Donations: Arts organizations need us to give
Arts and festivals groups worried about the possible loss of much — or all — of their state funding in next year’s budget are likely working on a Plan B that will help them survive.
“It’s a big concern,” said Jane Irvine, executive director of arts education group Artsbridge.
New sources of revenue will not be enough to fill the hole lawmakers spent many years digging. Cuts will be necessary. And West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has made no secret he intends those cuts to affect some emotional-trigger targets, particularly if lawmakers do not bow to his wishes to further tax Mountain State families he once acknowledged could not afford another tax.
Most local arts organizations are already working hard to provide arts education and exposure to students left in the lurch when earlier rounds of cuts forced a reduction in the arts classes available in public schools. Abby Hayhurst, executive director of the Parkersburg Art Center, is correct that students do better in other areas of academic study when the arts are part of their education. But, “we can’t do it on zero money,” she said.
Mary Ann Osborne, who represents the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra in Parkersburg, provided yet another reminder: “We have to rely upon grants and donations,” she said.
Donations. Money from the men and women who value the arts and understand how important it is to our kids (and the rest of us); and money that is not filtered through state government in the form of tax dollars — in fact, money that is often tax deductible.
If you are the kind of person who believes cuts are necessary, and the arts, and arts education, should be funded privately then by all means, fund it. The same goes for the fairs and festivals we care about, but hope someone else will find a way to fund. If we want these incredibly important parts of our communities to survive, and we understand they cannot depend on taxpayer funding, there is no alternative but to give.
Giving does not necessarily mean the big checks from wealthy donors for which our local groups are always so grateful (and one or two more would not hurt anyone’s feelings). Five dollars here, ten dollars there, whatever one can afford — it all adds up, and could make a big difference, particularly as some of these organizations hold their own fund drives or participate in the upcoming Give Local MOV 2017 on May 2.
Some may believe they cannot afford to give much; but the Mid-Ohio Valley most certainly cannot afford the consequences should these organizations be forced to close their doors.