On Monday, Miami Light Project joined colleagues in a standing room only town hall meeting at the Miami Science Museum with representatives from Miami-Dade County’s Department of Cultural Affairs, Cultural Affairs Council and Commissioner Dennis Moss to learn more about the proposed budget cuts.  The news wasn’t good: arts funding- as well as crucial funding for many County programs- is at great risk. However, there is still time to let your voice be heard.

From time to time, we’ll keep you informed on what these proposed cuts could mean and with  easy ways that you can help support arts and culture in Miami-Dade County, ways that won’t cost you a penny, and only require a few moments of your time.

Please join us in fighting for the survival of the arts in Miami-Dade County!

What you can do now:
Click here to vote yes in today’s The Miami Herald DAILY Q in support of the continued funding of the arts in Miami-Dade County.

Click here to send your own letter to the Miami Herald voicing your support of the arts.
Write, email or call your Miami-Dade County commissioner voicing your support of the arts.  We have included a sample letter below, as we contact information for the commissioners.

SAVE THE DATE!   The County Commission will finalize the FY2009-2010 budget at the two public hearings both scheduled to begin at 5:01 pm in the County Commission Chamber (111 NW 1st Street, 2nd Floor) on: Thursday, September 3, 2009 and Thursday, September 17, 2009.   Please join MLP and the South Florida Arts Community at these meetings!

Thank you for your continued support of Miami Light Project and the arts!

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What’s at stake:

THOSE THINGS THAT DEFINE US AS A COMMUNITY
Our cultural organizations and facilities are critical to the lives of our community’s families and kids.
Our cultural attractions are defining Miami-Dade as an exciting, sophisticated destination for tourism and international commerce.

JOBS AND A VITAL PART OF OUR ECONOMY
Miami-Dade County cultural organizations employ thousands of people, from administrators and accountants to artists and carpenters.

Miami-Dade County’s Department of Cultural Affairs grants support is the critical underpinning to ensure the operational viability of these organizations, including their workforce.

Cultural organizations constitute a major local industry with an annual economic impact of almost $1 billion.

THE EMPIRICAL CONSEQUENCES  WHEN CITIES DO NOT INVEST IN THE ARTS
Across America, we have seen once great cities decline because of downturns in the economic conditions and an abandonment of those defining parts of their civic lives. These same cities – their downtowns and their neglected neighborhoods — come back when they invest in the arts.  Our ability to attract and retain great employees and the attractiveness of our community for tourism and commerce are directly reliant on the quality of life that we can offer.

MIAMI-DADE’S NATIONAL REPUTATION AS A LEADER IN CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
As a County, Miami-Dade has one of the most progressive commitments to the arts in the United States.  
Our Department of Cultural Affairs’ investment policies have helped to give birth to one of the youngest, most diverse and dynamic cultural lives in our hemisphere.  Our cultural groups are young and fragile and just now are able to start to build the financial infrastructure to sustain themselves to the next generation of their development.

THE MESSAGE THAT WE SEND OUT LOCALLY, NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY
What County government does in its critical moment for decision-making will send a strong signal – locally, nationally and internationally – about what is important for the future of our community. When considering how to prioritize the uses of limited public dollars, it is essential to recognize the impact that the cultural industry has on the business vitality, educational enrichment, competitive differentiation, and overall quality of our community.

11 Cultural Facts

1. The Arts Generate Almost $1 Billion in Local Economic Impact.
Based on an Arts and Economic Prosperity Study recently completed by the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, the economic impact of Miami-Dade County’s arts and cultural industry is $922 million every year.

2. The Arts Employ More Than 22,000 Cultural Workers.
This Arts and Economic Prosperity Study is based on reported revenues and expenditures of 444
Miami-Dade-based, nonprofit cultural organizations and documents that these organizations employ 22,895 full-time cultural workers and generate $648.7 million in household income to local residents.

3. Every $1 of County Arts Funding Leverages $27 of Other Funds.
Presently, for each dollar of grant funding support invested by the County’s Department of Cultural Affairs, an additional $27is leveraged by our community’s cultural non-profits from other private and public sources.

4. Arts Audiences Spend More Than a Half a Billion Dollars.
Non-profit arts organizations in Miami-Dade County, which spend $420.1 million annually, leverage a remarkable $501.9 million in additional spending by arts audiences – spending that pumps vital revenue into local restaurants, hotels, retail stores, parking garages, and other businesses.

5. Cultural Groups Produce $5 in Tax Revenue for Every $1 the County Invests.
Cultural organizations in Miami-Dade generate $103 million annually in local and state government tax revenue.

