Dear Members of the Community,
On top of this week’s rainstorms, our Arts and Culture community also took a serious gut punch when the State of Florida’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget was signed by Governor DeSantis. In total, the Governor vetoed $32 million in grants that would have supported 663 arts and culture organizations around the State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture.
Less than 10 years ago, Florida ranked third in the United States for arts funding, and while we have been trending toward the middle of the pack in recent years, the FY25 budget puts Florida squarely at the bottom.
For Broward County, this means 54 grant requests will go unfunded and $3.3 million in arts funding will no longer be coming to our community. In economic impact terms, this loss translates to more than $30 million loss to the local economy, which sees a 9:1 return on investment in arts and culture. This funding supports jobs, programming, tourism and contributes to a $386M economic impact in Broward County.
We have reached out to Florida House District 100 Representative and Infrastructure & Tourism Appropriations Sub Committee member, Chip LaMarca. He has contacted the Governor’s Office for insight on the decision. We will share that insight once we receive it. We have also been in touch with our colleagues at Americans for the Arts who are coordinating with the Florida Cultural Alliance to see if anything can be done.
Despite this unfortunate reality, rest assured that Broward County’s support of our Cultural sector remains strong, and this decision from the state does not impact grant funding from the Broward County Cultural Division.
Where do we go from here? At this point, we are not sure what can be done with regard to state funding, but our collective voice still has power. I urge you to be active with the Florida Cultural Alliance. Support their work as they are the state-wide arts advocacy organization working to secure state funding of arts and culture. Let’s do our part to be involved in advocating for what our sector needs and what our community values. Convey this to elected officials at the State level. At the local level, be consistent in your engagement with city and county commissioners. Let them know that funding arts and culture is important to you and always remember to be respectful.
The Broward County Commission, Cultural Council, and Cultural Division staff remain committed ensuring the success and growth of our Cultural sector.
Below, view the list of local entities impacted by this veto. Stay tuned for more updates as they are available.
Until then, here are some good places to start contacting:
Florida Council on Arts and Culture
Broward Legislative Delegation
Phillip Dunlap, Director
Broward County Cultural Division
Janet Erlick, Chair
Broward County Cultural Council
Broward Cultural and Museum Grants Vetoed
All Florida Youth Orchestra, Inc.
ArtServe, Inc.
ArtsUnited, Inc.
Bonnet House, Inc.
Brazilian Voices, Inc.
Broward County
Broward Performing Arts Foundation, Inc.
City of Miramar
City of Oakland Park
City of Pembroke Pines
City of Pompano Beach
Coral Springs Festival of the Arts, Inc.
Coral Springs Museum of Art, Inc.
Davie School Foundation, Inc.
Deerfield Beach Historical Society, Inc.
Flamingo Gardens, Inc.
Florida Singing Sons, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale Historical Society, Inc.
Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida, Inc.
Gold Coast Jazz Society, Inc.
Grace Arts Center, Inc.
Hollywood Art and Culture Center, Inc.
Holocaust Documentation and Education Center, Inc.
Island City Stage, Inc.
Island Society for the Promotion of Artistic & Cultural Education
Lovewell Institute for the Creative Arts
Master Chorale of South Florida, Inc.
Museum of Discovery and Science, Inc.
New City Players, Inc.
NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale
Performing Arts Center Authority
Plays of Wilton
Sample-McDougald House Preservation Society, Inc.
Slow Burn Theatre Company, Inc.
South Florida Pride Wind Ensemble, Inc.
South Florida Symphony Orchestra
Stonewall Library & Archives, Inc.
Symphony of the Americas, Inc.
The Broward County Film Society, Inc.
The Fort Lauderdale Children’s Theatre, Inc.
The Girlchoir of South Florida, Inc.
The Heartbeat Foundation Corp
The Stranahan House, Inc.
Thinking Cap Theatre, Inc.
Volta Music Foundation
Women in Music Ayo Corp.
World AIDS Museum, Inc.
Yiddishkayt Initiative, Inc.
Young At Art of Broward, Inc.
Cultural Facilities Grants in Broward Vetoed
City of Coral Springs
City of Lauderdale Lakes
City of Oakland Park
Museum of Discovery and Science, Inc.
The Stranahan House, Inc.
