While the race for the highest office in the nation garners much of the attention, candidates and issues farther down the ballot are just as consequential when it comes to support and funding for the arts. Legislators—at the federal, state, and local levels— vote on funding for arts and culture, which has a direct impact on the quality of life in our communities, the physical and emotional wellbeing of our citizens, and the vitality of the economy.

In this post, we’ll help you to follow the trail of public investment so that you have a better understanding of how your vote can put funding and support directly into the hands of the organizations, communities, and artists you care about.

Public funding for arts and culture in the United States and Ohio

We have opportunities for funding for arts and culture at the federal, state, and local levels. Likewise, there are opportunities for you to advocate—as an artist, as an organization, or as an arts supporter—at all three levels of government.

Each of the following streams of public dollars require elected officials who support arts and culture, as well as persistent advocacy efforts, since budgets and initiatives are decided on a yearly or biennial basis.

FEDERAL

  • Americans for the Arts is the leading advocacy organization for the arts, nationally. While their advocacy efforts extend to specific legislative initiatives and federal appropriations that impact arts funding (like education and defense), one of their primary focuses is the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The NEA is the independent federal agency that works to provide all Americans with opportunities for arts participation. The NEA makes approximately 2,700 grants a year to grantees in every state and U.S. territory, including funding support for state arts agencies, like the Ohio Arts Council.
  • The National Humanities Alliance is the nationwide coalition that advocates for the importance of the humanities in scholarship and on Capitol Hill. Their primary focus in advocating for funding is the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The NEH is the independent federal agency that supports research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH provides grants directly to cultural institutions as well as annual support to a network of humanities councils in every state and jurisdiction, like Ohio Humanities.

In fiscal year 2024 (FY24), $207 million was appropriated to each the NEA and the NEH. The federal budget process occurs annually. Elected members of Congress vote on funding levels before the budget is signed by the President.

STATE

  • CreativeOhio is the state’s leading advocacy organization for arts and culture. Driven by organizational members and individual donors, CreativeOhio advocates for public investment and policies to benefit the creative sector at the federal, state, and local levels. Initiatives include collaborative advocacy efforts for federal funding, support of local funding options, pursuit of state legislation to positively impact the budgets and missions of our members, lobbying for funding for the Ohio Arts Council, and more.
  • The Ohio Arts Council (OAC) is a state agency that funds and supports arts experiences in all 88 counties in Ohio. The Ohio Arts Council, like all state arts agencies, receives a portion of its funding through the NEA (approximately $1.3M in FY24). These federal funds are regranted out – no federal funds are used in the administration of the agency.

In addition, as a state agency, OAC receives the majority of its funding through an appropriation in the state’s operating budget. The state’s budget process occurs biennially. Elected members of the state legislature vote on funding levels before the budget is signed by the Governor. For FY24-25, $50.7 million was appropriated to the Ohio Arts Council, of which approximately 90% is regranted out to arts organizations and artists throughout the state.

STATE

  • Ohio Humanities (OH) is the state-based partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Unlike state arts agencies, most state humanities councils are nonprofit organizations. OH funds and supports public-facing initiatives in the cultural sector, from museums to journalists, to documentary films.

Ohio Humanities receives the majority of its funding from the NEH (approximately $1.7 million in FY24). Roughly one-third of this funding is regranted to cultural institutions, public humanities organizations, and humanities scholars in Ohio for project support, while the remaining funds are used to support Ohio Humanities programming throughout the state. Ohio Humanities does not receive any funding from the state’s biennial operating budget.

STATE

While not required to do so, the State of Ohio has historically passed a biennial capital budget in even-numbered years. Separate from the state’s operating budget (enacted in odd-numbered years) the capital budget provides appropriations for the repair, reconstruction and construction of capital assets of state agencies, colleges, universities, school districts, and community projects of local or regional interest. The capital budget, and specifically the appropriation for community projects, provides an opportunity for nonprofit arts and culture organizations to seek public funding for capital projects.

In 2024, the State of Ohio added an additional $700+ million in a One-Time Strategic Community Investment Fund to the traditional capital budget, resulting in the greatest support for Ohio facilities and local community infrastructure in history ($3.5 billion). Nearly $100 million in this historic bill was directed towards arts and culture organizations and projects. Like the operating budget, elected members of the state legislature vote on funding levels in the capital budget before it is signed by the Governor.

LOCAL

There are several organizations and mechanisms that provide funding at the local level for arts and culture organizations, including multiple unique examples right here in Ohio.

  • Local arts agencies (LAAs) promote, support, and develop the arts at the local level. The more than 4,500 LAAs across the country include many in Ohio, representing and funding the arts in our large metro areas and rural communities, alike. LAAs may be organized in several different ways – as local government agencies or private nonprofit organizations. The way in which they raise and distribute funds to support the local arts landscape varies greatly, as well.

Examples of LAAs and local arts funding in Ohio:

  • Elected members of Columbus City Council approved the Columbus Ticket Fee in 2018. Implemented July 1, 2019, the 5% ticket fee now provides significant funding to arts and culture in Columbus. The funds are managed and granted by the Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC). In 2023, GCAC distributed more than $16 million in grants to arts and culture organizations, projects, and individual artists in Franklin County.
  • In 2006, voters in Cuyahoga County approved an excise tax on cigarettes to benefit arts and culture. Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) is the public entity responsible for distributing these funds. Since 2007, CAC has made more than 4,000 grants to 485 organizations totaling more than $246 million. Voters approved a renewal of the tax in 2015. A subsequent renewal will be on the ballot in Cuyahoga County in November 2024.
  • ArtsWave, the Cincinnati region’s LAA, runs the nation’s first and largest, community campaign for the arts. Through individual and corporate contributions and annual workplace campaign drives, ArtsWave raises approximately $12 million annually, which is granted to more than 150 arts organizations and individual artists in the Greater Cincinnati region.