Florida’s new budget contains about $21 million to fund a variety of arts-related groups.
But changes were suddenly made to the way grant applications are scored and funded.
The state’s General Program Support funding helps arts and cultural organizations. Just over a quarter of the groups that applied for arts funding got everything they requested. The rest of the applicants got nothing.
This follows last year’s total veto of all $32 million in arts funding statewide. That veto was especially painful given that it came one month after Tallahassee had damaging tornadoes that put some of these groups in danger of closing.
On the Speaking Of Radio Hour, Tom Flanigan talked with several groups that are quickly trying to pivot amid this surprising new round of funding loss.
COCA Executive Director Kathleen Spehar:
"We use that money from the state to fund programs - so education and professional development; we use it for re-granting, we re-distribute it to the community; and then we create jobs. So that's where it's really hitting us.
"We did get just over a million dollars allocated to the Capital City region, so we're really thankful for that. Unfortunately, COCA is not part of that...We do know that there are a couple of other opportunities through the state, and we are looking forward to hearing more later on this year from the state on that."
Tallahassee Ballet CEO Lauren Hernandez:
"We were unaware that they were going to change basically the stipulation that you had to get at least a 95 on your state grant to get full funding, so that was definitely a shock. It's not easy, as you can imagine moving forward, given the fact that essentially we were supposed to receive over $113-thousand last year and that took a hit, and now this year the same thing. So what I've had to do is unfortunately start cutting some staff.
"Arts and culture sustains jobs. If you even go to the COCA website, you'll see over 200 events a week in our region. So the state money pays for musicians, actors, writers, filmmakers, exhibitors, staff, producers, and so on. That produces then economic impact from nonprofits."
Young Actors Theatre CEO Sarah Roy:
"While the state department recommended $90-thousand for our program, the state is funding organizations that scored a 95 and up...Alas, we have a 94.5...It really, really hurt when we were just a half point away from fully funded, and now we may not get anything at all.
"We have pulled every kind of lever that we could, whether it's a little bit of an increase in tuition or increase in our ticket numbers. We have been able to navigate it this year so far, and we really do rely on our community to help us provide quality educational programs. It's been tough."
Hear the full segment by clicking LISTEN above.
