Advocacy
Posted: Mar 30, 2022
Updated March 30, 2023 | FY24 STATE FUNDING ADVOCACY UPDATE
NEW! For any organization receiving tourism development tax (TDT), an action alert from the Florida Association of Museums against bill PCB-RRS2 was issued earlier this week. FFI
Thank you to local and statewide advocates who met with legislators and shared the stories about the quality of life, economic impact, and art & cultural tourism that has led to our 14%+ growth this year.
The arts funding is now with the full Appropriations Committees and making great progress!
1. Help us by writing an email today or ASAP (things move quickly)
Thank the Appropriations Subcommittee members for their great work to date.
2. Send an email to the Senate and House Appropriations Committees for the four grant line items, with our thanks for all their hard work for these recommendations and ask for their continued support. Here’s where their recommendations are today: Both include 100% of the Culture Builds Florida grants! (Yes, thank you for 100% support!)
· Cultural and Museum Grant appropriations range from 42% in Senate to 67% in the House for that grant category. Encourage the highest level of support in this critical category! What will you do with this to benefit the community?
· Cultural Facilities is recommended fully/100% by the House and through #14 in the Senate. Ask the Senate to match the House recommendations.
· Both House and Senate include funding for Endowments! But only through line #10 (S) or #12 (H). Ask for 100% support on the ranked since all were vetted and recommended by the Department of State, Florida Division of Arts & Culture.
These recommendations are a good start, but to fully meet our sector and community needs, we ask for 100% funding for all line items.
Questions? Contact kathleen@tallahasseearts.org | info@tallahasseearts.org | 850-224-2500
We are stronger together – join us and advocate for 100%!
City Funding Update - February 2023
Due to your advocacy, on September 7, 2022, the City Commission approved $300,000 for community arts programs. COCA then launched a Cultural Grant Program Round 2: City Funds application round. In total, 31 applications were funded, which included 11 BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) organizations; 10 organizations new to COCA’s grant programs; and 22 underserved organizations with budgets of less than $150,000. Your advocacy made this possible. City funding was allocated for one year, and we ask for your support as COCA works with the City on its FY24 community arts programs funding request.
We believe it's important to continue providing information about this request. Updates will be posted here and shared on our social media channels. If you have a question about this topic we can add to this list, please contact Kathleen Spehar at kathleen@tallahaseearts.org.
ARTS ADVOCACY ALERT
COCA's request for $300,000 to support local-facing programs is currently not recommended in the City's FY23 budget draft. This request will support local arts & culture programs for our families, kids, neighborhoods, and those with special needs and economic challenges in our community that can't qualify for tourism resources. These programs support City priorities, including Quality of Life, Impact on Poverty, Neighborhood Plans, and more.
COCA's funding request has not been recommended. This request will primarily be used for regranting to arts and cultural organizations for local-facing programs. COCA does not have unrestricted regranting funds for local-facing programs and has qualifying applicants in the FY23 round that won't be funded unless City funding is approved. Please contact your City commissioners in support of this funding and ask them to approve this funding request (Agenda item 12.1 – Option 2) https://go.boarddocs.com/fla/talgov/Board.nsf/Public
Join us at City Hall on Wednesday, September 07, at 3 PM at the Commission Chambers, 300 South Adams Street to support this funding. You can email commissioners and register to speak at the commission meeting here: https://www.talgov.com/cityleadership/citizeninput
REQUEST FOR CITY FUNDING- FY23 Budget cycle
The City of Tallahassee is considering a $300,000 funding request from COCA to fund local-facing programming. This support will allow arts & culture organizations and programs to deliver programming that positively impacts City priorities, its Strategic Plan, and basic services, including
Impact on Poverty through the support of community health and wellness initiatives;
Quality of Life to enhance livability and preserve the unique characteristics of neighborhoods and keep residents and visitors informed about events and attractions in Tallahassee;
Public Safety by our efforts to implement proactive community-based solutions to enhance public safety.
Pandemic recovery & Diversity, equity and inclusion through all programs and services.
Neighborhood Plans through arts, culture & public art.
Neighborhood beautification, safety and security through cultural programs and services activated throughout the City.
Previous to 2016, the City provided up to $500,000 of support that could be used for this purpose. Currently, no City funds are available for redistribution through COCA's grant programs to support these kinds of programs. Our request will support local organizations & programs not eligible for funding through the Tourism Development Tax (TDT) including:
Arts education programs | Arts & culture programs for special needs youth and adults
Arts & culture programs focused on local services | Arts, culture history & heritage organizations with a primarily local focus.*
Organizations that implement local-facing programming tied to City priorities include, but are not limited to:
Motivating People Through Arts and Crafts programs for persons on the Autism Spectrum and with Neurodiversity challenges.
Cool Breeze Youth Music and Art Enrichment Workshops.
Tallahassee Youth Orchestra (TYO) camps in economically-challenged neighborhoods
Young Actor's Theatre (YAT) and Tallahassee Ballet youth programs
We understand this is a challenging year and are grateful for the City's belief in the positive impact arts, culture, history & heritage has on City priorities. We ask the City to fund all or part of our request in the FY23 budget cycle.
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May 2020: Black Lives Matter
COCA's Advocacy Guide has information about Black Lives Matter plus links to other Arts Advocacy Resources.
Please click here to learn more about Advocacy Resources from Americans for the Arts.
Please click here to learn more about Advocacy Resources from the Florida Cultural Alliance.
Please click here to learn more about Advocacy Resources from the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs.
Please click here to see COCA's current Advocacy listings in our Classifieds section.
To see information about Black Lives matter, please see below:
COCA stands with Black Lives Matter, protesters, artists of color, and allies speaking out to change inequitable and racist systems.
WE WILL:
*Facilitate ongoing, organizational and community-wide conversations about race, class, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and income status as these issues relate to our arts community.
*Continue to examine our grant and public art practices and policies to ensure under-invested and under-represented communities can compete equitably for exhibitions, grants and other financial opportunities.
*Feature artists and organizations in our community that facilitate equity and those who are equity champions.
WE BELIEVE:
*The ability to express, celebrate and champion cultural tradition and heritage is elemental to honest civic discourse and the well-being of our community.
*Artists and cultural creators have a unique role in challenging inequity and imagining new and more just realities.
*The health of our future cultural community in Tallahassee and Leon County is contingent on inclusionary practices that move towards cultural plurality.
*Inequity is pervasive and historic. Disparities and discrimination are daily occurrences that are rooted in long-standing majority privilege and power inside and outside of the cultural arts.
Equity moves past inclusion and representation; accepting that power has created uneven starting points for some communities and individuals. Simple diverse representation does not dismantle the unequal nature of voice, resource allocation and visibility that exist in the arts and cultural ecosystem.
The arts hold transformative power. They offer an instrument to amplify under-represented voices and open a dialog for meaningful change. We are listening. We see the outpouring of grief and pain. We hold ourselves accountable to be better and do more. This is a start, but there is more work to do to make sure we continue to learn and improve.
Please visit our website here to see COCA's Statement on Cultural Equity.
Resources are added to this listing periodically.
Most recent update: 7-8-2022
DEI in TLH
Recording of the presentation can be found here (with Zoom passcode: t5=A?8nW)
Two additional resources mentioned in the DEI in TLH presentation, Black Fatigue by Mary Frances Winters and Good White People by Shannon Sullivan.
Black Fatigue by Mary Frances Winters can be purchased here.
Good White People by Shannon Sullivan can be purchased here.
Florida Senate Committee Assignments
The Senate has been filling seats on their committees. The complete directory of committees can be found at this link. The committees that are critical to our success are listed below. Your advocacy will be especially important if your senator is on one of these lists.
Some committees of critical importance to the success of arts and culture: are Appropriations, Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development, and Appropriations Subcommittee on Education.
Professional Development
National Arts Action Summit - Entering its 35th consecutive year, the National Arts Action Summit is the only national event designed to bring together a broad cross-section of America's cultural and civic organizations to underscore the importance of developing strong public policies and increased public funding for arts and culture. There has never been a better time to join us at the National Arts Action Summit because this year, we're taking our advocacy efforts to the next level by making it free for partner organizations and individuals to attend.
Initiatives to support
A Call for a Cultural New Deal
National Civil Rights Conference
Check out and register for the 2021 Conference
Articles/Media
Arts Vote: Five Things You Can Do for the Arts Now
10 Organizations Supporting Black Artists, Creators, Movers & Shakers You Can Donate To Today
A Message to Non-Black People at a Time of Acute Anti-Black Hatred
Black Lives Matter protests across the US and world
Solidarity Is
How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change
Performing Whiteness
Enough Already with the Statements of "Solidarity," Arts World
How to be a white ally and practice anti-racism
Rest in Power, Beautiful #blacklivesmatter
21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge
National Museum of African American History and Culture Releases "Talking About Race" Web Portal
Museums and Equity in Times of Crisis
Curatorial Dreaming in the Age of COVID-19
For Museum Leaders Who Want to Do Better
Webinar Series: Taking diversity and inclusion efforts from intention to action at museums
University of Iowa: Art and the Pursuit of Social Justice webinar events
Resource Guides
Black Arts & Cultural Funding and Justice Resource Hub
No Going Back: A COVID-19 Cultural Strategy Activation Guide for Artists and Activists
Anti-racism resources for white people
Resources to Support Black Businesses and More
Coronavirus: Guidance for Better Mental Health
A Pandemic Time Capsule and Tools for 2021
New ArtPlace America report explores building community wealth through arts, culture and equitable development
BIPOC Arts Marketing Freelancer Database
The brand-new BIPOC Arts Marketing Freelancer Database is a FREE, open source database. If you're a graphic designer, web designer, video editor, sound/podcast engineer, illustrator, social media pro, etc - share your information! I've already had success connecting with an incredible freelancer through this list, and I hope the database will be useful to all of us going forward. If you're a BIPOC Arts Marketing Freelancer, free to add your info directly to the spreadsheet. Keep it growing!
Tallahassee LGBTQ+ Resource Guide Application
For years now Tallahassee has been in need of a comprehensive LGBTQ+ resource guide, one that is vetted and labored by people of the community. Capital Tea has held a monthly LGBTQ+ resource meeting where local LGBTQ+ groups and advocates have worked to develop a process that ensures this guide will meet our needs locally.
Who should fill this out?
This application is meant for any retail, restaurant, social service, mental health counselor, realtor, dentist, doctor, vet, entertainment space, legal, and every service that falls in between. We invite business owners and EDs to complete this application and we also wholeheartedly invite folks who work in these spaces as direct care, supervisors, front line, and volunteers to fill this out.
Huge shout out to the individuals who labored alongside us. Including but not limited to the Florida State University College of Medicine Center for Translational Behavioral Science, TransParent, PFLAG. We hope to share with you a list of other folks and groups who joined in for the collective goal of ensuring LGBTQ+ folks in our community have access to safe and affirming spaces!
Please feel free to share this with others in the Tallahassee area.
Shareable link below
https://forms.gle/dnSZ7GTeV1s65Bx16
Local Organizations
Town Hall Tuesdays with COCA, INIE, and UPHS
Dream Defenders Tallahassee - Facebook & Instagram
The Movement 850 - Instagram
Local Events
National Organizations
Brown Girls Doc Mafia is an initiative advocating for over 3,300 women and non-binary people of color working in the documentary film industry around the world.
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