Dear Clients,Colleagues and Friends,
Georgia's fiscal health has suffered greatly since the beginning of the nation's economic crisis. As the Legislature and Governor have attempted to close each year's revenue gap, our budget has sustained deeper and deeper decreases. Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA) has lost 84% of its funding since FY 2008; the largest budget cut suffered by any state agency. The national average for state support of the arts is $1.00 per capita; in FY 2011, GCA received 8 cents per capita. With the profound losses the arts industry has sustained so far, it seems strange to say that the toughest legislative season is ahead of us, rather than behind us. With ongoing state budget revenue shortfalls (forecasted shortfalls are at least $1.2 billion), our arts budget is at greater risk now than ever.
Governor Deal's FY2012 Budget Proposal recommends that GCA be eliminated as an agency to become part of the Department of Economic Development. This can be seen as a positive step towards recognizing the importance of your nonprofit arts businesses as economic engines for the state and can provide additional value through the close association of GCA with our friends in the tourism and film industries, which are collectively the Creative Industries. Unfortunately, our budget was recommended for additional cuts for this year (FY 2011), totaling 86% since FY 2008.
WHAT IS GCA DOING?
We continue to work with our colleagues at Georgia Assembly of Community Arts Agencies (GACAA), which is Georgia's statewide arts advocacy network organization. They are participating in, and will have a strong presence at, Arts Advocacy Day, January 25, at the State Capitol. By executive order, GCA staff may not lobby and, therefore, cannot participate. However, we will work to build the record of the public value of the work of artists and arts organizations in an effort to help elected officials understand the important role the arts play as an economic engine for Georgia. I began requesting one-on-one meetings with key legislators in the Georgia House and Senate after the November election to educate them on the reality of GCA's role in supporting this vital segment of our state's economy. (Click here to review this information.)
Georgia Council for the Arts is also working with GACAA to provide economic data that supports Georgia's nonprofit arts industry through results from the GCA Economic Impact Calculator, which will be launched for the entire industry later this month. This unique online calculator produces incremental sales tax revenues and economic impact figures for an arts project or a full year's programming for any nonprofit arts organization in Georgia; these are reliable numbers to share with your city, county, and state representatives. Further, the GCA website contains information on the value of the arts.
The bottom line is this: Georgia's tourism (the state's second largest industry) and film industries could not exist without the arts industry of our state; Georgians cannot afford additional reductions in public funding. In fact, GCA needs additional dollars for FY 2011 and 2012 just to match its grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, or Georgian's federal tax dollars will remain in our nation's capital.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Participate as an active member of the GACAA Advocacy Agenda. Make certain you are signed up to receive advocacy alerts, and when you receive them, take action. Participate in the arts advocacy events they host, including Arts Day at the Capitol on January 25th. If you need information, GCA's Arts Advocacy Now! presentation is available on the agency website.
Engage your elected officials. Invite them to arts events. Schedule meetings with them and share your economic impact story. Tell them about one life that changed because you offer arts programming and/or arts education. Help increase visibility for the Value of the Arts messaging. Most of all stay connected and stay active by asking your board members to share these messages with legislators and elected officials.
This e-mail contains links to supporting documents, including the economic impact for all FY2010 Project & Operating Support Grants. Share these with your legislators, either on January 25 or during a weekend in your district. They need to hear your success stories. They need to hear that...
Georgia's arts nonprofits are profitable for Georgia!
ART@WORK
- ART@WORK Atlanta
- Art At Work (AAW) was developed in 1995 by Fulton County Arts Council (FCAC) as a six-week summer program to provide arts education and job training for youth, ages 14 - 16, who were interested in the visual arts. Since AAW's inception, it has evolved into year-round and summer programming that has served hundreds of Fulton County youth. Teens are integrally involved in all aspects of production and marketing while learning valuable work skills. Over the course of a year, participants receive instruction from professional visual artists; social and employment skill development from professionals; are exposed to the business and entrepreneurial aspects of the arts as they exhibit their work locally; and earn an income for creating art. Program participants become Apprentice Artists; producing artwork is their job.