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		Letters to Editor June 12, 2002 Letter © 2002 Susan Burack Published with Permission

Urgent request to support Michigan arts, culture

By Susan Burack, UP/Rural Arts coordinator
Michigan Association of Community Arts Agencies

Dear Upper Peninsula Arts and Culture Supporters,

If you have advocated for arts and culture before, please do it again. If you haven't, yet . . . now is the time . . .

Please see the message below for information about making important phone calls TODAY. These folks need to hear from us. Close to $1 million in arts and culture funding crosses the Mackinac Bridge. Each dollar is matched by cash and in kind and generates $24+ in multiplied funds. This is an enormous economic impact and does not even include Cultural Tourism.

In stressful times, we need the arts more than ever.

Even with increased funding for regranting in Fiscal Year 2002, there were twice as many requests for funding as there were funds available! Think about what will happen if that funding is cut 50%!

The largest consumer of our tax dollars is the prison system. If we funded more arts in education in the elementary schools, we'd be able to spend less on prisons . . .

Arts and culture are willing to take a percentage cut along with everyone else in state government, our fair share . . . Read how you can help. See the message below.

Susan Burack
UP/Rural Arts Coordinator
Michigan Association of Community Arts Agencies
126 Quincy Street
Hancock MI 49930
906/482-0227 or 800/368-9770
fax 906/482-0177

Message from George Orban, Director, Advocacy
ArtServe Michigan:

URGENT! WE NEED YOUR HELP! NOW!

It is absolutely urgent to make fast calls to the committee members today. It will be particularly effective if you know them. If you do not, don't let that stand in your way from letting them know the importance of maintaining arts funding.

House Members:

Marc Shulman (R) West Bloomfield (517) 373-1799; Toll Free (888) 496-4968 
Charles LaSata (R) St. Joseph (517) 373-1403; Toll Free (888) 656-0079
Patricia Lockwood (D) Fenton; (517) 373-1780; Toll Free (888) 236-8447

Senate Members:

Loren Bennett (R) Dearborn (517) 373-7350; Toll Free (800) 704-6299
Leon Stille (R) Muskegon (517) 373-1635; Toll Free (800) 378-4553
Joe Young, Jr. (D) Detroit (517) 373-7346; Toll Free (877)-YOUNG-01 
Leon Stille--Muskegon (517) 373-1635; Toll Free (800) 378-4553

PLEASE CALL THEM TO ASK THAT THEY RETHINK THIS EXTREME BUDGET CUT.

Call your State Senator and/or State Representative immediately and let them know that the arts are willing to take their fair share of budget cuts, but that a 50% cut in Arts and Cultural Grants is counter-productive to stimulating Michigan's economy and attracting new/expanded businesses (talking points listed below).

If you don't know who your legislators are, check the following web links:

http://www.house.state.mi.us/LocateRep.html#locate_rep  or http://www.senate.state.mi.us/SenatorInfo/find-your-senator.htm  (hint - in many cases, your Senate and House district number is printed on your voter registration card), or call George Orban at ArtServe's Lansing Office at 517.272.2336 or email at mailto:advocacy@artservemichigan.org. Here are some points you can mention in your call to your legislator or his/her staff person:

Support for the Arts and Culture is Good for Michigan!

•  A 2001 report by Wayne State University states that arts account for 6.5% of Michigan's total economic industry, more than the construction industry.
• Michigan's creative arts industry generates $4.4 billion annually in economic activity.
• The arts support over 40,000 jobs with an annual payroll of just over $1 billion.
• Michigan is home to over 3,000 arts and cultural organizations.
• Every dollar the state spends for arts is matched dollar-for-dollar by local funding, and every state dollar for the arts generates a return of ten dollars.
• A study by the National Endowment for the Arts shows that spending on performing arts events was roughly 1.6 times greater than spending on either admissions to movies or spectator sporting events.
• The Travel Industry Association of America reports that two-thirds of American adult travelers include a cultural, arts, heritage, or historic activity or event while on a trip of 50 miles or more from home
• A KPMG survey showed that quality of life ranked second amongst of private sector employees in importance in deciding where to look for a job (after salary but ahead of fringe benefits). Arts and culture are a significant part of quality of life in our state.
• There are numerous academically accepted studies that show that exposure to arts education has a direct positive impact on higher test scores, better overall grades, increasing spatial reasoning and verbal skills and reducing drop-out rates. The impact of arts education is even greater with at-risk youth.

 Many thanks for understanding the sense of urgency.

Editor's Note: Keweenaw Now thanks both Susan Burack of Hancock and Carol Rose of Keweenaw Krayons in Mohawk for informing us of this urgent need to support their efforts in promoting arts and culture in the Keweenaw Peninsula. To contact State Rep. Rich Brown, D-Bessemer (District 110), call (517) 373-0850 or email: richbrown@house.state.mi.us or email him through his Web site. Call State Senator Don Koivisto, D-Ironwood, at (517) 373-7840 or email him at sendkoivisto@senate.state.mi.us .

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