Beleaguered Arts & Science Council seeking $12 million in taxpayer funds

The Arts & Science Council plans to ask county and city leaders for $12 million in taxpayer funds to support arts and culture programs, ASC President Jeep Bryant told county commissioners Tuesday.

That represents a 131% increase over the $5.2 million in local funds the ASC received this year. The arts community is still reeling from a failed sales-tax referendum last fall that would have substantially boosted funding for the ASC, a pass-through agency for arts and culture organizations.

Now the ASC says it may need to slash in half the operating grants it provides local arts and culture groups. Other groups are also facing their own problems.

In the past week, Opera Carolina eliminated its executive director because of money troubles and the Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte said it could fold if it doesn’t receive more public donations in the next few months.

On Tuesday, Bryant laid out his reasons behind the $5 million he’s requesting from county commissioners. He said that a decline in private donations that’s been happening for years amid an increase in needs in the cultural sector have created a scenario where arts groups big and small are experiencing a lack of funds.

His request to commissioners would contribute $1 million in operating grants to organizations as well as provide $400,000 in funding for arts and culture programs in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, he said.

It would also fund $400,000 in focused “cultural vision grants,” boost the ASC’s project that puts arts programming in under-served areas from $950,000 to $1.5 million, and would increase funding for the ASC’s Studio 345 after-school youth art program from $350,000 to $500,000.

“Our near-term focus is being able to put our sector on a more stable, more sustainable path,” Bryant said.

County commissioners said they want a more detailed breakdown of the ASC budget and its allocation to arts groups. They also asked Bryant for his salary ($220,000) and the number of people on the ASC staff (31 employees).

Concerns about money

Last month, ASC leaders said they’d need to raise $5 million by June to avoid a 50% cut in operating grants it gives to 33 arts organizations. Those grants make up an average of 10% of those groups’ budgets, although the percentage varies based on the sizes of the organizations.

For weeks, county commissioners have been debating whether they need to step up their support of the arts community.

In November, voters rejected the referendum for a sales tax increase that would have generated $22.5 million added annually for arts, parks and education.

“I’m concerned about the amount of money you’re asking for when the county (voters) said no” to the sales tax, said commissioner Vilma Leake.

Leake said the ASC had “neglected” her district in the western portion of Mecklenburg County. “You’re not putting the money there, or the programs there,” she said.

Bryant said “clearly we need to do more” in the west side, but said the ASC has hosted 28 “culture blocks” cultural outreach programs in Leake’s district, including 10 specifically for senior citizens.

Commissioner Susan Harden supported what the ASC would do with the additional funding, saying it was “a great start toward making a great impact, especially in those areas that haven’t been funded before.”

“As I look at what this could do in terms of individual artist grants, school funding opportunities, the cultural vision grants, expanding what we do for culture blocks — would it be crazy if I said it was transformational?” Harden asked.

Explaining needs

For the past two years, the ASC has heavily tapped into its endowments to sustain its operating grants. That’s no longer possible, Bryant said. There’s been a 15% drop in workplace giving this fiscal year — a number that’s been dropping steadily during the past decade, he said.

This fiscal year, the ASC is doling out nearly $6 million in operating grants. That amount would be cut to $3 million if more money isn’t raised by June, ASC leaders have said.

The ASC currently receives $1.3 million from Mecklenburg County for two arts programs: the culture blocks neighborhood arts outreach program, the Studio 345 youth arts program. The county also pays $750,000 for uptown’s Spirit Square facility that passes through the ASC.

Bryant he doesn’t know when he’ll go before city council to make the $7 million request.

County commissioners will vote on the ASC request at a later meeting.

This story was originally published February 11, 2020 at 5:31 PM.