2/21/07

1. Register Now for Arts Advocacy Day!

2. Arts Increase Possible - We Need Your Help NOW

3. Volunteers Needed for Arts Advocacy Day

4. Congresswoman Betty McCollum to Receive Congressional Arts Award

5. Join us in Washington D.C. for National Arts Advocacy Day

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1. Register Now for Arts Advocacy Day!

The registration deadline for Arts Advocacy Day is rapidly approaching. If you are coming, please register ASAP! We need to know how many people are coming so we have enough materials on hand and can schedule your meetings for you. Our goal this year is to restore arts funding. Be part of the team!

Register online and find out more at www.mtn.org/mca. Advocacy Day is March 8th. People who come to Advocacy Day will receive their own copy of the new Artists Count economic impact study of Minnesota’s artists (see below).

Minnesota Citizens for the Arts invites you to join your fellow arts advocates at the MN History Center and State Capitol to talk about the arts, make new friends, and educate our legislators about the importance of the arts to Minnesota. At Arts Advocacy Day, YOU along with individual artists, rural theaters, suburban choirs, big institutions, museums, art centers, painters, tenors, students, dancers, musicians, arts administrators, arts lovers will join together to talk about the impact of the arts on the economy and communities of our state.

Be the first to hear the results of Artists Count a comprehensive statewide and regional economic impact study of individual artists in Minnesota. The economic impact of the artists of our state were studied this year through a groundbreaking study conducted by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA), Springboard for the Arts and the Minnesota Crafts Council. For the first time ever, six regional studies as well as a statewide study measuring the economic impact of individual artists, as well as a look at artists’ access to health care and retirement plans, has been produced. The results of these seven studies will be released for the first time at the morning rally at Arts Advocacy Day. As an attendee, you will receive the very first public reports of the economic impact of artists in Minnesota as well as in your own region. We are more and more excited about the results of these studies and believe that they will be very useful both for statewide and for local arts advocay. No matter where you live in Minnesota, you will also have a regional report that you can use to talk about the economic impact of artists in your own area.

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2. Arts Increase Possible - We Need Your Help NOW

There are several bills that could increase arts funding in Minnesota. We need your help to make it happen! Please go to MCA’s website and use the Desktop Lobbyist to send a note to your legislators asking them to support arts funding. Below is a brief update on the legislation that could increase funding for the arts:

ARTS APPROPRIATION:
Another hearing was held last week in the Senate Finance - Economic Development Budget Division. Testifiers on behalf of the arts included Tom Proehl, Interim Director of the Minnesota State Arts Board, Pam Weaver, Chair of the Minnesota State Arts Board (and MCA Executive Director in the early 1990s), Carolyn Bye, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and Steve Anderson from the Paramount Theater in Austin. It went extremely well. There is a House hearing scheduled for next week. Legislators need to hear from you that they should increase support for the arts!

BACKGROUND:
Governor Pawlenty has proposed adding an additional $500,000 per year, or $1 million total, to the appropriation for the arts. The money would be added to the Minnesota State Arts Board and Regional Arts Councils budgets for grants and administration. (Currently the state appropriates approximately $8.5 million to the arts annually). The context for this increase, while it is welcome, is that the Governor proposed cutting 40% of the appropriation in 2002, resulting in a cut of 32% that year. Although this is an excellent first step, our number one priority this year is that the appropriation be fully restored. This would take approximately $5.5 million per year if we included a small increase for inflation. The good news is that the Governor’s recommendation will strengthen our message of restoration. However, it’s not nearly enough and we are competing with a lot of other issues for limited funds so we need to make our voices heard and for sure we need to have a big turnout at Advocacy Day.

OTHER LEGISLATION:
MCA’s long term goal is a constitutional amendment dedicating a small portion of sales tax revenue to Minnesota’s Heritage. This bill has the potential to double or triple state funding for the arts. The funding, just like the regular appropriation, would benefit arts organizations and artists in every Minnesota county via grants from the Regional Arts Councils and Minnesota State Arts Board.

There are many versions of the bill at this point. Some or all of them include the arts, parks and trails, clean water, game and fish habitat, and other items. Some versions of the bill would bring the arts around $23 million per year by FY09. Some versions of the bill would ask the voters to approve a small additional sales tax (3/8th of 1%, or about 37 cents for each $100 spent). Some versions would just designate these funds from “current revenues.” (It is this difference between the House and Senate bills that has been the most controversial, and which in the end kept the bill from passing last year).

Choosing among many versions of the bill with many different authors, the Senate Environment Committee this week passed Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller’s (DFL, Mpls.) Senate File #6, the constitutional amendment bill that we preferred because it appropriates the most money to the arts. The next step for the Senate bill is a visit to Sen. Ann Rest’s State and Local Government Operations and Oversight Committee. After that, it will go to Sen. Cohen’s Finance Committee where the real work on the bill will begin. A great first step! Many versions of this bill have introduced in the House and Senate, some of which include the arts and some of which don’t. There will be many more hearings in many more committees before the legislature decides what to do with these bills. Although it is early in the legislative session, establishing early on the will of the Senate to include the arts in this bill is a very important statement.

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3. Volunteers Needed for Arts Advocacy Day

Sign up to help make the day a success! Below are a list of volunteer opportunities associated with Arts Advocacy Day. Can you help? To sign up, please contact Katie Sabaka at mca@mtn.org or call 651-251-0868. Please indicate what times you will be available:

RSVP Packet Mailing
O Thursday, March 1, 2007, anytime from 9:00 am - 7:00 pm.
O Friday, March 2, 2007, anytime from 9:00 am - 7:00 pm.

In-Office Preparation
O Saturday, March 3, 2007, anytime from 12: 00- 7:00 pm.
O Monday, March 5, 2007, anytime from 9:00 am - 7:00 pm.
O Tuesday, March 6, 2007, anytime from 9:00 am - 7:00 pm.
O Wednesday, March 7, 2007, anytime from 9:00 am - 7:00 pm.

Advocacy Day - Thursday, March 8, 2007
(Please note: if you are a Team Leader, some of these opportunities will be unavailable to you).
O Help Arts Advocates sign-in at the Registration Table. (a.m.)
O Sell t-shirts and memberships at the History Center. (a.m.)
O Act as an usher at the History Center. (a.m.)
O Take photos throughout the day for MCA use. (a.m. and p.m.)

If there are other ways you’d like to help or if you have suggestions for additional volunteer positions please contact Katie at the number above. THANK YOU!

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4. Congresswoman Betty McCollum to Receive Congressional Arts Award

Americans for the Arts is presenting Rep. Betty McCollum (St. Paul) with the 2007 National Award for Congressional Leadership!

Each year, Americans for the Arts, in partnership with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, recognizes elected officials and legendary artists who have exhibited outstanding leadership in the advancement of the arts at the national, state, and local levels. The recipient of the 2007 National Award for Congressional Arts Leadership is Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN).

Congresswoman McCollum has demonstrated a strong commitment to the arts throughout her congressional career. In both the 108th and 109th Congresses, Congresswoman McCollum took every action tracked by Americans for the Arts in support for the arts, including voting to increase funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), co-sponsoring legislation allowing artists to claim a fair-market value tax deduction when donating their work to charity, supporting the reauthorization of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and asking for more funding for arts education. She is also one of three House members appointed to serve on the National Council on the Arts, which advises the chairman of the NEA. The award will be presented to Congresswoman McCollum during the National Arts Advocacy Day Congressional Arts Breakfast on March 13. For more information, please contact Director of Local Arts Policy Lina Garcia at lgarcia@artsusa.org.

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5. Join us in Washington D.C. for National Arts Advocacy Day

Entering its 20th consecutive year, National Arts Advocacy Day, organized by Americans for the Arts, is the only national event designed to bring together a broad cross section of America’s national cultural and civic organizations. These groups will join hundreds of grassroots advocates from across the country to underscore the importance of developing strong public policies and appropriating increased public funding for the arts. This year Arts Advocacy Day kicks off on Monday, March 12, with a day of legislative training sessions and guest speakers. We’ll teach you everything you need to know about the current arts issues circulating on Capitol Hill and how to lobby Congress for increased public funding for the arts. Throughout the day you’ll have the chance to meet with other attendees from your state in order to make the most of your Congressional visits. (The Americans for the Arts State Arts Advocacy Captain from Minnesota is Sheila Smith, and she will be setting up meetings with Members of Congress prior to your visits on March 13).

For more information and to sign up go to: http://www.artsusa.org/events/2007/aad/default.asp

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http://www.mtn.org/mca

Your frequently updated, one-stop site for:

• information about Minnesota Citizens for the Arts,
• how you can get involved,
• an Action Center called the DESKTOP LOBBYIST where you can write a letter to your legislator
• or even find out who your legislators are,
• facts about the arts in Minnesota,
• the latest on legislative and congressional action on arts issues
• And more!

