The following letter was sent out to the Roundtable mailing list on Monday, May 5th. To stay up to date with weekly e-blasts about advocacy efforts, best practices, current trends, upcoming events, and more, please subscribe to the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable mailing list.
As additional changes or resources become available, we are doing are best to add them into the letter below. Updates made after May 5th will be denoted in this blue.
Dear Roundtable Community,
On the heels of NYC’s historic investment in arts, culture, and arts education last week, the Roundtable is aware of organizations in our network receiving notice from the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) that their grant award has been withdrawn or terminated.
The Roundtable condemns this action and is committed to working with other local, state, and national advocates to push back on this devastating retreat from cultural funding across multiple federal agencies including the NEA, National Endowment for Humanities (NEH), and Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
What We Know
- On Friday evening, organizations may have received a Termination or Withdrawal Notice:
- If you received a Termination Notice and have award funds remaining as of the notification date, you may submit a final payment request by June 30, 2025 for incurred actual, allowable, approved project costs AND submit an appeal.
- If you received a Withdrawal Notice, you may appeal the determination within seven (7) calendar days of notice only.
- Click here for examples of both letters assembled by our friends at TYA/USA.
- According to Theatre Communications Group, “The NEA’s termination letters cite authority under 2 CFR 200.340 and the agency’s General Terms and Conditions (GTCs), stating that a grant may be canceled if it ‘no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities.’”
- Michelle Hoffmann will step down from her role as Director of Arts Education at the National Endowment for the Arts. After May 30, the primary contact at the NEA for Arts Education will be artseducation@arts.gov (which will reach Arts Education Specialists Denise Brandenburg, Nancy Daugherty, and Lakita Edwards).
Resources
- The Film Festival Alliance has put together an unofficial “Guidance for NEA Grantees Facing Termination or Withdrawal of Funds” document.
- Community members have put together an “Appeal Strategies for NEH Terminated Grants” featuring crowd-sourced links, information about the NEH appeals process, and sample appeal letter language.
- The American Alliance of Museums has put together an informative “Advocacy Alert Page” with practical and advocacy-rooted advice related to IMLS cuts and appeals.
- The National Council for Nonprofits has put together “A Nonprofit Checklist: What to do When Your Federal Grant or Contract is Terminated“.
- Americans for the Arts is regularly updating a “Breaking News: Updates Impacting Arts & Culture” tracker on their website.
- The law firm of Holland & Knight has put together an alert on “What Recipients Need to Know if a Federal Grant is Terminated by the Government“.
What You Can Do
Contact Your Federal Elected Officials
- Contact your members of Congress immediately. Inform them of the direct impact your grant termination has on your staff, organization, mission, and communities served. We encourage those who have received terminated or withdrawn funds to both call and write. They will not know unless you tell them! Click here to look up contact information for your New York federal elected officials.
Tell Your State Elected Officials to Fund Arts & Education in the NYS Budget
- While these cuts are happening federally, New York State officials are still negotiating our state budget. Help us make sure state funding is not cut in these areas by taking these advocacy actions:
- Education – Email Governor Hochul and state legislators, and tell them to stand firm and not to shortchange NYC schools. The Governor’s proposed changes to the Foundation Aid formula would result in NYC schools getting nearly $350 million less. Please use the Coalition for Equitable Education Funding’s one-click letters and/or their phone script/key phone numbers.
- Arts & Culture – Tell New York Governor Kathy Hochul to fund the New York State Council of the Arts at $208M. Complete the letter of support to show that our communities need arts and culture now more than ever!
- If your federal funding has been impacted, be sure to let your state (and city) officials know as well. Click here to look up contact information for your city/state elected officials.
Be in Community
- We encourage community members to join the Culture @ 3 call hosted tomorrow, Tuesday May 6th from 3-4pm via Zoom. For more information or to be added to the call, please email Lucy Sexton from New Yorkers for Culture & Arts at lucy@ny4ca.org.
- For leaders of arts education programs/organizations, we will have time devoted to this topic during our next Arts Education Leaders Open Space on Thursday, May 8 from 10-11am via Zoom. Click here to register.
- Donate to organizations impacted by the termination and/or withdrawal of funding!
Help Us Understand Impact
- The Roundtable is in the process of working with other advocates to identify the most streamlined mechanism for collecting information on impact. Please stay tuned!
- Send us an email! We’ll use your input to inform conversations with national, state, and city leaders working to restore funding and protect the future of the arts.
We recognize that this is a difficult time for many in our community, and appreciate your time, care, and attention. If you would like to touch base with a Roundtable team member, please contact Kimberly Olsen, Executive Director, at kolsen@nycaieroundtable.org.
Sincerely,
Kimberly Olsen
Executive Director
NYC Arts in Education Roundtable