Advocacy

Learn about NEFA's current advocacy work, find organizations that advocate for the sector in New England and nationally, and learn about the impact of the arts. 

Contact: 

Ann Wicks, Communications Director & Co-Accessibility Coordinator
Direct: 617-423-1390

Current Advocacy Actions

New Hampshire State Council on the Arts

The New Hampshire legislature voted to pass its FY2026–2027 budget on Thursday, June 26; it was signed by Governor Kelly Ayotte the following day.

The budget slashes state funding for the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts by 90% (to $150,000/year), and includes language to create the Granite Patron for the Arts Fund and an associated business tax credit. The council is now ineligible to receive partnership funds from the National Endowment for the Arts (about $1 million per year) as federal funds require a match with state funding. The budget also eliminates the state’s Percent for Art program, which has been in existence since 1979. The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts is now the lowest-funded State Arts Agency in the United States.

View this interview with the NH commissioner of Natural and Cultural Resources, Sarah Stewart: Arts community faces uncertainty under new tax credit funding system | CloseUp.

According to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts helped generate $3.5 billion for the New Hampshire economy in 2023. Learn more. 

You may contact Governor Kelly Ayotte or call 603-271-2121 and remind the Governor about the important cultural, economic, and health benefits the arts provide in your community. You may also want to contact your Senator and Representatives:

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

National Endowment for the Arts 

The White House proposed budget includes no funding for the NEA, NEH, and IMLS.

On June 6, U.S. House Representatives - and Arts Caucus co-chairs - Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Michael Turner (R-OH) led more than 120 of their colleagues in urging President Trump to restore National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant funding approved by Congress. 

Contact your members of Congress about the important cultural, economic, and health benefits the arts provide in your community.

Contact your Members of Congress

The Institute of Museum and Library Services & 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. On June 10, it was announced that two thirds of the agency staff has been laid off, and the agency plans to make half the amount of grants in this year. 

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.