Join Our Arts Advocacy Family

MCA is funded entirely by the dues of its members. Do you appreciate receiving up to the minute news on the fate of the arts in the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress? We could not provide Arts Alerts if it weren’t for the wonderful and committed arts advocates who show their commitment by joining MCA. You can join by printing out the membership form on our website at http://www.mtn.org/mca. Individual dues are just $30, and a household membership is just $40. Thank you!

MCA values your privacy, and will not sell or distribute your personal information to anyone.

MCA is a non-partisan statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts. MCA organizes the arts community and lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress on issues pertaining to the nonprofit arts. If you are interested in learning more about how to advocate for the arts, or how to activate people in your arts organization or community to lobby for the arts, please call us at 651-251-0868 or e-mail mca@mtn.org.

State arts funding supports access to the arts for all Minnesotans. The state-funded Minnesota State Arts Board and eleven Regional Arts Councils provide grants and services in every Minnesota county for artists, arts organizations, arts projects and school artist residencies. For more information on regional or state grants, go to http://www.arts.state.mn.us/racs/index.htm

2/9/07

1. Minnesota Artists are Twice as Likely To…

2. Favorable Version of Heritage Bill Passes First Committee

3. Arts Appropriation Hearings Ongoing

4. More on the State Poet Laureate Bill

5. Join MCA in MySpace

6. State Arts Board Director Job Re-Posted

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1. Minnesota Artists are Twice as Likely To…

Wouldn’t you like to know how this sentence ends? You can find out, with the rest of the world, on March 8th, at Arts Advocacy Day, when we release the results of the Artists Count economic impact study of artists.

Minnesota Citizens for the Arts invites you to join your fellow arts advocates at the MN History Center and State Capitol to talk about the arts, make new friends, and educate our legislators about the importance of the arts to Minnesota. At Arts Advocacy Day, YOU along with individual artists, rural theaters, suburban choirs, big institutions, museums, art centers, painters, tenors, students, dancers, musicians, arts administrators, arts lovers will join together to talk about the impact of the arts on the economy and communities of our state.

Our goal this year is to restore arts funding. Be part of the team! Register online and find out more at www.mtn.org/mca

And be the first to hear the results of Artists Count! a comprehensive statewide and regional economic impact study of individual artists in Minnesota. The economic impact of the artists of our state were studied this year through a groundbreaking study conducted by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA), Springboard for the Arts and the Minnesota Crafts Council. For the first time ever, six regional studies as well as a statewide study measuring the economic impact of individual artists, as well as a look at artists’ access to health care and retirement plans, has been produced. The results of these seven studies will be released for the first time at the morning rally at Arts Advocacy Day. As an attendee, you will receive the very first public reports of the economic impact of artists in Minnesota as well as in your own region. We are more and more excited about the results of these studies and believe that they will be very useful both for statewide and for local arts advocay. No matter where you live in Minnesota, you will also have a regional report that you can use to talk about the economic impact of artists in your own area.

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2. Favorable Version of Heritage Bill Passes First Committee

MCA’s long term goal is a constitutional amendment dedicating a small portion of sales tax revenue to Minnesota’s Heritage* This bill has the potential to double or triple state funding for the arts. The funding, just like the regular appropriation, would benefit arts organizations and artists in every Minnesota county via grants from the Regional Arts Councils and Minnesota State Arts Board.

Choosing among many versions of the bill with many different authors, the Senate Environment Committee this week passed out, on a voice vote, Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller’s (DFL, Mpls.) Senate File #6, the constitutional amendment bill that we preferred because it appropriates the most money to the arts. The next step for the Senate bill is a visit to Sen. Ann Rest’s State and Local Government Operations and Oversight Committee. After that, it will go to Sen. Cohen’s Finance Committee where the real work on the bill will begin. A great first step! Many versions of this bill have introduced in the House and Senate, some of which include the arts and some of which don’t. There will be many more hearings in many more committees before the legislature decides what to do with these bills. Although it is early in the legislative session, establishing early on the will of the Senate to include the arts in this bill is a very important statement.

*There are many versions of the bill at this point. Some or all of them include the arts, parks and trails, clean water, game and fish habitat, and other items. Some versions of the bill would bring the arts around $23 million per year by FY09. Some versions of the bill would ask the voters to approve a small additional sales tax (3/8th of 1%, or about 37 cents for each $100 spent). Some versions would just designate these funds from “current revenues.” (It is this difference between the House and Senate bills that has been the most controversial, and which in the end kept the bill from passing last year).

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3. Arts Appropriation Hearings Ongoing

There will be many hearings on the arts appropriation over the next several months. The next one is next week in the Senate Finance - Economic Development Budget Division. Governor Pawlenty has proposed adding an additional $500,000 per year, or $1 million total, to the appropriation for the arts. The money would be added to the Minnesota State Arts Board and Regional Arts Councils budgets for grants and administration. (Currently the state appropriates approximately $8.5 million to the arts annually). The context for this increase, while it is welcome, is that the Governor proposed cutting 40% of the appropriation in 2002, resulting in a cut of 32% that year. Although this is an excellent first step, our number one priority this year is that the appropriation be fully restored. This would take approximately $5.5 million per year if we included a small increase for inflation. The good news is that the Governor’s recommendation will strengthen our message of restoration. However, it’s not nearly enough and we are competing with a lot of other issues for limited funds so we need to make our voices heard and for sure we need to have a big turnout at Advocacy Day.

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4. More on the State Poet Laureate Bill

The political pundits participating in MPR’s “Fantasy Legislature” have designated Rep. Phyllis Kahn’s bill to establish a Poet Laureate for Minnesota as a winner. They think it’s one of the bills most likely to pass both houses, to be vetoed by the Governor, and then to have the veto overridden by both the House and Senate. Let’s hope they are right. Co-authors in the House are Representatives Urdahl, Hilty, Jaros and Hausman.

Politics in Minnesota, The Newsletter, did some research into State Poet Laureates. Their article is reprinted here with their permission. Thanks to Sarah Janecek and Blois Olson at www.politicsinminnesota.com

Once Again For Phyllis Kahn
The Quest For Poet Laureate Is On

Two years ago, Governor Tim Pawlenty vetoed legislation overwhelmingly passed in both chambers that would have created a state poet laureate. In the veto message at the time, Pawlenty wrote, “I also have some concern this will lead to calls for other similar positions. We could see requests for a state mime, interpretive dancer or potter.” Rep. Phyllis Kahn (DFL-Minneapolis), who coauthored the legislation carried by former GOP Rep. Barb Sykora before, has introduced the bill again. However, the sometimes unappreciated but very smart and nonpartisan staff in the House Research Department decided to have fun with it, and the bill is written as a poem:

The poet will be free to write rhyming lines,
With removal only for cause,
But we trust that the bard will promptly resign,
If the verse reads as badly as laws.

Perhaps the Governor doth protest over poets too much. Forty states plus the District of Columbia have state poets. Duluth and St. Paul have city poets (Mayor Chris Coleman named local writer Caroll Connellly to serve as the first poet) and Winona is thinking about it. Then there’s the obvious: If a state can have a state muffin, shouldn’t it have a state poet laureate? Maybe the state poet could write the first poem about the muffin, something like, “Minnesota winters dark and dreary, make citizens crave their muffins blueberry.”

Turns out that Minnesota may have already had two state poets. Some group called the Poet Laureate League awarded the title to Margaret Ball Dickson from Staples in 1934. Then-Gov. Floyd B. Olson sent her a letter of congratulations, albeit without designating the post as an official appointment. Forty years later, then-Minneapolis Star columnist Abe Altrowitz, who wrote a column called “The View from Lake Calhoun,” proclaimed himself to be “Minnesota Commissioner of Poetry.” Through his column, he held a statewide election where, for a one dollar donation to the American Cancer Society, readers could vote for a poet. The winner was Laurene Tibbbetts from St. Paul, a woman who, Altrowitz wrote, refused to reveal her age because she doesn’t believe in women revealing their ages and she preferred Miss to Ms.

Now during the course of this whole affair, there was some question about whether Altrowitz could be the Minnesota Commissioner of Poetry. An opinion was sought from then-DFL Attorney General Warren Spannaus. Then-DFL Governor Wendy Anderson issued a formal declaration and wrote:

So we should honor you in kind
The job is yours to keep

As governor I’m please to find
A man who works so cheap.

Ah me, ah me–that word, cheap.

…And for state poet laureate supporters, “Do not go gentle into that good night.”

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5. Join MCA in MySpace

MCA is redesigning our website and hope to launch the new one soon. In the meantime, we’ve joined the community of MySpace to give our Campus Arts Advocates a quick place to pick up information about Advocacy Day and other activities. We’ve got some fun pictures and even a video about MCA that is living on this page and in You Tube. Thanks to MCA Field Worker Mark Albers, who is many years younger than me, for making these innovations possible. Check out the page at: http://www.myspace.com/mncitizensforthearts

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6. State Arts Board Director Job Re-Posted

Tom Proehl is doing a wonderful job as Interim Executive Director at the Minnesota State Arts Board. However, he has only committed to the job on an interim basis. Tom will continue in that capacity for an indefinite period or until a new Executive Director has been appointed. Therefore, the Minnesota State Arts Board continues its search for a permanent Executive Director. The position description and application procedures are posted here: www.arts.state.mn.us/about/employment.htm. DEADLINE IS FEB. 28.

