Joint Statement on the National Endowment for the Arts

to develop and deliver programs, services, and products that advance arts and creativity. Together, the USRAOs work to activate and operate national arts initiatives, encourage, and support collaboration across regions, states, and communities, and maximize the coordination of public and private resources invested in arts programs. In 2024, they invested over $33.6 million across the United States and Jurisdictions, through nearly 3,000 grants that reached more than 1,300 communities. Learn [...] We at Mid-America Arts Alliance, along with the national collective of US Regional Arts Organizations, strongly urge Congress to restore the grant funding in support of the arts, culture, and creativity that was passed during the last budgetary approval process, in addition to maintaining its broad bipartisan commitment to funding the NEA in next year’s budget. As the landscape of support for our cultural infrastructure continues to be eroded, we remain steadfast in our commitment to stand with [...] Collectively, the NEA, Regional Arts Organizations, and State Arts Agencies serve thousands of communities across the country. And yet this work is funded by just 0.004% of the federal budget—less than 62 cents per American per year.