Alert to the Cultural Community of Louisiana

Severe funding cuts proposed!

Urge House Appropriations Committee to Reinstate Decentralized Arts Funding and Statewide Arts Grants Funding. Please take 3 minutes to contact Committee Members NOW.

What’s happening?

Both the Decentralized Arts Funding Program (DAF) and Statewide Arts Grants (SAG) have been targeted with deep and crippling cuts. The Executive Budget presented in February requests a $1 million cut to DAF as well as a $1 million cut to SAG. This $2 million cut represents a 41% reduction to Louisiana’s state arts funding.

• The Louisiana Partnership for Arts Advocacy is urging the full restoration of $1 million of funding to the DAF program to remain funded at the ’09 level of $2,468,938. The DAF program supports organizations in each parish on a per capita basis and creates cultural projects with an economic return of $11 per $1 spent in your communities.

• The Louisiana Partnership for Arts Advocacy is urging the full restoration of $1 million of funding to the DAF program to remain funded at the ’09 level of $2,427.879. The Statewide Arts Grants program provides stabilization, capacity building and arts in education grants to our major arts organizations and local arts agencies, with a $28 return per $1 spent in your communities.

How are you affected?

If these cuts come to pass, the cultural-economic engine and tourism industry of Louisiana will become crippled by a severe ripple effect. These cuts affect artists, teachers, non-profit organizations, festivals, libraries, museums and theaters alike. No community will remain untouched and the economic loss will rank second only to the loss in social profit, community and quality of life. Culture is Louisiana’s finest natural resource. We need to nurture and protect it for it to flourish.

How can you help?

If you have ever applied for arts grants, work for a cultural non-profit or are one of the thousands of artists and cultural workers in Louisiana, you need to help us to help you.

The House Appropriations Committee will be meeting for the first time this week on March 4^th. Now is the time for you to have a voice!

• Click here to send a message NOW asking the House Appropriations Committee members to support our request for the increase in funding.

• Click here to join/donate to LPAA – help us to help you!

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