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http://www.mtn.org/mca

Your frequently updated, one-stop site for:

• information about Minnesota Citizens for the Arts,
• how you can get involved,
• an Action Center called the DESKTOP LOBBYIST where you can write a letter to your legislator
• or even find out who your legislators are,
• facts about the arts in Minnesota,
• the latest on legislative and congressional action on arts issues
• And more!

Join Our Arts Advocacy Family

MCA is funded entirely by the dues of its members. Do you appreciate receiving up to the minute news on the fate of the arts in the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress? We could not provide Arts Alerts if it weren’t for the wonderful and committed arts advocates who show their commitment by joining MCA. You can join by printing out the membership form on our website at http://www.mtn.org/mca. Individual dues are just $30, and a household membership is just $40. Thank you!

MCA values your privacy, and will not sell or distribute your personal information to anyone.

MCA is a non-partisan statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts. MCA organizes the arts community and lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress on issues pertaining to the nonprofit arts. If you are interested in learning more about how to advocate for the arts, or how to activate people in your arts organization or community to lobby for the arts, please call us at 651-251-0868 or e-mail mca@mtn.org.

State arts funding supports access to the arts for all Minnesotans. The state-funded Minnesota State Arts Board and eleven Regional Arts Councils provide grants and services in every Minnesota county for artists, arts organizations, arts projects and school artist residencies. For more information on regional or state grants, go to http://www.arts.state.mn.us/racs/index.htm

2/2/07

1. Arts Funding Increase Possible this Year

2. Help Make it Happen: Take the High Five Pledge

3. Join Us: Arts Advocacy Day will be March 8, 2007

4. State Arts Board Director Job Re-Posted

5. Arts and Minnesota’s Heritage Bill

6. Nominate a Business for “Best Company Supporting the Arts in America”

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1. Arts Funding Increase Possible this Year

Governor Pawlenty has proposed adding an additional $500,000 per year, or $1 million total, to the appropriation for the arts. The money would be added to the Minnesota State Arts Board and Regional Arts Councils budgets for grants and administration. (Currently the state appropriates approximately $8.5 million to the arts annually). The context for this increase, while it is welcome, is that the Governor proposed cutting 40% of the appropriation in 2002, resulting in a cut of 32% that year. Although this is an excellent first step, our number one priority this year is that the appropriation be fully restored. This would take approximately $5.5 million per year if we included a small increase for inflation. The good news is that the Governor’s recommendation will strengthen our message of restoration. However, it’s not nearly enough and we are competing with a lot of other issues for limited funds so we need to make our voices heard and for sure we need to have a big turnout at Advocacy Day.We expect hearings on the appropriation in the Senate to begin some time next week and continue for the next month or so. The House is moving much slower.

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2. Help Make it Happen: Take the High Five Pledge

When you receive an email from Minnesota Citizens for the Arts asking you to respond to an Arts Advocacy Alert, would you forward it on to 5 of your friends? Would you ask them to join you in telling your legislators: “Please restore arts funding to at least the 2003 level of at least $13 million per year”? Getting the legislators to listen to us is a numbers game. The more people they hear from, the more they pay attention. So please take the “High 5 Pledge” now. It is so very easy! All you have to do is:
• Email 5 of your friends right now and ask them to be part of your High 5 group.
• Let them know that they will be getting Arts Advocacy Alerts from you during the legislative session this spring.
• Tell them that their responses could mean significantly more money available to all of Minnesota from the Regional Arts Councils and the Minnesota State Arts Board.

Thank you in advance for taking the “High 5 Pledge”. We firmly believe that with your help, every legislator from throughout Minnesota will be contacted by their constituents this session. Your voices will be heard loud and clear, “Please restore arts funding to the 2003 level of $13 million per year.”

Sincerely, Maxine Adams, Chair, MCA Greater Minnesota Communications Project Members: Michael Robins, Minneapolis, Illusion Theater Daniel Zielske, Mankato, member at large Leslie Schumacher, Foley, Central MN Arts Board Steve Downing, Grand Rapids, member at large David Marty, Grand Rapids, The Reif Center Carolyn Bye, St. Paul, MRAC Amy Hunter, Staples, Freshwater Education District Schools Amy Stearns, Historic Holmes Theatre, Detroit Lakes

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3. Join Us: Arts Advocacy Day will be March 8, 2007

Minnesota Citizens for the Arts invites you to join your fellow arts advocates at the MN History Center and State Capitol to talk about the arts, make new friends, and educate our legislators about the importance of the arts to Minnesota. At Arts Advocacy Day, YOU along with individual artists, rural theaters, suburban choirs, big institutions, museums, art centers, painters, tenors, students, dancers, musicians, arts administrators, arts lovers will join together to talk about the impact of the arts on the economy and communities of our state.

And be the first to hear the results of Artists Count! a comprehensive statewide and regional economic impact study of individual artists in Minnesota.

Our goal this year is to restore arts funding. Be part of the team! Register online and find out more at www.mtn.org/mca
Arts Advocacy Day Schedule
March 8th, 2007

7:30 Park and meet at: THE MINNESOTA HISTORY CENTER in St. Paul
8:00 to 8:30 am History Center Auditorium Advocacy Class for New Attendees
8:00 to 8:30 am History Center Lobby Registration & Coffee (if not attending the class)
8:30 SHARP to 9:30 am History Center Auditorium Advocacy Seminar. Presentation on Artists Count! And Join Your Team (We strongly urge you to attend this seminar for an up-to-the-minute view of the 2007 legislative session. You need to attend this session in order to join your team.)
9:30 to 10:00 am Walk/Ride to the State Capitol
9:30 to 1:00 pm Legislator Appointments, and Home Base at the State Capitol
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4. State Arts Board Director Job Re-Posted

Tom Proehl is doing a wonderful job as Interim Executive Director at the Minnesota State Arts Board. However, he has only committed to the job on an interim basis. Tom will continue in that capacity for an indefinite period or until a new Executive Director has been appointed. Therefore, the Minnesota State Arts Board continues its search for a permanent Executive Director. The position description and application procedures are posted here: www.arts.state.mn.us/about/employment.htm.

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5. Arts and Minnesota’s Heritage Bill

MCA’s long term goal is a constitutional amendment dedicating a small portion of sales tax revenue to Minnesota’s Heritage* This bill has the potential to double or triple state funding for the arts. The funding, just like the regular appropriation, would benefit arts organizations and artists in every Minnesota county via grants from the Regional Arts Councils and Minnesota State Arts Board. There are now ten versions of this bill introduced in the House and Senate, some of which include the arts and some of which don’t. The most important version, which includes the arts, is Senate File 6, authored by Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller. Hearings in the Senate Environment Committee have been taking more time than expected and are now going to go into next week. If you live in the district of one of the Senators on this committee, you will have received a separate email from us asking you to contact them to urge them to include the arts. There will be many more hearings in many more committees before the legislature decides what to do with these bills. Although it is early in the legislative session, establishing early on the will of the Senate to include the arts in this bill will make an important statement.

*There are many versions of the bill at this point. Some or all of them include the arts, parks and trails, clean water, game and fish habitat, and other items. Some versions of the bill would bring the arts around $23 million per year by FY09. Some versions of the bill would ask the voters to approve a small additional sales tax (3/8th of 1%, or about 37 cents for each $100 spent). Some versions would just designate these funds from “current revenues.” (It is this difference between the House and Senate bills that has been the most controversial, and which in the end kept the bill from passing last year).

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6. Nominate a Business for “Best Company Supporting the Arts in America”

If you know a company, large or small, that has made exceptional investments in the arts, nominate it for THE BCA TEN: Best Companies Supporting the Arts in America at www.bcainc.org/thebcaten.html. Anyone can submit a nomination - an individual, an arts organization, or company employee. Sponsored by the Business Committee for the Arts. DEADLINE: March 30, 2007.

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http://www.mtn.org/mca

Your frequently updated, one-stop site for:

• information about Minnesota Citizens for the Arts,
• how you can get involved,
• an Action Center called the DESKTOP LOBBYIST where you can write a letter to your legislator
• or even find out who your legislators are,
• facts about the arts in Minnesota,
• the latest on legislative and congressional action on arts issues
• And more!

Join Our Arts Advocacy Family

MCA is funded entirely by the dues of its members. Do you appreciate receiving up to the minute news on the fate of the arts in the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress? We could not provide Arts Alerts if it weren’t for the wonderful and committed arts advocates who show their commitment by joining MCA. You can join by printing out the membership form on our website at http://www.mtn.org/mca. Individual dues are just $30, and a household membership is just $40. Thank you!

MCA values your privacy, and will not sell or distribute your personal information to anyone.

MCA is a non-partisan statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts. MCA organizes the arts community and lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress on issues pertaining to the nonprofit arts. If you are interested in learning more about how to advocate for the arts, or how to activate people in your arts organization or community to lobby for the arts, please call us at 651-251-0868 or e-mail mca@mtn.org.

State arts funding supports access to the arts for all Minnesotans. The state-funded Minnesota State Arts Board and eleven Regional Arts Councils provide grants and services in every Minnesota county for artists, arts organizations, arts projects and school artist residencies. For more information on regional or state grants, go to http://www.arts.state.mn.us/racs/index.htm

1/25/07

1. Governor Proposes Increase for the Arts

2. State Poet Laureate Bill Introduced

3. Join MCA in MySpace

4. Save the Date: Arts Advocacy Day will be March 8, 2007

5. Artists Count! To Be Released on Advocacy Day

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1. Governor Proposes Increase for the Arts

Governor Pawlenty unveiled his budget for the next two years this week. He proposed adding an additional $500,000 per year, or $1 million total, to the appropriation for the arts. The money would be added to the Minnesota State Arts Board and Regional Arts Councils budgets for grants and administration. (Currently the state appropriates approximately $8.5 million to the arts annually). The context for this increase, while it is welcome, is that the Governor proposed cutting 40% of the appropriation in 2002, resulting in a cut of 32% that year.

Although this is an excellent first step, our number one priority this year is that the appropriation be fully restored. This would take approximately $5.5 million per year if we included a small increase for inflation. The good news is that the Governor’s recommendation will strengthen our message of restoration. At the first hearing on the appropriation in the Legislature last week, the new Minnesota State Arts Board Interim Director, Tom Proehl, did a wonderful job doing an overview of the state’s support for the arts and the need for more support.

Other Legislation
MCA’s long term goal is a constitutional amendment dedicating a small portion of sales tax revenue to Minnesota’s Heritage* This bill has the potential to double or triple state funding for the arts. The funding, just like the regular appropriation, would benefit arts organizations and artists in every Minnesota county via grants from the Regional Arts Councils and Minnesota State Arts Board. There are now six versions of this bill introduced in the House and Senate, some of which include the arts and some of which don’t. The first Senate hearing on the bills was held on Wednesday, and three people testified on behalf of the arts for MCA: Carolyn Bye from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, Sean Dowse from the T.B. Sheldon Theatre in Redwing, and Lia Rivamonte from Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts. They did a really terrific job of making the case for better funding of the arts in Minnesota. If you live in the district of one of the Senators on this committee, you will have received a separate email from us asking you to contact them before Monday, January 28, 2007. There will be many more hearings in many more committees before the legislature decides what to do with these bills. Although it is early in the legislative session, establishing early on the will of the Senate to include the arts in this bill will make an important statement.

*There are many versions of the bill at this point. Some or all of them include the arts, parks and trails, clean water, game and fish habitat, and other items. Some versions of the bill would bring the arts around $23 million per year by FY09. Some versions of the bill would ask the voters to approve a small additional sales tax (3/8th of 1%, or about 37 cents for each $100 spent). Some versions would just designate these funds from “current revenues.” (It is this difference between the House and Senate bills that has been the most controversial, and which in the end kept the bill from passing last year).

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2. State Poet Laureate Bill Introduced

The political pundits participating in MPR’s “Fantasy Legislature” have designated Rep. Phyllis Kahn’s bill to establish a Poet Laureate for Minnesota as a winner. They think it’s one of the bills most likely to pass both houses, to be vetoed by the Governor, and then to have the veto overridden by both the House and Senate. Let’s hope they are right. Co-authors in the House are Representatives Urdahl, Hilty, Jaros and Hausman.

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3. Join MCA in MySpace

MCA is redesigning our website and hope to launch the new one soon. In the meantime, we’ve joined the community of MySpace to give our Campus Arts Advocates a quick place to pick up information about Advocacy Day and other activities. We’ve got some fun pictures and even a video about MCA that is living on this page and in You Tube. Thanks to MCA Field Worker Mark Albers, who is many years younger than me, for making these innovations possible. Check out the page at: http://www.myspace.com/mncitizensforthearts

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4. Save the Date: Arts Advocacy Day will be March 8, 2007

Minnesota Citizens for the Arts invites you to join your fellow arts advocates at the MN History Center and State Capitol to talk about the arts, make new friends, and educate our legislators about the importance of the arts to Minnesota. At Arts Advocacy Day, YOU along with individual artists, rural theaters, suburban choirs, big institutions, museums, art centers, painters, tenors, students, dancers, musicians, arts administrators, arts lovers will join together to talk about the impact of the arts on the economy and communities of our state.

And be the first to hear the results of Artists Count! a comprehensive statewide and regional economic impact study of individual artists in Minnesota.

Our goal this year is to restore arts funding. Be part of the team! Register online and find out more at www.mtn.org/mca
Arts Advocacy Day Schedule
March 8th, 2007

7:30 Park and meet at: THE MINNESOTA HISTORY CENTER in St. Paul
8:00 to 8:30 am History Center Auditorium Advocacy Class for New Attendees
8:00 to 8:30 am History Center Lobby Registration & Coffee (if not attending the class)
8:30 SHARP to 9:30 am History Center Auditorium Advocacy Seminar. Presentation on Artists Count! And Join Your Team (We strongly urge you to attend this seminar for an up-to-the-minute view of the 2007 legislative session. You need to attend this session in order to join your team.)
9:30 to 10:00 am Walk/Ride to the State Capitol
9:30 to 1:00 pm Legislator Appointments, and Home Base at the State Capitol
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5. Artists Count! To Be Released on Advocacy Day

The economic impact of the artists of our state were studied this year through a groundbreaking economic impact study conducted by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA), Springboard for the Arts and the Minnesota Crafts Council. For the first time ever, six regional studies as well as a statewide study measuring the economic impact of individual artists, as well as a look at artists’ access to health care and retirement plans, has been produced. The results of these seven studies will be released for the first time at the morning rally at Arts Advocacy Day. As an attendee, you will receive the very first public reports of the economic impact of artists in Minnesota as well as in your own region. We are more and more excited about the results of these studies and believe that they will be very useful both for statewide and for local arts advocay. No matter where you live in Minnesota, you will have a regional report that you can use to talk about the economic impact of artists in your own area.

Nationally, arts advocates agree that the most effective arguments for funding the arts these days include the economic impact of the arts sector. These new studies will give us brand new tools to advocate for the arts, particularily because we can now add the economic impact of artists to the research that was released last year, The Arts: A Driving Force in Minnesota’s Economy* that studied the economic impact of Minnesota’s arts and culture organizations.
*Copies of all fourteen The Arts: A Driving Force in Minnesota’s Economy reports (the statewide, eleven regional, and two cities) are now available for free downloading from MCA’s website at www.mtn.org/mca. That study was conducted by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts and the Forum of Regional Arts Councils of Minnesota and was also, like Artists Count! funded primarily by The McKnight Foundation. The organizational report includes eleven regional studies and one statewide report that provides an aggregate view of arts economic activity across Minnesota from rural communities, to small towns and urban areas of the state. The research found that every region of the state, no matter how rural, had at least $1 million in economic impact from nonprofit arts and culture organizations. That study also found that the Seven County Metro’s nonprofit arts industry is 2 1/2 times larger than similar population centers studied such as Houston, TX, Miami-Dade, FL, and St. Louis, MO. Two new studies based on the earlier research were also released just last week covering only the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

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http://www.mtn.org/mca

Your frequently updated, one-stop site for:

• information about Minnesota Citizens for the Arts,
• how you can get involved,
• an Action Center called the DESKTOP LOBBYIST where you can write a letter to your legislator
• or even find out who your legislators are,
• facts about the arts in Minnesota,
• the latest on legislative and congressional action on arts issues
• And more!

Join Our Arts Advocacy Family

MCA is funded entirely by the dues of its members. Do you appreciate receiving up to the minute news on the fate of the arts in the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress? We could not provide Arts Alerts if it weren’t for the wonderful and committed arts advocates who show their commitment by joining MCA. You can join by printing out the membership form on our website at http://www.mtn.org/mca. Individual dues are just $30, and a household membership is just $40. Thank you!

MCA values your privacy, and will not sell or distribute your personal information to anyone.

MCA is a non-partisan statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts. MCA organizes the arts community and lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress on issues pertaining to the nonprofit arts. If you are interested in learning more about how to advocate for the arts, or how to activate people in your arts organization or community to lobby for the arts, please call us at 651-251-0868 or e-mail mca@mtn.org.

State arts funding supports access to the arts for all Minnesotans. The state-funded Minnesota State Arts Board and eleven Regional Arts Councils provide grants and services in every Minnesota county for artists, arts organizations, arts projects and school artist residencies. For more information on regional or state grants, go to http://www.arts.state.mn.us/racs/index.htm

1/18/07

You are cordially invited to a reception to honor

Senator Tom Saxhaug

for his tireless advocacy on behalf of the non-profit arts in the last legislative session.

