partners and State and Regional Networks conduct research on behalf of the CAC on Native American, Touring and Disabled Artists in their region with their respective annual grant awards.

STOP CHANGES TO CALIFORNIA ARTS COUNCIL GRANT PROGRAMS

In advance of their October 25th meeting, the Programs Policy Committee of the California Arts Council (CAC) made program change recommendations for next year’s grant programs. We believe we need to take collective action to stop several recommendations from being adopted by the Council. 

While we applaud the CAC's efforts to address historic inequities in arts funding, we are AGAINST limiting grant eligibility to organizations based on budget size alone, without considering other factors. And we are AGAINST ending the State and Regional Networks program and limiting funding to State-Local Partners, as these programs provide critical infrastructure to the arts ecosystem and help the CAC reach every corner of the state. Read and sign our letter to the CAC urging the Council to reject these changes (access the PDF version here).

We applaud the Council’s efforts to bring support to organizations and individuals who have historically not accessed state funding including small budget organizations, rural communities, BIPOC serving and led organizations and communities that score low on the healthy places index but we do not think that means we need to eliminate programs for organizations of larger budget sizes or service organizations entirely.

We believe these proposed changes have been made without adequate analysis and input from the field and may have the potential to destabilize critical programs and services. We are deeply concerned about pitting members of the field against each other at a time when we need to unite to advocate for greater overall funding.

The CAC will be discussing these recommendations at their next meeting on Friday, Nov 17th and will be voting on these items on Tuesday, December 12th.

We recommend the following actions and will continue to monitor developments on program recommendations and keep you informed as the council debates and makes their final decisions.

✍️ URGENT! - Sign Letter to the California Arts Council - Sign by midnight, Tuesday Nov 14th!
We need 1,000 signatures urging the Council to reject the recommendations.

➜ Share the CAC letter with your network! Access the CAC ACTION SHARE KIT
The kit has a graphic and ‘cut & paste’ copy that you can use for social posts or emails.

➜ Join us for a Free CAC Strategy Session Office Hour on Zoom with CFTA staff
Monday, Nov 13th | 2:00 - 3:00pm | Register here
Get updates, share strategies and develop talking points and next steps.

➜ Contact Council Members - see List of CAC Members

➜ Make Public Comment at the Nov. 17th meeting or submit a comment ahead of time 
- see the CAC Meetings page for instructions an agenda closer to the date
- Arts for LA has organized State and Regional Networks talking points specifically for SRNs 



California Arts Advocates Public Comment - submitted during the October 25th CAC meeting

Part of our role at California Arts Advocates is to ensure accountability and transparency in the CAC’s decision-making as it affects the entire arts ecosystem in California. We are concerned that the recommendations presented today as part of the Programs Policy Committee were not done with adequate public input or participation.  For instance, there was a notice that the committee meeting was to be made public but then it was canceled. This would have given the public the opportunity to weigh in. And while public comment will be heard today, the field was given only three working days to review the recommendations. Additionally, which decision-making tools or sets of data were used to develop today’s recommendations?  Those attachments are missing in the committee’s report, which represent critical information to consider given the significant program changes that are being presented today.

What we do know is that the CAC is only the statewide funder for arts and culture in California and in a state as large with diverse regional issues, the current budget allocation falls way behind meeting the demands of the agency. We understand that with only $25 million available, hard decisions will have to be made and not everyone who has received public funding these last several years will be eligible. That is why we will be working this year to encourage the Governor and Legislature to increase ongoing funding to the CAC by $20million or approximately $46 million overall.  At CAA, we also know from our own field surveys that consistent and sustainable multi-year general operating grant programs are what is needed. If the CAC consistently changes grant programs, it runs the risk of destabilizing the field. 

We are grateful that today is only a discussion item and hope the council will take the field’s comments into consideration before making significant changes to long standing programs. Between now and the next CAC meeting, we recommend that the council conduct a field survey so that more voices can be heard as well as focus groups. This way any recommendations that are being made by the programs policy committee are based on data and not assumptions.  Finally, the CAC’s strategic framework and recent program evaluation should also inform any changes in direction for the agency.

The Statewide and Regional Networks (SRN) program intends to contribute to the health and vitality of the creative workforce in California by creating a resilient network of arts service organizations and artists. An arts service organization is defined as an organization that furthers the interests of artists, creators, tradition bearers, and arts and cultural organizations. They also provide specialized, practical services for artists, arts organizations, and cultural communities. Click here to learn more.

The State-Local Partners (SLP) program provides general operating support and technical assistance for county-designated local arts agencies. The purpose of the program is to foster cultural development on the local level through a partnership between the State and the counties of California. The nature of this partnership includes funding, information exchange, cooperative activities, and leadership. The partnership enables individuals, organizations, and communities to create, present, and preserve the arts of all cultures to enrich the quality of life for all Californians. Click here to learn more.

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