6. Cultural Organizations Provide More than 2 Million Children Experiences.
The programs funded by the Department of Cultural Affairs reported that arts experiences were provided more than 2 million times to children in FY2006-2007. National studies document that students who are exposed to the arts score higher on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).

7. More Than 12 Million People Attend Cultural Events Each Year.
The Arts and Economic Prosperity Study documents total attendance of 12,700,184 in FY2004 (based on 444 reporting organizations), including more than 3.2 million cultural tourists drawn to Miami-Dade County.

8. 19,000 People Donate Time and Skills as Cultural Volunteers.
Miami-Dade’s cultural organizations engaged more than 19,000 arts volunteers, who donated more than 648,000 hours to cultural organizations, with an estimated value of $11.3 million. This volunteer contribution is roughly equivalent to 230 full-time positions.

9. Cultural Pioneers Continue to Transform Neighborhoods.
The arts continue to be effective catalysts for revitalizing forgotten or neglected neighborhoods.  Pioneer artists and cultural groups were at the forefront of the revitalization of Lincoln Road and South Beach and are responsible for helping to lead the resurgence of such neighborhoods as Wynwood, Little Havana, Overtown, Homestead, Hialeah and North Miami.

10.The County is Investing $1 Billion in Arts Facilities.
Miami-Dade County is investing more than $1 billion in building and improving county-wide cultural facilities. Over the past decade, Miami-Dade County has increased its cultural grants support for the operations of arts organizations to ensure that the cultural groups who exhibit and perform in these new venues are financially stable and programmatically excellent.

11. Miami’s Image and Reputation Worldwide is Being Celebrated Because of its Cultural Life
The New York Times, Travel & Leisure, Conde Nast, the network morning television news broadcasts all regularly feature Miami and single out its cultural vitality and distinctiveness as setting Miami apart. The arts provide the most consistent and widespread good news about Miami, and the cultural scene here is distinguishing Miami as an exciting international center.

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Michael Spring, Director of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, sent a bulletin out July 16 detailing cuts in the Mayor’s proposed budget, which directly threaten jobs, tourism and a positive image of a progressive city.

Miami Dade County’s Cultural Affairs programs has been widely recognized around the nation as one of the leading  government arts entities- it is probably one of, if not the, largest single arts funding source in the sate of Florida. EVERY arts organization in Miami-Dade County, from the big guys like Florida Grand Opera and Miami City Ballet, to folks like us, and the Rhythm Foundation, to Camposition and Miami Contemporary Dance Company, and small start ups and festivals like the Dragon Boat Fest and youth summer programs receive finding from Miami-Dade County Cultural Affairs.  For many organizations, funds received from the county outweigh any other sources.

A big difference between  the County Founding and the Knight grant, for example, is that our Knight Grant was for a very specific program with very specific guidelines- the expansion and growth of our Here & Now program, whereas some of the grants that we receive fro the county offer a more general organizational support.

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Michael Spring’s Letter

Dear Colleagues,

Mayor Alvarez released budget recommendations for the County’s FY2009-2010 budget today. This proposal includes substantial service cuts and workforce reductions to fill a $427 million projected budget gap.

If the budget is adopted as proposed, the Department’s budget will be reduced by more than $11 million dollars, requiring the elimination of nearly all of the Department’s grants for cultural organizations. Grants to all social service “community-based organizations” and “mom and pop” small businesses are slated for elimination also. All county departments and services are impacted significantly.

The next step in the budget process is for the Board of County Commissioners to set a preliminary millage rate next Tuesday, July 21.

Will you be attending the county commission meeting next week?

This will determine the degree to which the Commission can address and expand the budget priorities over the coming weeks, before the final budget is adopted. It is critically important to let the County Commissioners know the impact that County funding has on providing great arts and cultural programs and services for the citizens of Miami-Dade County. For contact information for the County Commissioners, scroll down.

Historically, the County Mayor, County Manager and the Board of County Commissioners have been very supportive of the Department’s budget. In previous, difficult budget years, they have consistently appreciated the impact of the cultural industry on the local economy, the importance of culture on the quality of life and the competitive advantage of our community, and have been mindful of the extraordinary return generated by the County’s investment in the community’s cultural assets.

We are scheduling a town meeting in the coming weeks to provide more details on the County’s cultural budget reductions and recommendations. We strongly encourage you to participate in the budget discussions that are taking place from this point on.

Thanks,

Michael

PS To see the entire proposed budget, please go to www.miamidade.gov and click on the link “View the Proposed Budget.”