Arts Action Alliance

Miami-Dade County Cultural Affairs Council
The Impact on the Department of Cultural Affairs of

FY2009-2010 BUDGET REDUCTIONS
100% PROPERTY TAX REDUCTION

$11.168 MILLION IN REDUCED FUNDING

A 100% elimination of property tax revenues for the Department of Cultural Affairs amounts to a $11.168 million loss to the Department’s grants and education programs for FY2009-2010. Grants to more than 400 non-profit cultural organizations will be eliminated.

Support from these competitive grants programs helps provide a stable underpinning upon which non-profit cultural groups each year can build their schedules of performances, exhibitions, events and educational programs.  Without County support, the stability and survival of Miami-Dade’s non-profit cultural industry is seriously jeopardized.  Many of these groups will not be able to sustain their operations without the County’s investment.

THE REDUCTION REQUIRES

COMPLETE ELIMINATION of 10 grants programs:

• Major Cultural Institutions (general operating support to the county’s largest cultural assets)
• Cultural Advancement (general operating support to medium-to-large, culturally diverse performing, visual, literary and presenting arts organizations)
• Hannibal Cox Jr. Cultural grants (general operating support to mid-sized groups)
• Festivals and Special Events grants (general operating support to major, annual festivals and special events organizations)
• Developing Arts in Neighborhoods grants (funding and technical assistance to small and emerging grassroots and neighborhoods arts groups)
• Community Grants (support for community-based cultural projects and events)
• International Cultural Exchange (supports exchange for Miami-Dade groups)
• Capital Development (neighborhood arts facilities’ renovations / equipment replacement)
• Service Organizations (general operating support to non-profit service organizations, coalitions, umbrella groups that assist local cultural constituencies)
• Targeted Initiatives (support to partner groups in order to deliver programs and assistance to specialized, or underserved constituencies)

ELIMINATION of  Fellowship and Professional Development Programs for artists:

• Dance Miami Choreographers Fellowships
• South Florida Visual and Media Artists Fellowships
• Creative Capital Professional Development for Artists
• Playwrights Development Program

THE “DOMINO EFFECT” –  RESIDUAL, DRAMATIC IMPACTS ON FUNDRAISING AND JOBS

The Department manages County support to non-profit cultural groups and artists as investments, and works in partnership with these organizations and individuals to deliver great programs and activities for families and kids throughout the County.  Non-profit cultural groups rely, in part, on being able to leverage the County’s dollars to secure additional private and public funds. Withdrawal of County support from these groups would seriously diminish their opportunities to generate millions of dollars in matching funds and threaten their abilities for survival.

Local arts groups employ 22,895 full-time cultural workers and generate $648.7 million in household income to local residents. If these groups were to fail, the effect of these closures would have a devastating impact, jeopardizing thousands of jobs and compounding the economy’s effect to produce dramatic increases in unemployment.

ELEVEN 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 $27 is 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 Invests.

Cultural organizations in Miami-Dade generate $103 million annually in local and state government tax revenue.

6. Cultural Organizations Serve More than 2 Million Children.

The programs funded by the Department of Cultural Affairs reached more than 2 million 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.

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.
• The Department’s programs like the Golden Tickets Arts Guide and Culture Shock Miami make the arts free to senior citizens and affordable for high school and college students.

JOBS AND A VITAL PART OF OUR ECONOMY

• Our cultural organizations employ thousands of people, from administrators and accountants to artists and carpenters.
• The Department’s 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.

NEXT STEPS:

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 1^st Street, 2^nd Floor) on: Thursday, September 3, 2009 and Thursday, September 17, 2009.