Arts Grant Restrictions and Line Item Funding in the Proposed State Budget
Through our $1 for the ARTS initiative, Arts NC advocates for and supports the grant programs of the NC Arts Council, which reach all 100 counties. They also have thorough professional, peer, and citizen oversight, provide an equitable distribution of resources throughout the entire state, and hold grant recipients accountable for their use of taxpayer dollars, which is how public funding should be administered. In the current proposed NC State Budget there are restriction to the Grassroots Arts Program grants that constitute a monumental threat to public arts funding in North Carolina and various line item allocations that are contrary to best interest of the arts for our entire state.
Restrictions in the current budget that would not allow additional Grassroots Arts Program Grants funding to go to ten counties based on their high level of economic performance and larger populations is in direct opposition to the equitable and decentralized distribution of funding that is the very essence of this program and has been the cornerstone of our state arts funding for over 40 years. This restriction is an affront to the equitable distribution of resources we have worked for decades to promote and defend, and would disenfranchise nearly 40% of all North Carolinians from these funds.
Line item allocations in the state budget have no oversight, are not equitable, and require minimal accountability. As such, Arts NC does not advocate for or support line-item funding allocations in the NC State Budget.
These allocations and restrictions can result in long term damage to the state and the mission of Arts NC in the following ways:
- Line item funding can disrupt the legislative process by inundating legislators with special requests (one reason the NCGA cited when asking for the creation of the State Arts Resource Grant Program) and could lead lawmakers to invest less in the programs and services of the NC Arts Council as a result.
- Line item funding and restrictions on Grassroots Arts Program grants can further exacerbate the urban-rural divide amongst our legislators and all North Carolinians causing the goals of Arts NC to become polarized across both partisan and geographic boundaries.
- By singling out organizations or counties to either receive or be excluded from public funding, it may become more challenging to present a positive and unified voice for the arts statewide.
We also recognize that many of the line items in the current budget were neither requested nor expected by their recipients. Legislators are often given the opportunity to distribute funding in their districts at their own discretion for a variety of reasons. The fact that these allocations were made in support of arts organizations shows that Members of the NC General Assembly value and recognize the impact of the arts and important role they play across the state.
The budget process is currently stalled by the Governor’s veto and an inability for the Republican leadership to secure enough votes to override that veto. As a result, none of these restrictions and line item allocations may actually become a reality. Under current law the government will proceed with only those allocations that are listed as recurring in the budget, which would return Grassroots Grants to their 2017-2018 allocation ($300,000 less than 2018-2019) and have no other effect on NC Arts Council funding.
We will continue with our $1 for the ARTS initiative to increase funding of the equitable and accountable grant programs of the NC Arts Council to $10 million, equal to roughly one dollar for every North Carolinian. We will strive to provide our members and constituents with current information regarding nonprofit arts and arts education funding and policies in a timely manner. And we will always endeavor to unite people and communities to strengthen and celebrate a creative North Carolina where the arts will be embraced by all as indispensable.
Arts Line Items & Restricted Counties
| Oganizations with Line Items in the Budget | FY2020 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Carolina Ballet | $ 2,000,000.00 | $ – |
| John Coltrane Int. Jazz and Blues Festival | $ 1,000,000.00 | $ – |
| Appalachian Theatre of the High Country | $ 300,000.00 | $ – |
| High Point Arts Council | $ 250,000.00 | $ – |
| Asheville Arts Museum | $ 200,000.00 | $ – |
| City of Burlington (Paramount Theater) | $ 100,000.00 | $ – |
| NC Folk Festival | $ 100,000.00 | $ – |
| Reynolda House Museum of American Art | $ 100,000.00 | $ – |
| Winston-Salem Theatre Alliance | $ – | $ 100,000.00 |
| Alamance Arts Council | $ 70,000.00 | $ – |
| Mooresville Arts | $ 65,000.00 | $ – |
| Core Sound Decoy Carvers | $ 50,000.00 | $ – |
| Flat Rock Playhouse | $ 50,000.00 | $ – |
| Stokes County Arts Council | $ 25,000.00 | $ – |
| Thalian Association | $ 25,000.00 | $ – |
| Greene County Arts and Historical | $ 20,000.00 | $ – |
| TOTALS | $ 4,355,000.00 | $ 100,000.00 |
| Tier 3 Counties with Populations Over 130,000 Excluded from Additional Grassroots Arts Grant Funding | Population |
|---|---|
| Brunswick | 136,744 |
| Buncombe | 259,103 |
| Cabarrus | 211,342 |
| Durham | 316,739 |
| Iredell | 178,435 |
| Mecklenburg | 1,093,901 |
| New Hanover | 232,274 |
| Orange | 146,027 |
| Union | 235,908 |
| Wake | 1,092,305 |
| TOTAL | 3,902,778 |