The North Carolina Arts Council got the largest increase in its 32-year history when the Legislature appropriated an additional $2 million for its FY 99-00 budget. This is a 36% increase over the Arts Council's base budget of $5.5 million. These are non-recurring funds, so they will not be available next year unless the Legislature decides to appropriate additional money again.
The $2 million increase to the Council has been allocated and is being distributed to more than 250 different non-profit organizations, reaching into every one of our100 counties.
The increase resulted from bills introduced last March by Rep. Phil Baddour, Wayne County, Rep. Maggie Jeffus, Guilford, and Sen. Tony Rand, Cumberland. "These are incredible champions," Mary Regan, executive director of the Arts Council, said. "I can't imagine stronger leadership. Plus, we had very broad bipartisan support in both houses. That was all-important."
The bills that led to the increase were signed by 36 Senators (72% of the Senate) and 55 Representatives (46% of the House). "The arts community worked so hard and was so effective in convincing the Legislature of the real contribution the arts make to the life of our state," Regan said. "And ARTS North Carolina was very strong and our Arts Council board members just superb." ARTS North Carolina is a non-profit statewide advocacy organization for the arts.
The $2 million increase was allocated by the Legislature to four program areas: $800,000 for the Grassroots Arts Program, $600,000 for Primary Arts Organizations, $400,000 for Rural Arts Programs, and $200,000 for Cultural Tourism Initiatives. "These are very important programs that are having a huge impact on our state," notes Regan. "This new money is really needed and it will be well spent."
Earlier this summer, through its regular funding process, the Council awarded grants totaling more than $4.6 million in state money and federal money from the National Endowment for the Arts. "So many of the applications deserved more money than we could give them at the time," says Regan. "It's just great now to be able to increase support to so many strong programs."
The $800,000 for the Grassroots Arts Program represents a 60% increase to the program. Each county in the state received a base increase of $2,000; the remaining money was then dispersed according to population. Our least populated county, Tyrrell, received an additional $2,288, a 354% increase over its original $646 allocation. Twenty-two of the most sparsly populated counties got more than a 100% increase. Mecklenburg, our most populous county, got an additional $51,664, a 46% increase.
The $600,000 for Primary Arts Organizations went to 79 organizations, including general support grantees and multicultural development program grantees. Based primarily on budget size, the increases ranged from $2,500 to $15,050.
The $400,000 for Rural Arts Programs was restricted to organizations in 82 counties. Through it, the Council was able to fully fund 60 grantees that had been only partially funded through the regular award process. Twenty-two other applications received an increase, and nine applicants were funded for the first time. Rural leadership projects designed to build a stronger infrastructure for the arts in rural areas were also funded.
The $200,000 Cultural Tourism increase is going to projects which build partnerships between the tourism industry and arts resources in the state. Priority was given to projects from regional or statewide consortia, including development of niche tourism markets such as African American culture, Cherokee culture, traditional music of the Blue Ridge, crafts, summer performing arts venues, and a special initiative for a multi-county region in eastern North Carolina.