$3.5 Million Request for NC Arts Council Grants
Arts North Carolina is requesting an additional recurring $3.5 million for NC Arts Council grant programs be allocated by the NC General Assembly in the FY24-FY25 biennium budget. This allocation would achieve Arts NC’s long-stated goal of state grant funding for the arts equal to $1 per capita. It is also exactly what the statewide arts industry needs to emerge from the pandemic, be regionally competitive, and thrive in the years to come.
North Carolina is falling behind other states in the region when it comes to funding its state arts agency. While the FY23 increase of $1 million was significant, raising the investment from $0.79 to $0.86 per capita in NC, it falls well short of what is needed to be competitive in the Southeast region that has average per capita allocation for a state arts agency of $1.11. North Carolina lags significantly behind other state arts agencies per capita spending in FY23 (not including line items or federal relief dollars) such as Alabama at $1.29, South Carolina at $2.19, and Florida at $2.74. However, competitive arts investment is not the only reason to increase arts spending.
The NC General Assembly effectively supported the NC nonprofit arts industry when it was in crisis, allocating $9.4 million in relief from federal CARES Act funding in 2020, and another $15 million from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds in 2021 which are being awarded statewide in both FY 23 and FY24. The increased resources allowed the NC Arts Council to respond to the needs of the industry through existing relationships as well as identify, assist, and support many new partner organizations, many in rural and underserved communities.
Although helpful to the sector and greatly appreciated, the recent $1 million increase in arts funding in NC only keeps pace with the rapid increase of inflation over the last three years. Arts funding supported by CARES and ARPA dollars increased average annual grants awards to well above the $1 per capita benchmark, but those funds will be gone in FY25, creating a “fiscal cliff” that will be devastating to a statewide arts sector that is just getting back on its feet after years of shutdowns and slow sales due to COVID-19.
Also, the NC Arts Council has greatly expanded its reach since 2019 to address the drastically increased needs of the industry. The state agency awarded 62% more direct grants in FY23 than before the pandemic. Of those awardees, 39% had never had a funding partnership with the NC Arts Council of any kind, and many of those new partners are located in, and engage with rural and underserved communities. If the NC General Assembly does not significantly increase the allocation for arts grants, the impact on the sector, and specifically these new partners, could be catastrophic.
The NC Arts Council has been supporting the arts industry across the state for over 50 years, providing leadership, training, and resources. The agency equitably awards grants to support arts programming and operations in all 100 counties every year, with appropriate oversight and measured accountability. NC Arts Council support and services have empowered the strength and resiliency of the state’s multi-billion-dollar arts sector through past decades of growth and recent years of hardship. Given the necessary resources, the agency can enable a vibrant future for the statewide creative community.
Even with significant losses due to COVID-19, in 2020 the Arts and Culture industry contributed $16.5 billion to the North Carolina economy (2.8% of the state GDP) and supported 115.891 jobs (2.8% of all NC employment) generating $8.8 billion in compensation. Federal data will soon be released that is anticipated to illustrate the resilient recovery of the creative sector in North Carolina, which lost jobs at more than double the rate of the statewide average.
The requested $3.5 million increase in recurring funds would more effectively fund the arts beyond just keeping pace with inflation. It would make the North Carolina’s incredibly important creative industry more competitive with other states in our region, and most importantly provide a “soft landing” as we transition from the pandemic, avoiding a “fiscal cliff” and insuring support for arts organizations serving our most vulnerable communities.
Arts North Carolina has been in conversations with key legislators for months, including the Chairs of the Joint Caucus on the Arts and Arts Education. Plans are in place to present this request, along with our arts education goals, to the Arts Caucus this session prior to ARTS Day 2023. Possible email campaigns and advocates filling the halls of the NC Legislative Complex and having meetings with NC Senators and Representatives on April 18th will work in coordination with the work of Arts NC leadership and lobbyists to secure this additional funding in the NC FY24-FY25 biennium budget.