DCA CUTS

As we mentioned in our November 15 bulletin, the Mayor and the City Council have agreed on a reduction of the Cultural Affairs budget for the current fiscal year. Because the budget modification is retroactive to July 1, it presents extra challenges to an industry already buffeted by losses from all sources, from earned income to contributions.

The Mayor proposes a further 2 percent reduction for Fiscal 2004, and a possible cut of 30 percent to the Capital Budget.

Since the publication of that bulletin, we have received news that the City Council has restored some of the funding for the current year. We had hoped to publish an accurate breakdown of the restoration, but at press time we were not able to obtain definitive figures, so we will wait to publish them in a separate communication. Our understanding is that a restoration of up to $2.2 million has been made, including the elimination of reductions to Council add-ons in the current year.

These reductions will have a measurable impact. The Cultural Institutions Group has indicated that the cuts will lead to a loss of another 400 jobs, coming on top of losses of 400 jobs at the time the budget was adopted last summer. Other organizations will probably see similar lay-offs. Beyond jobs, the beginning of service and program reductions is already evident. Education programs will be the big loser among groups receiving Programs funds, an estimated 40 percent of which pays for education programs.

A reduction of 30 percent in the Capital Budget is of great concern to many organizations, which may see their capital funding deferred or eliminated. This will derail planning and construction and may jeopardize private funding for important projects.

This fiscal crisis will test the traditional partnership between the public and private sectors in funding cultural activity. Weakening that partnership by further erosion of government support could jeopardize the city's present and future goals--from returning to economic health to winning the 2012 Olympics.

Randall Bourscheidt
President, Alliance for the Arts

UPCOMING CAPITAL REPORT

The Alliance is conducting the first report of the magnitude and economic impact of capital spending in the cultural sector over the past 10 years, as well as an estimate of its impact in the future. The report--available early next month--also describes the importance of City capital investment in leveraging private funding. Capital appropriations grew rapidly in the last decade--the report Culture Counts sites a 600 percent increase from 1994 to 2000, for example. (These projects are threatened by the proposed 30 percent cut to the capital budget in January, 2003.) Funding for this study was provided by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the New York Building Congress and the Real Estate Board of New York.

ALLIANCE E-SURVEY: THE FINANCIAL CONDITION OF CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS

New York City's cultural sector is at a critical point as a result of simultaneous effects of the terrorist attack and the ongoing weakness in the economy. The resulting financial stress on cultural organizations has been studied by a variety of bodies, and commented on widely in the press, but there has not been a comprehensive analysis of the impact over time. Shortly, the Alliance will distribute a survey to the field to undertake this analysis. We urge all cultural organizations receiving the survey to complete it as soon as possible. This survey is made possible by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

ONLINE CULTURAL GIFT DIRECTORY

The Online Cultural Gift Directory is the Alliance's new, free service to the field which promotes gift and giving opportunities offered by New York City cultural organizations. Any 501(c)3 cultural organization in New York City is eligible to be listed. At press time, the Directory included over 250 organizations. For more information, please visit www.nyc-arts.org.

NYFA JOBS PROGRAM

The New York Foundation for the Arts has launched a pilot initiative called the Wage Subsidy Program for the Arts. Launched in collaboration with the Consortium of Worker Education, this program will survey the New York City cultural field to assess job layoffs and cutbacks, and provide subsidies for full and part-time positions for up to 13 weeks to organizations with 15 employees or fewer. For more information, please visit www.nyfa.org.