Add Your Organization to our Coalition Letters
Calling all organizations, associations, corporations, and alliances! Demonstrate your support for arts funding by signing on to coalition letters for two state budget requests: $50 million for the California Arts Council, and $40 million for the Performing Arts Equitable Payroll Fund campaign.
Add Your OrganizationThis is the moment to take action for $50M for the CAC.
First - an update: Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas has agreed to champion the Budget Request to the Senate to increase California Arts Council budget to $50 million. And we have a growing list of Assemblymembers adding their signatures to Assemblymembers Chris Rogers and Chris Ward’s Budget Request Letter.
This is a make-or-break moment. Given the budget context, we need to demonstrate that there is overwhelming support for the CAC increase.
Thank You Lawmakers
Thank you to everyone who sent letters to their representatives. Because of your support and quick action, these lawmakers signed on to the $50 Budget Request Letter for the CAC.
Senate
Lola Smallwood-Cuevas - Champion
Jesse Arreguín
Megan Dahle
Jerry McNerney
Thomas Umberg
Ben Allen
Assembly
Chris Rogers - Champion
Mia Bonta
Robert Garcia
Mark González
Heather Hadwick
Matt Haney
John Harabedian
Corey Jackson
Ash Kalra
Maggy Krell
Josh Lowenthal
Al Muratsuchi
Liz Ortega
Blanca Pacheco
Gail Pellerin
Michelle Rodriguez
Nick Schultz
Tri Ta
Chris Ward
Buffy Wicks
Campaign Background
For 50 years, the California Arts Council (CAC) has stewarded statewide public investment in arts and culture, reaching every district and expanding equitable access to creative and cultural resources. After devastating cuts in 2003, the CAC gradually rebuilt its funding and impact.
- Funding cut by 94% in 2003, with most programs suspended.
- only $1M in Local Assistance Funding for ten years.
- Small funding increases in FY 2012-13 reached a $26M annual budget in 2018 and at that level until FY 2023-24
- $5M reduction in FY 2024–25 and 2025-26.
The creative economy is designated as a strategic growth sector in California’s State Economic Blueprint, and 9 of the 13 regional Jobs First plans identify arts and culture as central to their economic development strategies.
Why Arts & Culture Matter
Why Arts & Culture Matter
- For every 100 performing arts jobs, 156 additional downstream jobs benefit.
- Up to $1.3M per day in local spending from film production.
Arts and culture directly support job creation, small businesses, tourism, workforce development, and community vitality.
Severe Underinvestment
- As of 2026, California ranks 35th nationally in per-capita arts funding, significantly behind Mississippi, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Florida.
- In 2025, there were $90M in eligible CAC grant requests, with only $21M available to fund.
- In the last 25 years, the state budget has tripled but the CAC’s budget has declined by 63%.
- $70.5M in recent statewide arts cuts since 2024, weakening community and economic recovery.
Public funding for arts and culture uniquely serves rural and underserved communities. Patterns of disinvestment undermine its impact.
Alignment with State Priorities
Arts investment advances legislative goals by:
- Strengthening mental health and social connection.
- Supporting career education and workforce development, including programs such as the CA Creative Corps.
- Driving local economic development and revitalization, including programs such as CA Cultural Districts.
- Advancing equity and access statewide.
Chronic underinvestment limits economic growth, workforce development, and equitable access.
Federal Policy Impacts on California’s Arts and Culture
- Recent National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities requirements restrict how organizations address equity, identity, gender, and inclusion, directly clashing with California law and statewide priorities.
- Community-based organizations—especially those serving immigrant, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and rural communities—are forced to forgo federal funds rather than compromise their missions.
- Smaller, under-resourced organizations are hit hardest, widening inequities across the sector.
- Reduced federal access increases reliance on state funding, further straining limited CAC resources.
Strategic state investment is essential to stabilize the art and culture ecosystem, protect free expression, and ensure equitable access to cultural funding.
Opportunity for Impact
- CAC’s 50th Anniversary in 2026 offers a landmark moment to renew California’s leadership.
- Full implementation of the California Creative Economy Strategic Plan requires adequate CAC resources.
- Public funding reaches all districts and is more equitably distributed than private philanthropy.
- By investing in culture, we ensure California can realize its potential to lead by celebrating the voices, histories, and identities that define our state.
- As AI continues to advance, the uniquely human capacities nurtured by arts and culture—creativity, design, empathy, and critical thinking—become even more essential.
Investing strategically in creative jobs and cultural infrastructure is essential for California's long-term economic and social success. Arts funding is a proven investment that strengthens California's economy, generates jobs, improves mental health, and fortifies communities.
Download the 50in50 One-Sheet
CA Arts Advocates CAC Budget Request
In November 2025, CA Arts Advocates penned a letter to the governor, asking for a $50 million commitment to secure the arts as a cornerstone of California's Future. As the CAC approaches its 50th anniversary in 2026, California has a pivotal opportunity to strengthen its cultural infrastructure and reaffirm the arts as essential to economic vitality, civic engagement, and community well-being. Increasing the agency’s ongoing budget to $50 million would honor five decades of statewide impact.
Read the Letter