Case Study: Americans for the Arts saves $300M in federal arts & humanities funding with FiscalNote's VoterVoice

How Americans for the Arts Saved $300 Million in Federal Arts & Humanities Funding

Americans for the Arts, a national nonprofit representing local arts agencies and arts professionals, faced a 2017 federal budget proposal to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) — roughly $300 million in combined annual funding — and needed a fast, bipartisan way to persuade lawmakers to preserve those agencies.

They mounted a 14‑month, multi‑pronged campaign using FiscalNote’s VoterVoice to mobilize 365,000 activists, send 240,000 congressional emails, run targeted ads and local media outreach, train thousands of advocates, organize Hill days and petitions, and leverage celebrity and bipartisan support. The effort succeeded: Congress rejected elimination of the NEA and NEH and funding rose (including +$3M in FY2018 and +$2M in 2019), with further increases pursued in FY2020.

Americans For The Arts