NEA announces spending of $50 million stimulus dollars to 631 organizations
As reported by the Americans for the Arts: The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced their direct grants as part of the $50 million federal economic stimulus recovery package. The NEA will distribute $29.775 million to 631 nonprofit arts groups nationwide. This is in addition to the 63 state and regional sub-grants previously awarded in April, totaling $19.8 million.
A complete list of the grants can be seen here.
Under the rules established by the NEA, 40% of the stimulus funds were distributed to State arts agencies and regional arts organizations and 60% to qualifying nonprofit organizations. The primary use of the funds is for job retention. The NEA provided a registration period for agencies to seek the funding, in blocks of $25,000 or $50,000.
So far, the funding seems to have avoided reigniting the culture wars of the 1990's when a handful of controversial funding choices were used as leverage to politicize the agency. Critics, however, will watch the spending of these dollars closely to see that they meet the federal guidelines. Others will scrutinize the activities of the recipients with an eye on the programming.
If the model proves successful, it could mean a return to legitimizing art expenditures and embracing a culture of excellence. If the recipients find themselves caught up in political controversies, however, it could lead to a new round of culture debates during the midterm elections.
For now, at least, the 631 agencies have a few more dollars and a bit of help during the continuing great recession.
