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NYS Budget Adds $100M in Funding for Nonprofit Arts Groups

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By Hadassa Kalatizadeh

New York State earmarked funds for nonprofit arts organizations, which are ailing as a result of the pandemic. The cultural groups have been grappling with closures since COVID-19 hit. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, as part of the new yearly $212 billion state budget , earlier this month, $100 million in funds were set aside to help the nonprofit arts. Over the past decade, the nonprofits were only granted about $40 million a year.

Additionally, as a way to help support cultural groups as well as businesses, another $100 million in tax credits have been allocated for nonprofit and for-profit musical and theatrical productions in New York City. Of course, the for-profit arts organizations can also be eligible for grants available for small businesses, a pool which has $800 million in funding available. The arts groups and businesses are also eligible for federal funding.

The funding for the cultural organizations aim to make sure they have the resources they need to recover following the pandemic, said Freeman Klopott, a spokesman for the state’s budget division. Despite the increased commitment from the state, the organizations will still have a hard time as New York City’s annual cultural budget is generally over $150 million, as per the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs. Still, the effort is being lauded by cultural groups as a great initiative. Suzanne Davidson, executive director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, says the funding will be crucial as they move forward and try to set up commitments for concerts in the coming months. They still don’t have a clear idea of how many tickets they will be allowed to sell, as capacity guidance is still changing. “There’s a lot of expense in a complete sea of uncertainty,” said Ms. Davidson.

As per the WSJ, state officials say the rise in arts funding reflects on the realization that culture is an economic driver for the Big Apple and the state as a whole. Mara Manus, executive director of the New York State Council on the Arts, the agency which oversees cultural funding, said that research shows that before the pandemic the arts sector accounted for $123 billion annual income for the state’s economy and created 504,000 jobs in NYS.

Daniel O’Donnell, a Democratic state Assemblyman and cultural advocate who represents parts of Manhattan, expressed hope that NYS will continue to fund at this level after the pandemic. “I hope it’s a first step in a long process,” said O’Donnell.

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