Dear New Yorker:

As you may know, it is fiscal year 2015 budget season for the City and State of New York and time for all of us to make the case for dance and culture funding.

New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA)

The City budget season began with the release of a Financial Plan, Fiscal Years 2014–2018, which includes a $149 million expense budget for DCLA. The season continues with hearings by the New York City Council and the work of New Yorkers, like you, to educate our representatives on the importance of DCLA support of dance and culture to the City before a budget is adopted.

This week, Dance/NYC offered testimony on the preliminary FY15 DCLA budget to the City Council’s Cultural Affairs Committee and requested increased investment (available here). A version of this testimony is also available on the Huffington Post.

New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA)

The Governor’s Executive Budget for 2014-2015 “continues $36 million in funding for arts grants, the same level provided last year.” Dance/NYC joins its fellow advocates, including the New York City Arts Coalition, in advocating an increase in grants funding of $3.6 million.

What You Can Do

To help make the case for increased public funding, Dance/NYC is putting its State of NYC Dance research to work. Leveraging our NEW YORKERS FOR DANCE video campaign, we are also offering to film and promote personal statements from New Yorkers—any New Yorker—on why dance and culture matter to their legislative districts.  

Click here to be a New Yorker for Dance this spring.

Please join Dance/NYC in acting on other opportunities to speak up and be heard. Consider connecting with your legislative representatives—by phone, letter, e-mail, fax, or better still, in person. Forward, post, and tweet this e-mail to your friends and colleagues and join the conversation online @DanceNYC #newyorkersfordance

With your help, I know we will succeed in keeping arts funding vibrant.

Onward,

Lane and the team at Dance/NYC

Lane Harwell
Executive Director