ADVOCACY ACTION ITEMS
We believe our actions make a difference. ASI has compiled a list of advocacy action items that you can participate in. Some are simple such as adding your signature of support to a proposed piece of legislation and some are more involved such as attending a national conference to advocate on behalf of the arts. Also included are opportunities for the public to speak on behalf of the arts or arts nonprofits in town hall open forums or other similar events.
If you have an arts advocacy action item that you would like to list, please email us at “info@asiwny.org” with details. Please bear in mind that we are an active nonprofit and we are unable to list events pertaining to public elections or general lobbying efforts.
ADVOCACY ACTION RESOURCES:
- Americans for the Arts
- Americans for the Arts Legislative Issue Center
- Americans for the Arts Action Center
- Arts NYS
- Be An Arts Hero
- Buffalo Niagara Partnership Advocacy Agenda
- Citizen’s Guide to NYS Budget Process
- Put Creative Workers to Work
- Frontline Arts Buffalo
- Partnership for Public Good Buffalo
- Vote Smart: Voter’s Self Defense
- VoterVoice: Whitepapers & other resources
Join advocates from your state and Americans for the Arts (AFTA) and the Arts Action Fund (AAF) for National Arts Advocacy Zoom-In Week on May 13-17, 2024.
National Arts Advocacy Zoom-In Week is an opportunity for you to be an advocate from the comfort of your own home or office alongside other arts advocates from your state. The Zoom-In Week will focus on advocacy for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as arts education.
Please complete the form below to be connected with your state captain, Jen Swan-Kilpatrick – she will organize your state’s meetings.
The deadline to sign up is May 7, 2024 at 12:00 PM ET.
If you have any questions about this program or issues filling out this form, please email Olivia Tarpley, Public Policy Manager at Americans for the Arts (otarpley@artsusa.org).
Please urge your Member of Congress to support $10 million in the final FY24 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill to support community arts engagement for our veterans.
There are more than 16.5 million Veterans in the U.S. today. Between 1.9 and 3 million service members have served in post-9/11 war operations in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001; over half of them have deployed more than once. The largest cohort of Veterans remains the more than 5 million from the Vietnam War. The consequences of service often mean living with physical and psychological injuries. Of the more than 1.8 million Veterans officially recognized with a disability as a result of the wars, more than half are from the current wars. The costs of war are multiplied many times over with spouses, parents, caregivers, children, and friends learning to support their loved ones through both visible and invisible injuries.
Participation in creative community arts programs can help individuals process the “invisible wounds” of war and navigate the challenges in transitioning from military to civilian life. The arts help foster resilience, build social connectedness, strengthen coping skills, and help develop a sense of belonging in a place or a community. Community arts programs offer options for Veterans and their families to focus on creative expression in ways that enhance a participant’s understanding of themselves and others outside of formal clinical treatment. This supports independence and successful adaptation to civilian life. Building a connection to community and a sense of belonging for Veterans through participation in the arts contributes to achieving healthy outcomes over a lifetime.
Support the Senate Interior Appropriations budget number of at least $207 million for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) plays a unique role in broadening access to and participation in the arts in every congressional district and should be more fully supported to expand and deepen its impact on our communities and our democracy. The arts sector is an economic engine that brings people together. As the nation continues to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, the arts and culture sector is uniquely able to deliver on its mission to uplift, engage, educate, and innovate.
The NEA can help leverage the arts sector to play a key role in the work to imagine and build a new American economy. The Arts Endowment’s goals are fulfilled by awarding 60% of its grantmaking budget in direct grants—reviewed and recommended by panels of experts—to arts organizations across the country, and which signal artistic achievement and recognition. It awards the remaining 40% of its grantmaking budget directly to the states through state and regional arts agencies, an extraordinary example of federal/state partnership, extending the NEA’s reach further to millions of people in thousands of communities.
Members of the House and Senate are aiming to introduce creative economy legislation at the beginning of next year. The Creative Workforce Investment Act (formerly the Creative Economy Revitalization Act) would authorize a grant program within the Department of Labor to pay local creative workers through public creative projects like festivals, performances, public art, and arts education work.
The Creative Economy Revitalization Act (CERA), a bi-partisan workforce bill, authorizes $300m in grants to pay local creative workers through public creative projects like festivals, performances, public art, narrative gathering from first responders and marginalized communities, and arts education work.
Arts and Culture Organizations can voice there support here.
February 29, 2024
The arts are not just a conduit for creativity and expression; they are a robust economic engine driving growth and prosperity. Yet, this flourishing landscape faces a threat—a proposed budget cut that seeks to halve the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) funding. Such a reduction would not merely diminish numbers on a ledger; it would stifle the creativity, craft, and expression that define us as Western New Yorkers.
Join us in urging Governor Hochul to fully restore NYSCA funding within the FY 2024-25 state budget. Let us ensure that the arts continue to enrich our state’s diverse tapestry and remain a cornerstone of our economy. The time to act is now!
Exercise your right as an American citizen — register to vote. You can also use this online service to join a political party, change your party designation, or update your name and address on file with the Board of Elections.
To register to vote you must:
- Be a United States citizen;
- Be 18 years old by December 31 of the year in which you file this form (note: you must be 18 years old by the date of the general, primary or other election in which you want to vote);
- Be a resident of this state and the county, city or village for at least 30 days before the election;
- Not be in prison or on parole for a felony conviction (unless parolee pardoned or restored rights of citizenship);
- Not be adjudged mentally incompetent by a court;
- Not claim the right to vote elsewhere.
To register online, you will need:
- NYS driver license, permit, or non-driver ID card
- ZIP Code currently on record with the DMV
- Social security number
ArtsNYS represents a coalition of organizations and individuals dedicated to advancing the arts in the Empire State. We hail from all corners of New York and are united in the belief that the arts uplift our communities, improve our wellbeing, and foster vibrant local economies.
Membership to ArtsNYS connects you to a network of arts service organizations, arts administrators, artists, and other champions from across New York. By pooling our experiences and aligning our voices, ArtsNYS advocates persuasively for expanded public investment in the arts. Over the last five years, we have built relationships with legislators and policymakers throughout state government to promote the role of the arts in education, commerce, health, and civic life.
Additionally, ArtsNYS works to aggregate information and opportunities for members to advance their own priorities. By hosting conferences and workshops, ArtsNYS expands its members’ ability to locate capital, develop programs, and, most importantly, create art.
Our members are as diverse as our industry, and our membership model accommodates partners of all sizes equitably. Organizations’ dues obligations depend on the size of their operating budgets, less any regrant money or in-kind support. Dues may be paid by check or online.
It was recently brought to our attention that the City of Buffalo appears to be misusing their American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding and violating federal procurement laws.
On Monday, July 24, 2023, the Partnership for the Public Good (PPG) hosted a press conference publicly announcing their concerns and the fact that they are submitting a complaint to the US Department of the Treasury’s Inspector General about the City of Buffalo’s mismanagement of this funding and violations to the federal procurement laws. They are requesting the Department of the Treasury launch an investigation into the City’s management of these public funds and are collecting a growing body of evidence to prove wrong doing.
You can help by contacting Senator Chuck Schumer and Senator Kristin Gillibrand and encourage them to support PPG’s request to the US Treasury Department for an investigation on how the City of Buffalo has used their COVID relief funding.
Last updated February 29, 2024.