We woke on March 16 to the confirmation that President Trump’s budget proposal calls for the elimination of a number of programs and agencies, including the National Endowment for the Arts.

While disappointing, this is not a surprise, and many of our advocacy friends are prepared with actions we can take starting today. 

Also, now that we know we are fighting to save and protect the endowments, it is important to remember that today is the beginning of a much longer appropriations process, and Arts for LA is committed to keeping you informed with updates and actions to take as they happen.

Actions You Can Take Today

Americans for the Arts is leading the national response to #SaveTheNEA, starting with a customizable letter to your representatives.

1) Go to Americans for the Arts's Action Center and send a customizable message to your elected representatives in Congress and urge them to oppose the Administration's attempt to eliminate funding to the NEA.

2) CA Delegates are hand delivering a letter of support with signatures from our state advocates on Tuesday, March 21. We have 270 signatures so far. If you have not already signed, please consider adding your name today.

3) If you lead an arts organization, join Ovation’s #StandfortheArts, a national campaign to raise awareness, protect access and encourage action on behalf of the arts and culture.

4) This is a national movement, so with every action you take, please share on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media. Include any of the following hashtags: #ArtsVote, #SaveTheNEA, #StandfortheArts and tag your elected officials.

Finally, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies provides this reminder about fiscal years: "Recall that state Partnership Agreement funds from the NEA are typically committed in March and used in the following state fiscal year. So today's proposal to eliminate the NEA in federal FY2018 would affect most states' FY2019 activities."

As always, do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions.