August 15, 2016, Florida Cultural Alliance Agenda and Materials
for Advocacy and Information-to-Use Statewide Conference Call

August 15, 2016, Advocacy & Information-to-Use Statewide Conference Call Agenda and Details

Thank you for registering to participate on this month's statewide call organized by the Florida Cultural Alliance (FCA). Each month, FCA organizes these calls to keep you informed and engaged in state and federal issues and other information that matter to you and Florida's arts, arts education, and culture industry.

Here is a list of today's registered participants on this call.

Many thanks to our guest speaker:

Ryan Stubbs is the research director for the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. Ryan will share with us where Florida stands in relationship to other states' investments in their state arts agencies' grants programs.

He will refer to two links where you may find detailed information on what he will share with you:

1. http://www.nasaa-arts.org/Research/Funding/index.php

2. http://www.nasaa-arts.org/Research/Grant-Making/index.php

3. Questions he will answer for us -- some on today's call; others, before the end of this month. What questions do you want to add?

Please engage in the 2016 Elections. Those elected will make funding policies and other policies that impact Florida's arts, arts education, and culture industries:

2.a. 2016 Elections Calendar

2.b. 2016 Voter Registration Guide

2.c. 2016 Voter Registration Form

2.d. Candidates' Campaign Finance Information

2.e. Florida Division of Elections

2.f. Your Supervisor of Elections

2.g. Here is the document that Marian Johnson from the Florida Chamber shared with us on our June statewide call regarding this year's elections.

2.h. Arts Action Fund Arts Speak at the 2016 Political Conventions

Reach out to your Florida Senate and House of Representative candidates and engage them. Ask them to please participate in learning about and sharing their views on four arts and culture issues that matter to you:

3.a. What are the four issues covered in this 2016 Florida Legislative Arts & Culture Candidates' Survey?

We encourage you, and ask you to encourage your candidates to read the background information first before they complete this easy-and-quick online survey.

3.b. Who are your Florida Legislative candidates that represent the districts for your county?

Go here to review Florida House, Senate, and U.S. Congressional candidates running to represent your county in either the Florida Legislature or U.S. House.

3.c. Did your candidates respond to the survey?

Those district numbers highlighted in dark orange on this Excel file represent those candidates who have responded, as of 8-11-16, to the candidates' survey. Their responses will be posted here before our Monday call; and as candidates complete the survey, their responses will be added to this web page.

If your candidates have completed the survey, reach out to them and thank them for their time and for sharing their views on these four issues.

If they have not completed the survey, please follow up with them NOW to ask them to please learn about the four issues that matter to you and Florida's arts and culture industry, and to quickly and easily respond to four statements related to the issues.

You can easily send them to the survey link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7ZG6T2W

3.d. Questions to Ask Congressional Candidates from Americans for the Arts

Florida PAC for Arts & Culture has made 24 campaign contributions that total $18,000 to candidates.

     Thanks to a fund raiser in Miami in partnership with Americans for the Arts Action Fund, the hard work of Florida Cultural Alliance board members, and others throughout the state who contributed and secured contributions from friends and colleagues for the Florida PAC for Arts & Culture (FPAC), FPAC has been able to make 24 campaign contributions to 2016 Florida Legislative candidates.

     The FPAC would like to make some additional Florida Legislative-campaign contributions before this year's general election, but it must have contributions from you and others to make that possible. The Florida PAC for Arts & Culture is a separate entity from FCA, but FCA works in partnership with FPAC.

     Please make a contribution to FPAC -- you can safely make a contribution online here.

We also encourage you to make a contribution to the national Arts Action Fund PAC. It makes campaign contributions to congressional candidates, some based in Florida. FPAC can only make Florida Legislative-candidate campaign contributions.

Other Issues and News:

5.a. Take two minutes now to easily communicate to Florida's two U.S. Senators and your member of the U.S. House to support at least $150 million for the National Endowment for the Arts. Go here to take action. History of NEA appropriations.

5.b. Have you joined the Americans for the Arts Action Fund? Please add you name to arts advocates from throughout the U.S. to demonstrate that there are millions of us who care about arts, arts education, and culture. Join free here.

5.c. Members of Congress are back in their home states through September 2 and then back again in their home states during October. It's a perfect time to invite them to one or more of your events so they experience first hand the value of Florida's arts, arts education, and culture programs. Americans for the Arts created an easy email link that you can use, edit, and invite your member of Congress to one or more of your events. We encourage you to participate.

5.d. Please join or renew your Florida Cultural Alliance (FCA) membership if your organization has not this year. FCA's statewide work is totally dependent upon annual membership dues. Thank you for your support.