Please use the following as your model letter template, then send a fax (on your own letterhead) to the recipients at the bottom and those designated to receive copies. [Click “Continue reading” to see letter template!]

 

 

 

 

May 19, 2014

The Honorable Mark Leno                         The Honorable Nancy Skinner

California State Senate                                California State Assembly

State Capitol, Room 5200                           State Capitol, Room

Sacramento, CA 95814                               Sacramento, CA 95814

Fax: 916-651-4911                                      Fax: 916-319-2115

 

Subject:               California Arts Council Budget Augmentation

                              SUPPORT

 

Dear Senator Leno and Assemblymember Skinner,

 

The [ORGANIZATION NAME] respectfully urges the Senate and Assembly Budget Committees to increase funding to the California Arts Council, which has served as California’s arm for investing in the arts since 1975. After averaging approximately $9.2 million in general fund investment over its 40 year history, and reaching a high of $30.5 million in 2000-2001, the state has invested approximately $1 million per year since the 2003-2004 budget. As California’s budget situation improves, the [ORGANIZATION NAME] strongly supports a reasonable increase in the funding for the California Arts Council.

 

[A SENTENCE ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION HERE]. Our organization understands that California has competing budget priorities – and that the arts can sometimes be considered discretionary.  However, we would urge you to consider the following:

 

• State Investment Benefits Disadvantaged Communities – Californian’s are incredibly generous in their support of the arts, but the great majority of that funding is directed to larger arts organizations in the major cultural centers. Very little of this funding makes its way to disadvantaged urban and rural communities. The California Arts Council invests in these communities and enriches the lives of California citizens that have limited exposure to the arts.

 

• California Ranks Near the Bottom for Arts Investment – Since 2003, California has ranked last among all the states in per capita investment in the arts—allocating just three cents per person from the General Fund. Additional funding to the Arts Council will leverage the arts as a proven and powerful catalyst for spurring local economies and for preparing California’s workforce to prosper in the global creative economy.

 

• The Arts Produce Economic Activity and Jobs – The arts are a major player in our state’s economy, generating billions in total economic activity and fundamentally impacting California’s core creative industries. California’s cultural enterprises provide more than 500,000 jobs for Californians or 7.6% of total employment, and California’s non-profit arts specifically contribute more than $9 billion to the state’s economy.

 

The arts are vital to the quality of life that we are so very proud of in California. Additional funding will provide a healthier revenue source for the California Arts Council’s granting programs to non-profit arts organizations, leveraging the arts as a significant contributor to California’s economic recovery through tourism, job creation, social services and educational outreach. Additional funding for the arts is a sound investment for our state. Thank you for your commitment to a better California.

 

Best regards,

 

YOUR NAME

TITLE

ORGANIZATION

 

cc:          Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown – Fax: 916-558-3160

Office of Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg – Fax: 916-651-4906

Office of Assemblymember Tom Daly – Fax: 916-319-2169

Office of Senator Richard Roth – Fax: 916-651-4931

Office of Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian – Fax: 916-319-2146

Office of Assemblymember Ian Calderon – Fax: 916-319-2157