Advocacy

Below are links to organizations with information and data regarding the impact of the arts. 

Current Advocacy Actions

Save the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts

The NH State Council on the Arts is facing elimination from the state budget. 

On June 5, the NH Senate approved its version of the FY26-27 budget. Their budget reinstates the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, but at such a low level that it won't be able to access matching funds (typically nearly $1 million) from the National Endowment for the Arts. View details on the Senate version. 

A Committee of Conference was announced on 6/10/25 to reconcile the House and Senate versions. Contact those committee members, your House member, and Senator regarding the important work of the NHSCA. Request the support of Governor Ayotte’s budget, which would be enough to access federal funds, make some grants, maintain staffing, and provide essential services in New Hampshire. The Legislature must deliver the budget to Gov. Kelly Ayotte by June 26, just before the end of the 2025 state fiscal year.  

Remind them about the important cultural, economic, and health benefits the arts provide in your community.

Contact Your NH House Representative  

Contact Your NH Senator 

Corporation for Public Broadcasting (NPR & PBS)

(6/9/25) After issuing an executive order in May to cut future funding for NPR and PBS, the current administration is attempting to claw back two years of approved Congressional funding through a rescissions package. The bill could be voted on the House floor as soon as Tuesday, June 10. Both NPR and PBS have filed lawsuits challenging the order.  

You can help by contacting your US House Representative or visit www.ProtectMyPublicMedia.org. 

Contact your Members of Congress

Was your National Endowment for the Arts grant cancelled on May 2? Appeal by May 9, 2025

If you received a grant termination notice from the National Endowment for the Arts on Friday, May 2, you have seven days to submit an appeal. 

The cultural sector is encouraging everyone to appeal these decisions. While we don't expect that many will be overturned, it is important to demonstrate impact in the public record. Information about the process is included in the termination letter. You will need to provide documentation that your project supports one of the NEA’s priorities: projects that elevate the Nation’s HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions, celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, foster AI competency, empower houses of worship to serve communities, assist with disaster recovery, foster skilled trade jobs, make America healthy again, support the military and veterans, support Tribal communities, make the District of Columbia safe and beautiful, and support the economic development of Asian American communities. See additional information from the National Council of Nonprofits and this resource from the Film Festival Alliance and Modern Language Association, which includes template letters. 

Save the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment for the Humanities  

The Institute of Museum and Library Services and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) face significant budget cuts that will substantially reduce staff, cut programs, and rescind grants that have already been awarded. 

Active Campaigns to Protect the Federal Cultural Agencies at Risk:

• American Alliance of Museums - Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Campaign
• American Library Association - Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Campaign
• National Humanities Alliance - National Endowment for the Humanities Campaign
• Federation of State Humanities Councils - National Endowment for the Humanities Campaign

A lawsuit was filed on May 1, 2025, to reverse the administration's actions towards the NEH. Read the lawsuit announcement. 

As of May 21, staff at the Institute of Museum & Library Services are returning to work and grants in plaintiff states have been reinstated, but this is only temporary.

Let your Members of Congress know that you support the work of the NEH and the IMLS:

Contact your Members of Congress

How will the SAVE Act impact elections and your right to vote?

This legislation passed the House on April 10. Learn how this will disenfranchise voters, and tell your Senators what you think. 

Contact your Members of Congress

Tracking Federal Actions (2025)

• Americans for the Arts' Executive Order & Impacts and Executive Action Tracker
• Americans for the Arts' Action Fund Breaking News Page
• Council of Nonprofits’ Executive Orders Affecting Charitable Nonprofits
• Grantmakers in the Arts’ Community Resources on the New Presidential Administration’s Actions
• NASAA's Federal Updates

National Advocacy Organizations

• Americans for the Arts: Advocate
• Arts Action Fund
• DataArts: Research & Advocacy
• National Assembly of State Arts Agencies: Advocacy
• National Endowment for the Arts: Impact
• Performing Arts Alliance: Advocacy Basics

New England

• Connecticut Arts Alliance
• Connecticut Office of the Arts
• Cultural Alliance of Maine
• Maine Arts Commission: Arts Advocacy
• Massachusetts Cultural Council: Federal Funding Update
• MASSCreative
• Arts4NH (New Hampshire Citizens for the Arts)
• Rhode Island State Council on the Arts
• Vermont Arts Council
• Vermont Creative Network

NEFA's Activity in New England - FY24

NEFA's grants and resources support artists and organizations in all six New England states. This work is possible through our partnership with New England's state art agencies, the National Endowment for the Arts, and additional funders.

Learn more about NEFA's partnership with the New England state art agencies
 

​Federal Investment & the Arts in New England

The Arts Power the U.S. Economy

• The Bureau of Economic Analysis and the NEA together calculate the arts and culture sector’s contributions to the gross domestic product. In 2022, arts and culture added over $1.1 trillion, or 4.3%, to national GDP, and nationwide employment in the sector increased 6.4% to a total of 5.2 million arts and cultural jobs. The arts are also a powerful export industry boasting a trade surplus of $21.0 billion in 2022.
• Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6) is an economic and social impact study of the nation’s nonprofit arts and culture industry. Nationally, the sector generated $151.7 billion of economic activity in 2022—$73.3 billion in spending by nonprofit arts and culture organizations and an additional $78.4 billion in event-related expenditures by their audiences. This economic activity supported 2.6 million jobs, provided $101 billion in personal income to residents, and generated $29.1 billion in tax revenue to local, state, and federal governments.

Federal Arts Funding Broadens Distribution of Resources

• The National Endowment for the Arts annually recommends about 2,300 grants, benefiting every Congressional District. The majority of grants go to small and medium-sized organizations (budgets less than $2 million) and support projects that increase audience access to arts programming.
• 35% of NEA grants take place in high-poverty urban and rural communities. Approximately 4,000 communities of all sizes are served each year through NEA grants, with many projects bringing the arts to geographically underserved areas.
• Around 41 million Americans annually attend live arts events supported by the NEA, including approximately 36,000 concerts, readings, and performances, and 6,000 exhibitions. Millions more attend these events and access other artistic and educational experiences online.
• Federal agencies and nonprofit organizations partner with the NEA on national initiatives, using the arts as a platform for enhancing the quality of life for all. Such partnership examples include: Creative Forces, Shakespeare in American Communities, Blue Star Museums, NEA Big Read, Poetry Out Loud, Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge, and the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design.
• The NEA is an integral part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, serving on the nonpartisan U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission Task Force and offering grantmaking support for this initiative across the nation.  

Federal Investment from the National Endowment for the Arts Creates a Thriving New England

• In FY24, with support from the NEA and private foundations, NEFA awarded 485 grants to artists and cultural organizations in New England and across the nation, totaling over $4.7 million. Nearly $1.2 million was awarded across New England, reaching nearly 88,000 community members.
• In addition to grants, support from the NEA enables NEFA to convene and provide networking and technical assistance to artists and organizations in New England.
• CreativeGround.org, NEFA’s searchable directory of New England’s creative economy, supports the visibility and connection of over 32,000 of the region’s artists, cultural organizations, and creative businesses. It is the only data-sharing tool of its kind in the country and contributes to research on the sector while highlighting the real people and stories behind the numbers.