ArtPride works with elected officials, policy makers, community leaders, and collaborating partners to advance a public policy agenda that focuses on local, state, and federal issues of concern facing New Jersey's creative sector.
COVID-19 Related Policy Recommendations
This list of recommendations has been adopted by ArtPride's Board of Trustees and relates directly to arts advocacy needs from private and public sectors to support the state's arts community during the COVID-19 health crisis.
State Recommendations
- Support the New Jersey Arts & Culture Recovery Fund and inclusion of nonprofit arts in New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund
- Sustain New Jersey state appropriations at levels of A3101 ($31.9m for cultural projects) as proposed in the FY22 NJ State Budget.
- Support the equitable distribution of economic recovery or stimulus finds for arts, cultural and humanities across the spectrum of organizational budget size and communities served.
- Support New Jersey charitable deduction (S264/A496).
- Support reduction/elimination of New Jersey state payroll tax.
- Support continued inclusion of nonprofits, independent artists, and sole proprietors in EDA loan criteria.
- Support pandemic unemployment benefits for workers ineligible for state unemployment benefits, to provide essential support for self-employed workers in the arts and culture sector.
- Support the continued conversion of state government contracts and private foundation grants to general operating grants to mitigate earned revenue losses.
- Support A3844 that would instruct business insurance policies to consider emergency COVID public gathering restrictions as a covered business insurance claim.
- Support significant inclusion, and feature of, of arts and culture in any additional tourism and business promotional efforts launched during recovery.
Federal Recommendations
- Support increased relief funds for National Endowment for the Arts in future economic recovery and stimulus packages (currently at $75m from CARES Act).
- Support increase of universal charitable deduction (currently at $300 from CARES Act).
- Support continued inclusion of nonprofits, independent artists, and sole proprietors in SBA loan criteria.
- Support the continued conversion of federal government contracts and private foundation grants to general operating grants to mitigate earned revenue losses.
- Support pandemic unemployment benefits for workers ineligible for federal unemployment benefits, to provide essential support for self-employed workers in the arts and culture sector.
Public Policy Agenda
Arts Organizations
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Increase annual cultural project appropriations for the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and New Jersey Cultural Trust
- Maintain the New Jersey State Council on the Arts peer review panel process that assures impartiality & accountability
- Achieve sustainability through constitutionally dedicated state funding for arts, history, and tourism
- Preserve “Percent for Art” legislation that commissions public art in state buildings
- Dedicate state funds to maintain and preserve public art
Artists
- Encourage CREATE Acts that support artists, entrepreneurs, and the creative economy
- Support the Artist Fair Market Value Deduction's ability to deduct fair market value of art work on state/federal gross income tax returns
Art in Communities – Public Value & Solutions to Social Issues
- Conduct research on arts participation and economic activity (Arts in Economic Prosperity Studies)
- Establish Mayors Committee on Arts & Economic Development (NJ League Of Municipalities)
- Seek funding and professional development opportunities for arts in redevelopment (New Jersey Redevelopment Authority)
- Partner with the National Consortium on Creative Placemaking, Creative New Jersey, Sustainable Jersey
- Increase cultural tourism in New Jersey
- Encourage Cultural (Artist) Districts, cultural plan development, and arts inclusion in Municipal master plans
- Support Arts in Healthcare initiatives (Keep Jersey Arts Alive, Cultural Access Network) and Arts in the Military initiatives
Arts Education
- Promote the recommendations of the NJ Arts Education Census Project
- Support the Arts Ed Now campaign to increase student participation in the arts
- Advance STEM to STEAM arts integration initiatives
Individual Philanthropy
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Support deductions on NJ taxes for donation to all charitable nonprofit organizations
Have a question regarding our Public Policy Agenda? Contact Ann Marie Miller in our advocacy department.
Action Alerts Research Arts Advocacy Toolkit
“Policy requires action to reach implementation and permeate down into our communities and arts programs – at both the grassroot and the grasstop levels. Through advocacy, we push for policy changes to be reflected in our laws. If you are an arts professional, you know the transformative value of the arts and you realize the potential of creating polices across disciplines that include art components.” Americans for the Arts,