He will receive a

2006 Legislative

Arts All Star Award

From Minnesota Citizens for the Arts.

Where: The Reif Center (720 Conifer Drive Grand Rapids, MN 55744)

When: 7:30 p.m. February 2nd, 2007

Your hosts: The Reif Center and Minnesota Citizens for the Arts

**This presentation is held along with a fundraiser for the ISD 318 Endowment fund, which includes entertainment by GrooveLily. Tickets are: Adults $18/Seniors $16/Students $9 and can be purchased at the Reif Center Box Office or online at www.reifcenter.org

If you plan to only attend the awards ceremony please R.S.V.P. To: The Reif Center at 218-327-5780

Please Note: This is a non-partisan event to thank Sen. Saxhaug for his work on behalf of the arts, and is not a poltitical fundraiser. This will be one of only fourteen Arts All Star Awards presented by MCA for activity in 2006.

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http://www.mtn.org/mca

Your frequently updated, one-stop site for:

• information about Minnesota Citizens for the Arts,
• how you can get involved,
• an Action Center called the DESKTOP LOBBYIST where you can write a letter to your legislator
• or even find out who your legislators are,
• facts about the arts in Minnesota,
• the latest on legislative and congressional action on arts issues
• And more!

Join Our Arts Advocacy Family

MCA is funded entirely by the dues of its members. Do you appreciate receiving up to the minute news on the fate of the arts in the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress? We could not provide Arts Alerts if it weren’t for the wonderful and committed arts advocates who show their commitment by joining MCA. You can join by printing out the membership form on our website at http://www.mtn.org/mca. Individual dues are just $30, and a household membership is just $40. Thank you!

MCA values your privacy, and will not sell or distribute your personal information to anyone.

MCA is a non-partisan statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts. MCA organizes the arts community and lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress on issues pertaining to the nonprofit arts. If you are interested in learning more about how to advocate for the arts, or how to activate people in your arts organization or community to lobby for the arts, please call us at 651-251-0868 or e-mail mca@mtn.org.

State arts funding supports access to the arts for all Minnesotans. The state-funded Minnesota State Arts Board and eleven Regional Arts Councils provide grants and services in every Minnesota county for artists, arts organizations, arts projects and school artist residencies. For more information on regional or state grants, go to http://www.arts.state.mn.us/racs/index.htm

1/15/07

1. Save the Date: Arts Advocacy Day will be March 8, 2007

2. Artist Count! Will Be Released on Advocacy Day

3. Help Us Get the Word Out!

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1. Save the Date: Arts Advocacy Day will be March 8, 2007

Minnesota Citizens for the Arts invites you to join your fellow arts advocates at the MN History Center and State Capitol to talk about the arts, make new friends, and educate our legislators about the importance of the arts to Minnesota. At Arts Advocacy Day, YOU along with individual artists, rural theaters, suburban choirs, big institutions, museums, art centers, painters, tenors, students, dancers, musicians, arts administrators, arts lovers will join together to talk about the impact of the arts on the economy and communities of our state.

And be the first to hear the results of Artists Count! a comprehensive statewide and regional economic impact study of individual artists in Minnesota.

Our goal this year is to restore arts funding to the 2003 level of at least $13 million per year. Be part of the team! Register online and find out more at www.mtn.org/mca

Arts Advocacy Day Schedule
March 8th, 2007

7:30 Park and meet at: THE MINNESOTA HISTORY CENTER in St. Paul
8:00 to 8:30 am History Center Auditorium Advocacy Class for New Attendees
8:00 to 8:30 am History Center Lobby Registration & Coffee (if not attending the class)
8:30 SHARP to 9:30 am History Center Auditorium Advocacy Seminar. Presentation on Artists Count! And Join Your Team (We strongly urge you to attend this seminar for an up-to-the-minute view of the 2007 legislative session. You need to attend this session in order to join your team.)
9:30 to 10:00 am Walk/Ride to the State Capitol
9:30 to 1:00 pm Legislator Appointments, and Home Base at the State Capitol
——————————————————-

2. Artists Count! Will Be Released on Advocacy Day

The economic impact of the artists of our state were studied this year through a groundbreaking economic impact study conducted by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA), Springboard for the Arts and the Minnesota Crafts Council. For the first time ever, six regional studies as well as a statewide study measuring the economic impact of individual artists, as well as a look at artists’ access to health care and retirement plans, has been produced. The results of these seven studies will be released for the first time at the morning rally at Arts Advocacy Day. As an attendee, you will receive the very first public reports of the economic impact of artists in Minnesota as well as in your own region. We are more and more excited about the results of these studies and believe that they will be very useful both for statewide and for local arts advocay. No matter where you live in Minnesota, you will have a regional report that you can use to talk about the economic impact of artists in your own area.

Nationally, arts advocates agree that the most effective arguments for funding the arts these days include the economic impact of the arts sector. These new studies will give us brand new tools to advocate for the arts, particularily because we can now add the economic impact of artists to the research that was released last year, The Arts: A Driving Force in Minnesota’s Economy that studied the economic impact of Minnesota’s arts and culture organizations. That study was conducted by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts and the Forum of Regional Arts Councils of Minnesota and was also, like Artists Count! funded primarily by The McKnight Foundation. The organizational report includes eleven regional studies and one statewide report that provides an aggregate view of arts economic activity across Minnesota from rural communities, to small towns and urban areas of the state. The research found that every region of the state, no matter how rural, had at least $1 million in economic impact from nonprofit arts and culture organizations. That study also found that the Seven County Metro’s nonprofit arts industry is 2 1/2 times larger than similar population centers studied such as Houston, TX, Miami-Dade, FL, and St. Louis, MO. Two new studies based on the earlier research were also released just last week covering only the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Copies of all fourteen The Arts: A Driving Force in Minnesota’s Economy reports (the statewide, eleven regional, and two cities) are now available for free downloading from MCA’s website at www.mtn.org/mca.

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3. Help Us Get the Word Out!

Minnesota Citizens for the Arts wants you to know, “It is time to start getting the word out!”

“Please restore arts funding to the 2003 level of $13 million per year”

To be successful in carrying this message to our legislators we need your help! Can you do the following?

If you are an organization that supports the Arts could you put the following in your newsletter?
Sample newsletter or program copy for organizations that support the arts:

“Did you know that in 2003 the legislature cut funding to the Arts by 32%? This year arts supporters from across Minnesota will be bringing the following message to the capitol, “Please restore arts funding to the 2003 level of $13 million per year.” The cuts in 2003 effected arts activities and arts organizations across the state, and as someone who supports the arts, you understand how important the arts are to the quality of life of our community. We can restore arts funding so that arts will thrive in our region if all of us pitch in.

Here are three ways you can help:
1. Send your Senator and Representative a note congratulating them on winning the election. Tell them that the arts are important to you and your family and that legislative funding helps make arts activities available in your community. Ask them to vote to restore arts funding to the 2003 level of $13 million a year. (Don’t know who your legislators are or how to reach them? Go to Minnesota Citizens for the Arts’ website and try out their “Desktop Lobbyist” at www.mtn.org/mca. It’s easy!)

2. When there is an arts event in your community, send an invitation to your Legislators to attend. If they do come, allow them to give a brief “curtain speech” to the audience about their support of the arts.

3. Sign up for Minnesota Citizens for the Arts “Arts Alerts” e-mails. It will keep you informed about what’s happening with our efforts to increase arts funding. When the alert asks you to send a quick note to your legislators – please do it. Legislators really pay attention when their constituents contact them! Just send MCA an email at mca@mtn.org asking to be added to the list.”

Thank you for helping to increase funding for the arts in Minnesota. Please contact us with any questions or suggestions.

——————————————————-

http://www.mtn.org/mca

Your frequently updated, one-stop site for:

• information about Minnesota Citizens for the Arts,
• how you can get involved,
• an Action Center called the DESKTOP LOBBYIST where you can write a letter to your legislator
• or even find out who your legislators are,
• facts about the arts in Minnesota,
• the latest on legislative and congressional action on arts issues
• And more!

Join Our Arts Advocacy Family

MCA is funded entirely by the dues of its members. Do you appreciate receiving up to the minute news on the fate of the arts in the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress? We could not provide Arts Alerts if it weren’t for the wonderful and committed arts advocates who show their commitment by joining MCA. You can join by printing out the membership form on our website at http://www.mtn.org/mca. Individual dues are just $30, and a household membership is just $40. Thank you!

MCA values your privacy, and will not sell or distribute your personal information to anyone.

MCA is a non-partisan statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts. MCA organizes the arts community and lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress on issues pertaining to the nonprofit arts. If you are interested in learning more about how to advocate for the arts, or how to activate people in your arts organization or community to lobby for the arts, please call us at 651-251-0868 or e-mail mca@mtn.org.

