The U.S. President has issued his budget proposal, which includes zeroing out the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). If this is allowed to happen, there will be devastating effects to arts organizations of every size, in every community in America.

What does this mean to Tuesday Musical?

How does the NEA, a huge national organization, matter to a small organization like Tuesday Musical? Well, the impact of this loss would be significant.

• At the state level, the Ohio Arts Council (OAC) receives one of the largest NEA awards each year, nearly one million dollars. This funding goes out directly to organizations like Tuesday Musical in the form of operating and programming grants. Currently, Tuesday Musical receives more than $30,000 in grant support and earned revenue from the Ohio Arts Council.
• The Arts Midwest Touring Fund, a program of which Tuesday Musical has received support for many years, is funded entirely by the NEA. Tuesday Musical receives between $7,000 and $8,000 each year from this program.
• Tuesday Musical not only uses this funding to support our programs and operations, but also to leverage funding matches with other foundations and grantors each year.
• Eliminating this support will not only have these immediately quantifiable effects on our organization, but creating funding scarcity in general will make all other awards even more competitive.

This news comes at an important time

This coming Monday and Tuesday — March 20 and 21 — is National Arts Advocacy Day, supported by Americans for the Arts. This means that thousands of arts supporters from around the country will converge on Washington, D.C., to advocate for funding for arts and arts education. Senate and House members will be visited by their constituents and urged to not support the President’s recommendation, but to continue to understand the value that the arts provide to America’s economy and lifestyle.

What can WE do?

• Contact our elected officials through email, telephone and written correspondence — and urge them to not defund the NEA and NEH. Share the importance of the arts in your life, your education, your work, and your community. We all know how other funding and revenues multiply many times a dollar spent in the arts: restaurants, parking, individual donations, education and jobs are just a few examples.

• Americans for the Arts, the national arts advocacy organization, has an e-advocacy portal that will help you in your efforts. 

• Ohio Citizens for the Arts has similar information for our state-level elected officials. This site will help you advocate at the state level for funding for the Ohio Arts Council. With the NEA in danger, there is no better time than now to support state funding for the arts.

• Join the Arts Action Fund.

We encourage you to learn more about the importance of public funding for the arts and the NEA. Without support at all of these levels, it would be impossible for Tuesday Musical to provide the performances and education/community engagement programs we do for our community.