The Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon is hiring a lobbyist.
Please submit your application for the lobbyist position no later than July 20, 2021.
Applications should include a cover letter and a resume (not to exceed 3 pages) and should be submitted to Sue Hildick, Senior Advisor at sue@oregonculture.org.
LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES FOR
THE CULUTRAL ADVOCACY COALITION OF OREGON – 2021
The Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon (CAC) is a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization formed by artists, organizational leaders and friends of the cultural sector in our state. We are statewide in membership and the primary advocate for increasing public support of the arts, heritage, and humanities in Oregon. We have over 350 members and are funded by individuals and organizations. Our budget supports a professional lobbyist representing us in state and federal matters of interest to our members. The Coalition establishes goals and objectives with respect to the government relations services we need for each state and federal legislative session. Our priorities generally include:
CONTINUED INVESTMENT IN CULTURAL INFRASTRCTURE. The State created the Cultural Resources Economic Fund in 2013 to allow the state to expand and strengthen cultural infrastructure by leveraging lottery bonds to invest in arts, heritage, and humanities projects. In recent years, legislators have also funded some of our smaller endorsed capital projects with General Fund dollars. We support continuation and growth of capital construction funding through lottery bonds or other means for projects within the cultural sector.
BUILD AND PROTECT THE OREGON CULTURAL TRUST. The CAC was formed in 1998 to lobby for legislation which created the Oregon Cultural Trust. Since that time the Coalition has lobbied to advance the Trust’s goal of supporting Oregon culture and building a $200 million Trust to fund Oregon arts, heritage and humanities for future generations. We continue to support the specially-designated license plate that generates funds to promote and market the Trust. We support the on-going reauthorization of the tax credit which funds the Trust, the transfer of funds from the sale of surplus state lands into the Trust and proposals which protect and build the Trust in support of its mission to preserve and expand access to arts, heritage and the humanities throughout Oregon. We oppose all legislation which may erode the corpus of the Trust or substantially reduce its opportunity for growth; as well as legislation which diverts funds or revenue sources currently dedicated to the growth of the Trust.
EXPAND OREGON’S INVESTMENT IN ITS CULTURAL AGENCIES AND PARTNERS. Increased state funding of cultural agencies and partners leverages the full potential of Oregon’s creative and cultural resources to attract and retain business, increase tourism, improve education and enrich the lives of Oregonians through greater opportunity to access meaningful experiences in the arts, heritage and the humanities, statewide. We advocate for robust grant budgets for the following statewide partners:
- Oregon Arts Commission (General Fund)
- Oregon Cultural Trust (Other Funds)
- State Historic Preservation Office and Heritage Commission (Lottery)
- Oregon Humanities (Cultural Trust Grant)
- Oregon Historical Society (General Fund)
We support sensible policy-based increases in allocations to these statewide agencies and partners to encourage innovation, build Oregon’s creative economy, preserve Oregon heritage and history, nurture civility, strengthen communities and support whole person health.
PROTECT TAX POLICIES WHICH ALLOW THE CULTURAL SECTOR TO SERVE ITS PUBLIC MISSION. While tax policy is an important tool to incent activity and fund government services, the nonprofit sector is a partner in the service of public policy goals and should be promoted and strengthened through tax policy where possible. We support the preservation of existing property tax exemptions for nonprofit organizations, as well as policies that incent charitable giving by individuals and business. We also support tax incentives for historical preservation and funding for Main Street Grants which promote and preserve our heritage. We oppose taxes which target transactions related to arts, heritage or the humanities.
ADVANCE EQUITY IN THE CULTURAL SECTOR AND ACCESS TO A WELL-ROUNDED ARTS EDUCATION FOR OREGON STUDENTS. The Coalition promotes equity and inclusion in all of its work and uses an equity lens to consider its practices and positions. Access to a quality arts education is central to a well-rounded education, which raises graduation rates, lowers absenteeism, and improves educational outcomes for low income and marginalized students. We are committed to advancing social and restorative justice through the cultural sector and seek to change symbols from the past like the Oregon State Song which don’t represent the rich diversity of our people. We support equitable access to arts education in Oregon’s K-12 classrooms through arts curriculum, arts integration and arts experiences as part of a well-rounded education.
General CAC Lobbyist Tasks:
- Inform specific state and federal legislative agenda annually with CAC leadership and review advocacy materials published by the organization for effectiveness.
- Establish and lead lobby coalitions as necessary to support CAC’s legislative agenda.
- Track partner agency appropriations and other legislation which may impact arts, culture, heritage and humanities, including adverse changes to Oregon’s Percent for Art law.
- With Executive Director, help support the CAC Capital Construction process conducted every other year.
- Participate in a grassroots Advocacy Day during the Session, including training attendees in lobbying best practices.
- Upon completion of session, draft content for a legislative session report.
- Participate in regular conference calls during Session to keep Board members up-to-date on legislative agenda progress and developing issues.
- Participate in regular conference calls with Executive Director, and prepare and present materials for board meetings upon request.
- Participate in meetings with partner organizations or other key stakeholders upon request.
- Desirable: Joint Ways and Means Committee, Revenue Committees, and key policy committee chairs, co-chairs, vice chairs and co-vice chairs connections and successful experiences.
Please submit your application for the lobbyist position no later than July 20, 2021.
Applications should include a cover letter and a resume (not to exceed 3 pages) and should be submitted to Sue Hildick, Senior Advisor at sue@oregonculture.org.