State arts funding supports access to the arts for all Minnesotans. The state-funded Minnesota State Arts Board and eleven Regional Arts Councils provide grants and services in every Minnesota county for artists, arts organizations, arts projects and school artist residencies. For more information on regional or state grants, go to http://www.arts.state.mn.us/racs/index.htm

1/11/07

1. Two New Arts Economic Impact Studies Released Today

2. Some Campuses Still Need Arts Leaders

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1. Two New Economic Impact Studies Released Today Show St. Paul and Minneapolis Both Have Strong Arts and Culture Industries That are Driving Forces in Minnesota’s Economy

Two new studies about their cities released today by Mayors Chris Coleman and R.T. Rybak reveal that St. Paul and Minneapolis both have strong arts industries that are driving forces in Minnesota’s economy…and are nearly identical in size. The economic impact of the arts and culture in Minneapolis was found to be $328M per year supporting 8683 full time jobs, which is only slightly larger than St. Paul’s at $310M per year supporting 8205 full time jobs.

“The arts and cultural assets in Saint Paul are the soul of our city. It is no surprise to see that these kinds of investments are a critical part of our economy and go a long way to making us the most livable city in America,” said Mayor Coleman.

“I can’t imagine a better showcase for arts and culture than Minneapolis and Saint Paul,” Mayor Rybak said. “In the last two years, we have experienced the largest buildup of arts and cultural institutions of anywhere in the nation, adding to an already immense offering. Arts and culture is becoming synonymous with the identity of this region.”

“The similarity in the economic impact of the arts in the two cities is striking,” said Sheila Smith, Executive Director of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts. “But it is also noteworthy that earlier research found the arts economy of the Seven County Metro Area as a whole is $719.5M per year; two and a half times the economic impact of the arts in metro areas of similar size such as Houston, TX and San Diego, CA.”

The data on the two cities comes from a new analysis of an economic impact study of the arts and culture released in 2006 by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts and the Forum of Regional Arts Councils of Minnesota called The Arts: A Driving Force in Minnesota’s Economy. That report found that nonprofit arts are an important industry throughout Minnesota contributing $838.5M annually to the state’s economy. The series of reports has demonstrated the excellence, scope, and diversity of cultural activity in every corner of the state and in Minnesota as a whole. This activity goes beyond contributing to Minnesota’s quality of life; the arts and culture also make a significant contribution to the entire state’s economy.

This second round of analysis of just the two largest cities was sponsored by the Arts and Culture Partnership of St. Paul and the City of Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development / Planning Division.

“We’re delighted to have, yet again, new data demonstrating the dramatic contribution that Minnesota’s robust arts and culture industry is having in the state,” said Smith. “The research demonstrates what arts groups and their supporters have been saying for a long time: the arts have a crucial role to play in Minnesota’s future economic growth. For a very small investment by the cities and state of Minnesota, the arts and culture industry can be leveraged to create jobs, to revitalize communities, and to educate our children while helping to drive Minnesota’s economy.”

Arts leaders from both St. Paul and Minneapolis were pleased with the results of the studies.

Lisa Tabor, President of the Board of Directors of the Arts and Culture Partnership of Saint Paul, said that “this report succinctly quantifies the tremendous economic activity that St. Paul generates with its scores of arts organizations and cultural destinations.”

“This data shows that the arts not only enhance the quality of life in our community but also contribute to the economic vitality of Minneapolis,” stated Barbara Sporlein, City of Minneapolis, Planning Director and Chair of the Minneapolis Arts and Culture Coordinating Committee.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND KEY FINDINGS

The two new studies look exclusively at St. Paul and Minneapolis’ nonprofit arts and culture industry and analyze data only for organizations that responded to the survey (47 of 175 eligible organizations in St. Paul and 95 of 275 eligible organizations in Minneapolis). The results are therefore very conservative — had more organizations responded, the numbers would have been even greater.

For-profit arts (like movies or Broadway), schools, and individual artists were also excluded from the research. Adding data from the for-profit arts and culture sector and individual artists would add billions of dollars to complete the picture of the full economic impact of Minnesota’s creative industries. In fact, an additional new study into the economic impact of individual artists is currently being conducted that will be released in March, 2007.

CULTURAL TOURISM A DRAW IN THE TWIN CITIES

“Arts and entertainment clearly are economic drivers in downtown Saint Paul, which is in the enviable position of having world-class facilities where world-class performing arts organizations present a diverse array of cultural offerings,” said Bob Senkler, Chairman, President and CEO, Securian Financial Group. “Because of the vibrancy of our local entertainment industry, residential and commercial developments Aaron the rise in Saint Paul’s central business district.”

An astonishing 58% of St. Paul’s audiences come from outside the city. In Minneapolis, it’s 55%. The arts are also a draw for both national and international tourism. The study found that overall, 12 percent of Minnesota’s arts and culture audiences come from outside of the state, spending an average of $44.82 per person at each arts event, capturing a total of $77,465,531 in new audience spending for Minnesota’s economy.

The average audience member in Minneapolis spends $20.40 per person per event on such things as food, beverages, transportation and hotels, excluding the cost of the ticket. The average audience member in St. Paul spends slightly more, at $22.83.

Minnesota is especially attractive to families with children who are interested in educational and fun hands-on activities. Cultural tourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry, up 13 percent between 1996 and 2002, according to the Travel Industry Association of America. (www.tia.org/index.html) Cultural travelers also spend more money - $631 vs. $457, and stay longer – one to three more nights, than other travelers. They are hungry to have authentic and interesting experiences in the places they visit. On average, they schedule five cultural activities per trip.

LOTS OF JOBS

According to the new studies, Minneapolis’s arts and culture organizations support 8683 jobs, while St. Paul’s support 8205. Statewide, the earlier studies found that the jobs supported by the arts and culture number 22,095, meaning that just under one percent of all of the jobs in Minnesota are in the nonprofit creative industries, including designers to curators, electricians to administrators, and musicians to touring artists.

The number of jobs supported by these nonprofit arts organizations dwarf the statewide jobs created by other important Minnesota industries such as mining (5,207), highway, street and bridge construction (5,538) and veterinary services (4,894), according to figures from the U.S. Census 2003 County Business Patterns, NAICS. (www.census.gov/epcd/cbp/view/cbpview.htm).

A 2001 report by the National Governor’s Association Center for Best Practices, stated “If states intend to build their economies on the jobs of the future and improve rural communities…they must cultivate a creative workforce and attract arts-based businesses.” (www.nga.org/portal/site/nga) The high number of jobs in the creative industries in Minneapolis and St. Paul are coveted by other metro areas working to increase their numbers of knowledge workers and cultural “creatives,” which are so important to fueling the economic expansion in the New Economy.

STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVENUES: OVER $94 MILLION

Cultural workers are taxpayers too, so the arts are a smart public investment. Revenue generated to St. Paul’s local government was $7.4 million per year, and revenue generated to Minneapolis’s local government was $7.9 million per year. The statewide study found $21 million in local government revenues and $73 million in state government revenues, for a total of $94 million in total government revenues from nonprofit arts and culture.

AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHICS

Demographic information was also collected from arts and culture attendees. We find that the state’s 14.5 million annual attendees are from all age ranges, and all education levels:
• Minneapolis and St. Paul had slightly younger audiences than the rest of the state, with about 21% under age 34. Statewide, only 13% are under age 34, 41% are between the ages of 35 and 54, and 45% age 55 or older.
• Minneapolis and St. Paul audiences had more people with higher level degrees, comprising about 36% of their audiences. In comparison, 21% of statewide audiences had a high school degree or less education with 23% having a Masters or Doctoral Degree.
• As for household income, and this goes against common wisdom, in Minneapolis and St. Paul about 40% of audiences reported an annual household income under $60,000 per year, and 32% reported an annual household income of over $100,000 per year. Statewide, it was 47% and 18%, respectively. Participation in the arts and culture appears to be a middle class pursuit in the Twin Cities as it is in the state as a whole.

REPORTING ECONOMIC IMPACTS

This second round of analysis of just the two largest cities was sponsored by the Arts and Culture Partnership of St. Paul and the City of Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development- Planning Division.

The Arts: A Driving Force in Minnesota’s Economy (2006), the most comprehensive statewide economic impact study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry ever conducted in Minnesota, was conducted by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, Americans for the Arts, and the Forum of Regional Arts Councils of Minnesota and was funded primarily by The McKnight Foundation. The original report includes eleven regional studies and one statewide report that provides an aggregate view of arts economic activity across Minnesota from rural communities, to small towns and urban areas of the state. The research found that every region of the state had over $1 million in economic impact, no matter how rural. That study also found that the Seven County Metro’s nonprofit arts industry is 2 1/2 times larger than similar population centers studied such as Houston, TX, Miami-Dade, FL, and St. Louis, MO.

Statewide, researchers surveyed nonprofit arts and culture organizations, including theaters, museums, galleries, historic sites and societies, local arts councils, festivals, dance companies, literary groups, public art projects, folklife and humanities organizations from every corner of the state. Organizations were surveyed about their 2004 budgets, and the audience surveys were conducted in all regions of the state between February and October 2005. The final statewide reports relied on 6889 completed audience surveys and 428 budget surveys filled out by the organizations statewide.

