In the annual rollercoaster debate over funding for arts and cultural organizations, the Florida legislature has allocated more money than last year, but it has left questions about how and where the funds will be distributed.

The $114.5 billion budget was approved by lawmakers May 29 now awaits a signature from Gov. Ron DeSantis, who could still veto a chunk of arts spending, as he did two years ago.

The budget provides $20 million in programming support, less than half of the $51 million recommended by the Florida Council on Arts and Culture to fully fund grants for 563 non-profit organizations. Of that, $12.4 million will be divided among 121 arts and culture organizations that were included on a list of recommendations by Secretary of State Cord Byrd. That list includes just seven organizations in Sarasota County, compared with 11 last year.

The rest, about $7.5 million, was set aside to provide funds for other groups recommended by the Florida Council, but observers said there is no clarity about which organizations or programs will receive money or how much.

Last year, the state awarded $15.8 million for cultural and museum grants shared among organizations that received a score of 95 points or higher out of a possible 100, as determined by panels in a variety of arts fields. Another $1.5 million was set aside for a secondary list of lower-ranked groups, and $1 million was approved to fund programs associated with this year’s America 250 celebration. The total last year was $18.3 million.

To determine how funds will be shared this year from the $7.5 million, the legislature calls on the Department of State to “submit a second recommended list of projects from the ranked list by the Florida Council on Arts and Culture for items that were excluded from the Secretary’s initial recommendation.”

“We don’t know yet who will get that money or how that list will be put together,” said Jennifer Jones, executive director of the Florida Cultural Alliance, which lobbies for arts and culture organizations. “But altogether there’s a little more money than there was last year and that’s a good thing.”

While appreciative of the increased funding, Jones said the lack of grants for many organizations “can have a damaging effect on how they can serve their community. We’d like to see as many organizations funded as they can, at a healthy enough percentage so that it’s meaningful to their operations.”

Seven organizations from Sarasota County are included on the initial list of 121. Asolo Repertory Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre, Sarasota Ballet of Florida, the Hermitage Artist Retreat and The Venice Symphony are slated to receive $150,000 each. The contemporary music group ensembleNEWSRQ would receive $40,000 and the Sarasota Pops Orchestra (formally known as the Pops Orchestra of Bradenton and Sarasota) could receive $90,000. The amounts are based on organizational budget size and the scope of the application.

Another 19 organizations in Sarasota that were vetted and recommended by the Florida Council will have to wait, along with hundreds of others across the state, to see if they will get a share of the remaining $7.5 million. Among the Sarasota County groups awaiting potential grants are such major organizations as Sarasota Orchestra, Sarasota Opera, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, Embracing Our Differences, Selby Botanical Gardens, Venice Theatre and Sarasota Players. Each qualified through the application process for $150,0000.

Five organizations in Manatee County and two in Charlotte County were also left off the initial list.

“We are disappointed with the outcome and how few of the organizations in Sarasota are slated to receive funding,” said Brian Hersh, CEO of the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County. “Arts and culture is a crucial part of Sarasota County, serving our community and visitors. As a sector, we would much rather see funding reaching more organizations as this is the third year in a row many will face without this important support.”

Rebecca Hopkins, managing director of Florida Studio Theatre said, “Florida used to be a leader in arts funding. We’d like to see us go back to that. We’re a big economic driver, particularly in the Sarasota-Manatee area. We’re the reason people want to live here and quality of life does matter.”

It is important for the state to support the arts because “all these studies are backing how important the arts are to breaking down divisiveness, bringing communities together, supporting mental health,” Hopkins said. “Even children going to see multiple arts experiences improves their capabilities to navigate disagreements.”

The legislature did approve slightly more than $3 million in the Culture Builds Florida category, which provides grants of $25,000 or less to smaller organizations and individual artists. That’s about eight times more than last year’s budget.

As in recent years, no money was provided for Cultural Endowments grants, to help organizations build their financial stability, or the Cultural Facilities grants, to help with building projects.

However, millions of dollars for facilities and program support were set aside for specific projects favored by individual legislators. These projects are known as “sprinkles” and are usually added at the last minute of the budget process. 

The budget includes $6.6 million for specific cultural and museum grants, and $38.3 million to support building and expansion projects. The largest grants include $9.5 million for a new library in Hardee County, $8 million for the Village of Indiantown Seminole Inn and Seminole Tribe Museum, and nearly $5 million for the Hillsborough County African American Arts and Cultural Center. 

Venice Theatre, still rebuilding after its mainstage was destroyed in Hurricane Ian in 2022, will receive $250,000 toward turning its temporary Raymond Center theater into a long-planned education facility.

The governor, with line item veto power, could cut any of these individual grants.

The legislative budget suggests changes are needed in the application process, Hopkins said.

“We are grateful for getting money and that they are funding arts and culture. We’re not in that world anymore where they’re trying not to fund us,” she said. “But it’s the chaos of the last couple of years that makes it difficult.”

Last year, she noted, organizations that received ratings of 95 points or higher were funded. That’s not necessarily the case with the Secretary of State’s list of 121 organizations this year.

In Sarasota County, for example, Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota had a ranking of 97.5, Embracing our Differences had a ranking of 96 and the Sarasota Film Festival was ranked at 95.5. None were on the the secretary’s list, even though their scores were higher or equal to the 95.5 received by The Pops Orchestra.

The rankings are determined by advisory panels that evaluate organizations in different categories, including music, theater, museums and more.

“There were only two people on my panel and two people is not a panel. You should at least have four or five,” Hopkins said. “If you’ve got a two-person panel, one person going one way or the other can swing the whole panel. If the music panel is particularly harsh, they can end up knocking out every music-driven organization because maybe the visual arts panel scored higher.”

Hopkins hopes there will be some clarification or resetting of the application process before organizations start submitting requests for the 2027-28 budget year.

“If you want to change the scoring rubric so that you need a 90 instead of an 80 to qualify, then that’s the application process. If you’re above this level, you’ll get funded,” she said.

But politics could also play a part in final decisions from the Department of State on what organizations get funding. Applications state that grants should “further the State’s cultural objectives,” though those objectives are not clearly stated.

“If there’s a type of programming they’re not going to fund, spell it out, so at least those organizations don’t apply,” Hopkins said.