SPEAK UP FOR THE ARTS
JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
PUBLIC SUPPORT MATTERS
WESTCHESTER COUNTY –
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE 2025 BUDGET PLANS
Westchester County has the potential to become the Creative Capital of New York State, but to get there our arts and cultural organizations need a strategic one-time boost from the county to get there and continue their post-pandemic recovery. The arts were among the sectors hardest-hit by COVID-19. Recovery to date has been uneven, with many organizations still struggling to return to pre-pandemic audience numbers. But there are powerful signals that the sector is growing despite COVID-19 and has the potential to emerge as a robust economic driver for the County. With a total economic impact of more than $182M, a 16.5% increase in creative workers moving into the region, and the relocation of film and streaming production to Westchester, the arts are on an upward trend that can only continue and be amplified with the County’s help.
Now is the moment for the County to invest in a future of a thriving creative economy and a diverse arts and cultural sector.
Westchester County funds enable ArtsWestchester to support arts and cultural activity throughout the county through competitive grant programs, provide county residents and visitors with information about cultural activities available in Westchester; and to provide arts education opportunities throughout the county.
In November 2024, Westchester County Executive George Latimer will announce the 2025 Executive budget. In advance of that announcement, the County will host several town hall open forums to invite input from the public on what is important to the residents of Westchester.
Please email grants@artswestchester.org with questions on how you can show your support, or if you plan to attend a budget hearing.
New york state council on the arts
We believe New York State—not only New York City—is the art state. New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) is the agency responsible for funding arts and culture throughout the state. In Westchester, NYSCA grants to arts and cultural organizations total more than $1 million each year. In addition, NYSCA’s Decentralization Program, which Arts Westchester regrants as Arts Alive awards, ensures that community-based arts activities are available and easily accessible.
national
Did you know that the Senate Appropriations Committee allocated an increase in funding to $209 million each for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in the FY’25 Interior Appropriations bill. That’s a $2 million increase above current FY’24 funding levels for each agency.*
Americans for the Arts reports that the Smithsonian Institution received a big increase in the Senate bill, bringing its FY’25 level to $1.1 billion.
Americans for the Arts defeated amendments in the House that attempted to make deep cuts to the NEA and NEH. Despite that, the overall funding level in the House-passed bill allocated only $203.895 million each to these cultural agencies. So the goal now is to get the House to agree to the Senate’s higher funding levels when they move into final conference negotiations.
You can help by visiting AFTA’s Arts Action Center to send an email to your House member thanking them for voting the right way on those amendments and asking them to agree to the Senate’s higher number. Additionally, you’ll be able to send an email to your Senators urging them to hold strong on the $209 million funding levels during conference negotiations.
You can also help by contributing to the Arts Action Fund’s arts advocacy efforts to continue these successful campaigns to advance the arts in America.
*As of July 25, 2025, Americans for the Arts
What you can do:
The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate will proceed with their annual appropriations process to reach a funding level that they believe these federal cultural agencies should receive. At last month’s National Arts Action Summit organized by Americans for the Arts, arts advocates asked Congress for a “substantial increase” for the NEA (See 2021 Congressional Arts Handbook.) In the coming weeks, we will be asking you to send timely e-messages to urge your Congressional delegation to match this substantial increase proposed by President Biden.