Copies of all fourteen reports (the statewide, eleven regional, and two cities) are available for downloading from MCA’s website for free at www.mtn.org/mca.

NEXT STEPS

Minnesota Citizens for the Arts is working with a variety of partners on a series of studies of the arts in Minnesota. The next phase of research is already underway. That new study, a collaboration of MCA, Springboard for the Arts and the Minnesota Crafts Council, will report on the economic impact of individual artists in Minnesota, as well as include a look at artists’ access to health care and retirement plans. The new report, called Artists Count! will be released in March 2007, and is also primarily funded by The McKnight Foundation.

BACKGROUND ON STUDY PARTNERS

Minnesota Citizens for the Arts is a statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts. MCA organizes the arts community and lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress on issues pertaining to the nonprofit arts and conducts original research. MCA works with over 32,000 arts advocates in Minnesota. For more information on MCA, this project or other statistics about the arts in Minnesota, please contact MCA Executive Director Sheila Smith at 651-251-0868, by email at she-mca@mtn.org, or view MCA’s website: www.mtn.org/mca.

This statewide project is a collaboration of the Forum of Regional Arts Councils (RAC Forum) and Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA), principle partners, with major funding provided by The McKnight Foundation. Additional partners include the Twin Cities Performing Arts Research Coalition (PARC) project funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, Minnesota Arts Communicators and Customgraphix. The original yearlong study was managed by MCA, while each of the state’s eleven Regional Arts Councils coordinated audience surveys and the data release events in their own regions. Americans for the Arts, the project’s national partner, created the economic models for the study for each region, each city, and for the statewide study, and provided secure web-based surveying tools. This second round of analysis of just the two largest cities was sponsored by the Arts and Culture Partnership of St. Paul and the City of Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development- Planning Division from data collected for the previous twelve studies.

The Forum of Regional Arts Councils of Minnesota serves as the voice of and advocate for small arts organizations and community-based arts activities throughout Minnesota by working in partnership with the Minnesota State Arts Board, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts and others. The Forum’s Chair is Leslie Schumacher in St. Cloud, 320-968-4290.

The Arts And Culture Partnership of St. Paul strengthens arts and cultural organizations in Saint Paul through marketing, advocacy and securing public and private funding. By working together through the membership of the Arts & Culture Partnership, St. Paul organizations are able to put forth a cohesive front and accomplish universal goals. ACP helps ensure that the arts and cultural community in Saint Paul has an active and resonant voice on all critical public and private issues. It also captures the natural potential synergies that exist for joint marketing and funding for support of joint marketing activities. The Arts & Culture Partnership of St. Paul may be reached at 651-292-3259 or acp@stpaulculture.com. Events are listed on the ACP webiste at www.stpaulculture.com.

The City of Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development / Planning Division promotes and advances the City’s planning and community development goals through strategic partnerships and responsible management of resources. The Planning Division provides staff support for the Minneapolis Arts Commission whose goal is to strengthen the arts and enrich cultural life in Minneapolis, and the Arts and Culture Coordinating Committee whose goal is to implement the Minneapolis Plan for Arts and Culture.

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2. Some Campuses Still Need Arts Leaders

You or your student can be a part of making Minnesota a better place for the arts! Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, a nonprofit organization that lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature for arts funding, seeks a student contact from each major college campus in Minnesota to be a Campus Arts Advocate. This position allows students from campuses across the state to organize their peers to get involved with our Arts Advocacy Day at the Capitol in early March.

MCA would like at least one representative from each major college campus in Minnesota, and these schools still need their Campus Arts Advocate;
• Bemidji State
• Carleton College
• College of St. Scholastica
• Concordia Moorhead
• MN State, Mankato
• St. Cloud State
• University of St. Thomas

If you have could share with us any contacts for students involved in theatre, music, arts or poli-sci programs at these schools who you think would be interested in this program, we would be very appreciative. Thank you very much for your time. Sincerely, Erinn Liebhard MCA Intern (651) 251-0868.

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http://www.mtn.org/mca

Your frequently updated, one-stop site for:

• information about Minnesota Citizens for the Arts,
• how you can get involved,
• an Action Center called the DESKTOP LOBBYIST where you can write a letter to your legislator
• or even find out who your legislators are,
• facts about the arts in Minnesota,
• the latest on legislative and congressional action on arts issues
• And more!

Join Our Arts Advocacy Family

MCA is funded entirely by the dues of its members. Do you appreciate receiving up to the minute news on the fate of the arts in the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress? We could not provide Arts Alerts if it weren’t for the wonderful and committed arts advocates who show their commitment by joining MCA. You can join by printing out the membership form on our website at http://www.mtn.org/mca. Individual dues are just $30, and a household membership is just $40. Thank you!

MCA values your privacy, and will not sell or distribute your personal information to anyone.

MCA is a non-partisan statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts. MCA organizes the arts community and lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress on issues pertaining to the nonprofit arts. If you are interested in learning more about how to advocate for the arts, or how to activate people in your arts organization or community to lobby for the arts, please call us at 651-251-0868 or e-mail mca@mtn.org.

State arts funding supports access to the arts for all Minnesotans. The state-funded Minnesota State Arts Board and eleven Regional Arts Councils provide grants and services in every Minnesota county for artists, arts organizations, arts projects and school artist residencies. For more information on regional or state grants, go to http://www.arts.state.mn.us/racs/index.htm

1/1/07

Minnesota Citizens for the Arts
and
The Mayors of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Invite you to a press conference where you will learn about:

Two New Studies

Which Show St. Paul and Minneapolis
Both Have Strong Arts and Culture Industries
That are Driving Forces in Minnesota’s Economy

When: 9:30 a.m., Thursday, January 11, 2007.

Who: The press conference will be led by St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Minneapolis Mayor R. T. Rybak, who will release two new economic impact studies of the arts and culture for their respective cities. It will also include a brief presentation of the new study results by Sheila Smith, Executive Director of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts and the other partners.

Where: The Children’s Museum in St. Paul 10 West Seventh Street, St. Paul (Park in the Children’s Museum ramp and get a coupon for reduced parking).

Hosts: Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, the St. Paul Arts and Culture Partnership, and the City of Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development Planning Division.

PLEASE RSVP to Mark Albers at MCA, 651-251-0868 or field@mtn.org.

For other information, please contact: Sheila Smith, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts Executive Director, 651-251-0868 / she-mca@mtn.org

NOTE: “The Arts, A Driving Force in Minnesota’s Economy,” is a series of twelve statewide and regional reports on the economic impact of the arts in Minnesota released in 2006. Today’s presentation will be on two new reports derived from the data originally collected for the previous study. This second round of analysis of just the two largest cities was sponsored by the Arts and Culture Partnership of St. Paul and the City of Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development- Planning Division from data collected for the previous twelve studies.

The original twelve reports were a collaboration of the Forum of Regional Arts Councils (RAC Forum) and Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA), principle partners, with major funding provided by The McKnight Foundation. Additional partners include the Twin Cities Performing Arts Research Coalition (PARC) project funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, Minnesota Arts Communicators and Customgraphix. The original year-long study was managed by MCA, while each of the state’s eleven Regional Arts Councils coordinated audience surveys and the data release events in their own regions. Americans for the Arts, the project’s national partner, created the economic models for the study for each region, each city, and for the statewide study, and provided secure web-based surveying tools.

You may be interested to know that Minnesota Citizens for the Arts is working with a variety of partners on a series of studies of the arts in Minnesota. The next phase of research is already underway. That new study, a collaboration of MCA, Springboard for the Arts and the Minnesota Crafts Council, will report on the economic impact of individual artists in Minnesota, as well as include a look at artists’ access to health care and retirement plans. The new report, called Artists Count! will be released in March 2007 at Arts Advocacy Day, and is also primarily funded by The McKnight Foundation.

——————————————————-

http://www.mtn.org/mca

Your frequently updated, one-stop site for:

• information about Minnesota Citizens for the Arts,
• how you can get involved,
• an Action Center called the DESKTOP LOBBYIST where you can write a letter to your legislator
• or even find out who your legislators are,
• facts about the arts in Minnesota,
• the latest on legislative and congressional action on arts issues
• And more!

Join Our Arts Advocacy Family

MCA is funded entirely by the dues of its members. Do you appreciate receiving up to the minute news on the fate of the arts in the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress? We could not provide Arts Alerts if it weren’t for the wonderful and committed arts advocates who show their commitment by joining MCA. You can join by printing out the membership form on our website at http://www.mtn.org/mca. Individual dues are just $30, and a household membership is just $40. Thank you!

MCA values your privacy, and will not sell or distribute your personal information to anyone.

MCA is a non-partisan statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts. MCA organizes the arts community and lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress on issues pertaining to the nonprofit arts. If you are interested in learning more about how to advocate for the arts, or how to activate people in your arts organization or community to lobby for the arts, please call us at 651-251-0868 or e-mail mca@mtn.org.

