A4N in 2008/2009

Arts4Nevada.org a success in 2008/2009

During the 2007 Nevada State Legislative session, Senator Michael Schneider (D-LV) sponsored a bill to increase the state’s public funding to the arts from 70 cents to  $1 per citizen through the Nevada Arts Council (NAC) to expand programs, services and grants to serve the cultural needs of communities statewide.

To support Senator Schneider’s efforts, the Board of the Nevada Arts Council joined with the Nevada Alliance for Arts Education, Nevada Arts Advocates, Nevada Citizens for the Arts and Estipona Group (a Reno-based marketing firm) to create Arts4Nevada.org. Designed as an electronic grassroots arts advocacy campaign, Arts4Nevada.org employs the online CAPWIZ system, which is used throughout the country to provide citizens with quick and easy access to their elected officials. More than 1,200 citizens communicated support for SB431 to the Legislature through Arts4Nevada.org by sending more than 5,600 electronic messages.

Nevada’s elected officials listened, and responded with an additional $425,000 to the Nevada Arts Council for the biennium ($212,500 for each of FY 08 and 09).

Board chairman Tim Jones commented, "We certainly hope our grantees and other Nevadans see that a concerted advocacy effort works – and that our elected officials see the value of their actions. With a very tight state budget, these gains are a great triumph for our citizens. Many thanks to the bill’s sponsor, Senator Michael Schneider (D-LV) and our advocacy groups; the Nevada Alliance for Arts Education, Nevada Arts Advocates and Nevada Citizens for the Arts."