State arts funding supports access to the arts for all Minnesotans. The state-funded Minnesota State Arts Board and eleven Regional Arts Councils provide grants and services in every Minnesota county for artists, arts organizations, arts projects and school artist residencies. For more information on regional or state grants, go to http://www.arts.state.mn.us/racs/index.htm

1/1/07

1. New Senate Leadership Make Arts A Priority

2. MCA Honors New Arts All Stars

3. Campus Arts Advocates

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1. New Senate Leadership Make Arts A Priority

The Minnesota legislative session began with a bang yesterday as the Senate leadership outlined its priorities for the year. Among it’s top six priority items was, “Dedicating funding for the outdoors, the arts and humanities.” Their announcement went on to say that “Some matters are of such great importance to the heritage and future of our state that dedicated funding should be set aside to assure their viability for future generations. The Senate will also place the question of constitutionally dedicating 3/8ths of one percent of the sales tax for fish and wildlife, parks, trails, clean water, the arts and humanities.” Senator Tarryl Clark of St. Cloud said the initiatives “aim to put Minnesota on a stable, sustainable long-term path for growth.”

Today the bill was introduced as Senate File 6. The chief author of the bill is the new Majority Leader of the Senate, Larry Pogemiller. Co-authors on the bill include Senators Frederickson, Cohen, Chaudhary and Anderson. Other versions of the bill that either include or exclude the arts are expected to be introduced in both the House and Senate soon.

In addition to this bill, MCA will be leading the effort to restore the cuts made to arts funding in 2003, when a third of the funding was lost, causing job losses and cut programming across the state. The funding in both of these bills would go to the Minnesota State Arts Board and Regional Arts Councils, and go out from there as grants in every county of Minnesota to ensure that all citizens have access to the arts. Stay tuned as we gear up for this important task. As an FYI, the date of Arts Advocacy Day has not yet been set as we are waiting for legislative leaders to set their schedule for this session. We will let you know the date as soon as we can, because with all of these important arts initiatives in play it will be vitally important to have many arts advocates as possible at the capitol this year!

A NEW LEGISLATURE:

There have been a lot of changes in the Minnesota legislature and many of them have the potential to benefit the arts. The biggest change in Minnesota politics will be that Democrats now have a majority in the House. This means new leaders and committee chairs. The good news is that the new Speaker of the House, Rep. Margaret Anderson-Kelliher, was awarded an Arts All Star for her tireless work on behalf of the arts in the last legislative session. The new House Majority Leader, Tony Sertich, is also a friend of the arts. Among many friends of the arts who are returning is Arts All Star Rep. Ron Erhardt. Of the 134 candidates elected to the Minnesota House, 59% responded to our legislative survey, and 99% of respondents stated they supported increased arts funding.

The Chairman of the committee overseeing arts funding in the House will be chaired by Rep. Mike Jaros. The members of this committee have now been named. They are Representatives Paul Gardner, Dean Urdahl, Burce Anderson, David Bly, Matt Dean, Kent Eken, Sheldon Johnson, Phyllis Kahn, Carolyn Laine, Shelley Madore, Bud Nornes, Neil W. Peterson, Brita Sailer, Lyndon Carlson and Loren Solberg.

The Senate continues to be held by the Democrats, who increased their position by a few seats. New leaders were elected due to the unfortunate loss of (Arts All Star) Majority Leader Dean Johnson. The good news is that the new Senate Majority Leader, Senator Larry Pogemiller, was also an Arts All Star awardee this year. Arts All Star Senator Richard Cohen will continue as the Chair of the Finance Committee. The new Minority Leader of the Senate, David Senjem is also an enthusiastic arts supporter. Among many friends of the arts who are returning are Arts All Stars Sen. Scott Dibble and Sen. Dennis Frederickson. We look forward to working with both the new legislators and new legislative leaders on behalf of the arts. Of the 67 candidates elected to the Minnesota Senate, 55% responded to our legislative survey, and 97% of the respondents stated that they supported increased arts funding.

The Chairman of the committee overseeing arts funding in the Senate will be chaired by Sen. David Tomassoni. The members of this committee have now been named. They are Senators Dan Sparks, Amy Koch, Richard Cohen, Scott Dibble, Michelle Fischbach, Gary Kubly, James Metzen, Mary Olson, Julianne Ortman, Pat Pariseau, Tom Saxhaug, and Ray Vandeveer.

All in all, about a fourth of the state’s legislators will be new. This means that we have a lot of work to do to educate these folks about the arts in their districts.

NEW STATE SURPLUS MAY HELP:
While we are thrilled that so many Arts All Stars have become leaders in both houses which should be helpful to the arts, the financial condition of the state continues to be worrisome. Because of large cuts to education, local government aids and health care in the past couple of years there is a huge pent up demand for increased spending. We will be working to improve conditions for the arts in an environment where many issues will be competing for funds. However, having so many arts friends on the political stage will be wonderful. It is also helpful that the state has announced a surplus, which all sides of the political debate expect will go to address some of the pent up needs of these many issues.

THE NATIONAL PICTURE:
Changes in Minnesota are reflected on the national level where Democrats will be the majority in both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. Our national partners Americans for the Arts believe that this should somewhat improve the chances for arts initiatives, although budget pressures also continue on the federal level. AFTA gives out letter grades to members of Congress. We are glad to see that four arts advocates, Reps. McCollum (A+), Oberstar, (A) Ramstad (A+), and Peterson (B) were returned to Congress.

New Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar is a great friend of the arts and in fact was endorsed by the Americans for the Arts PAC. Of the three new members we are sending to Congress, two, Rep. Walz (southern MN) and Rep. Ellison (Mpls.) have the potential to be supportive of the arts. We look forward to working with our entire Minnesota delegation on national arts issues.

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2. MCA Honors Two More Arts All Stars

Senator Keith Langseth (D – Moorhead) and Representative Morrie Lanning ( R- Moorhead) each received a 2006 Arts All Star Award from Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA) at the Rourke Art Museum in Moorhead on December 14. The award was in recognition of Senator Langseth and Representative Lanning’s support of the arts in the 2006 legislative session and represents two of only fourteen Arts All Star Awards presented by MCA.

Sheila Smith, Executive Director of MCA said, “This area is extremely fortunate in being represented by two legislators who both understand the importance of the arts to their communities.”

Over fifty constituents from all over the ninth legislative district attended the reception, hosted by the Rourke Art Museum. “The turnout tonight is a positive indication of how much the arts mean to people in the area,” said Maxine Adams, director of the Lake Region Arts Council.

During the reception Smith spoke of how important Representative Lanning was to the arts,“Representative Lanning is one of the strongest supporters of the arts and is considered a rising star at the state legislature and his star continues to ascend.” Smith also went on to speak about the importance of Senator Langseth, “Senator Keith Langseth is a hero for the arts. He is truly a legislative lion, who has gone out of his way to support both the arts appropriation and arts bonding projects.”

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3. Campus Arts Advocates

MCA is in the process of organizing the 2007 Campus Arts Advocate program. Our new Campus Organizing Intern will be networking with arts advocates on Minnesota’s college campuses and helping students to get to Arts Advocacy Day in March, 2007. Are you a student who would like to learn more about getting involved? Would you like to be the Lead Arts Advocate on your campus? It’s fun and not too much work. Send an email to field@mtn.org and we’ll connect you to the new organizer. Be a part of the action!

——————————————————-

http://www.mtn.org/mca

Your frequently updated, one-stop site for:

• information about Minnesota Citizens for the Arts,
• how you can get involved,
• an Action Center called the DESKTOP LOBBYIST where you can write a letter to your legislator
• or even find out who your legislators are,
• facts about the arts in Minnesota,
• the latest on legislative and congressional action on arts issues
• And more!

Join Our Arts Advocacy Family

MCA is funded entirely by the dues of its members. Do you appreciate receiving up to the minute news on the fate of the arts in the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress? We could not provide Arts Alerts if it weren’t for the wonderful and committed arts advocates who show their commitment by joining MCA. You can join by printing out the membership form on our website at http://www.mtn.org/mca. Individual dues are just $30, and a household membership is just $40. Thank you!

MCA values your privacy, and will not sell or distribute your personal information to anyone.

MCA is a non-partisan statewide arts advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure opportunity for all people to have access to and involvement in the arts. MCA organizes the arts community and lobbies the Minnesota State Legislature and Congress on issues pertaining to the nonprofit arts. If you are interested in learning more about how to advocate for the arts, or how to activate people in your arts organization or community to lobby for the arts, please call us at 651-251-0868 or e-mail mca@mtn.org.

State arts funding supports access to the arts for all Minnesotans. The state-funded Minnesota State Arts Board and eleven Regional Arts Councils provide grants and services in every Minnesota county for artists, arts organizations, arts projects and school artist residencies. For more information on regional or state grants, go to http://www.arts.state.mn.us/racs/index.htm