Community Advocacy Delivered

This year, the arts community showed up—and lawmakers listened. From an energized Advocacy Day at the Capitol to hundreds of emails, phone calls, and heartfelt testimonies throughout the session, Oregon’s arts supporters made their voices impossible to ignore. And it paid off.

Capital Investments across Oregon

One of the most exciting outcomes: full funding for all 13 projects recommended through the Cultural Resources Economic Fund(CREF). In total, $8.275 million will go to build, restore, and preserve beloved community spaces across the state—from Coos Bay to Bend, Jacksonville to Salem. These peer-reviewed projects, each ranging from $150,000 to $2 million, represent every corner of Oregon and will deliver long-term cultural and economic value to their regions.

“These 13 CREF projects represent more than bricks and mortar—they’re investments in the heart of our communities,” said Ginger Savage, who led the statewide CREF advocacy effort. “From rural towns to urban centers, these cultural spaces bring people together, tell our stories, and drive local economies. I’m incredibly proud that, even in a tough budget year, the legislature recognized the value of these projects and made a commitment to Oregon’s cultural future.”

Historic Preservation Incentives Reauthorized

In another major win, legislators reauthorized Oregon’s Special Assessment for Historic Properties program—a vital tax credit that had expired. The program encourages investment in historic buildings by providing a discounted tax assessment for ten years in exchange for appropriate preservation improvements. This outcome reflects years of advocacy by Restore Oregon and other preservation and arts partners and will ensure Oregon’s architectural and cultural heritage continues to thrive.

Progress on Anchor Arts Funding

While lawmakers did not fund the six large arts organizations the way we had proposed in an amendment to HB 3189, they did make investments in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Portland Center Stage.

Oregon Arts Commission Funding Holds Steady

While the legislature did not approve the increase we sought for the Oregon Arts Commission, we’re grateful its budget was not cut, unlike many other state agencies and programs. In a year marked by deep economic uncertainty, budget writers made the broad decision to avoid committing to any new ongoing expenses. Even so, maintaining the Arts Commission’s current funding level reflects lawmakers’ recognition of the vital role it plays in supporting artists, organizations, and cultural programming across the state. And we’ll continue advocating for that increase.

A Historic Letter from the Arts & Culture Caucus

“I am thrilled to see the CREF slate fully funded…it’s such an important opportunity to support arts and culture organizations across the state,” said Rep. Rob Nosse (D-Portland), co-chair of the Arts & Culture Caucus. “We are looking to the future and we aren’t giving up on increasing the grant fund program for the Arts Commission.”

Looking Ahead

In a year when budget writers had every reason to pull back—facing a $500 million drop in projected revenue and extreme uncertainty in federal funding —arts and culture not only held the line, but advanced. These wins reflect a growing understanding that investing in creativity, culture, and history strengthens every community in Oregon.

We’re grateful to our champions in the legislature—including Rep. Nosse and caucus co-chair Sen. Dick Anderson (R-Lincoln City)—and to every advocate who helped get us here.

We’re not done. These wins are a foundation to build on as we continue working toward increased operating support for the Oregon Arts Commission, stronger cultural infrastructure, and equitable investment in every region.

The post Oregon’s Arts & Culture Sector Scores Key Legislative Wins Despite Budget Challenges appeared first on Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon.

Tyler Hokama, Interim Executive Director, Oregon Shakespeare Festival

Tyler is serving as Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Interim Executive Director while on leave from his role as Rogue Theater Company’s resident graphic designer and marketing consultant. He is a retired executive from Adobe Systems, and he continues to use the best tools in the graphic design industry for his work with Rogue Theater Company. He has also worked with hundreds of local businesses and entrepreneurs in an advisory capacity for the Southern Oregon University Small Business Development Center in Medford, providing counsel in areas of finance, operations, digital marketing, social media, and more. 

Liam Kaas-Lentz, Managing Director, Portland Center Stage 

Liam is originally from Bellingham, Washington, and has worked in theater management in Portland for more than 20 years. Most recently, he was the general manager for Portland Center Stage, having started as a production assistant, followed by stage manager, production stage manager, production manager, and director of production. He’s also served as production manager for Portland Playhouse, Sojourn Theatre, Hand2Mouth Theatre, and Risk/Reward. He has stage managed for Artists Repertory Theatre, Portland Playhouse, Hand2Mouth Theatre, CoHo Productions, Teatro Milago, Pixie Dust Productions, the Geva Theatre Center, PCPA, National Public Radio, and The Kitchen in New York City. Liam received his B.F.A. from Southern Oregon University and his M.Ed. from Portland State University, and he has taught theatrical management at Northwestern University, Georgetown University, Vanderbilt University, Whitman College, and PSU. He lives with his wife and cat in southeast Portland. 

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The 2023 legislature is drawing to a close and as it does, we are left scratching our heads at the outcomes for arts and culture.

We proposed an ambitious agenda based on the needs of our members who are still trying to recover from the impacts of the pandemic. We know economic losses from declining audiences are very real. We have been grateful for past support from policy makers who have directed federal COVID-recovery dollars to arts and culture twice in the past three years.

Unfortunately, while some state dollars were directed to our sector this session, they are not nearly enough to meet the needs of our fragile ecosystem. We know that lack of state funding will result in organizational deficits, staff layoffs, and decreased access to arts and culture.

We will not give up.  We will be using all the tools available to us to continue to put this sector’s needs in front of policymakers.  We have attached our statement on this session.

With our thanks,

The CACO Board

The results of the Oregon 2023 legislative session follow:

The post Deep disappointment with the 2023 Oregon legislature session appeared first on Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon.

Important dates

• Week of 4/11: Website will go up with information
• 4/20: Orientation to run through program guidelines and the application process
• 4/25: Applications open
• 5/16: Application process closes
• 6/30: projected date of fund distribution
• 12/23/23: funds must be spent by this date

Who’s eligible?

This program is for live event venue operators and producers. These are defined as entities where no less than 30% of their revenue comes from live event sales. This threshold is low to allow for museums to be eligible for this funding.

Live event operators (e.g., fairs, festivals, cultural events) are defined as entities with 50% of their business activity funded through live events, which may include revenues from tickets and concessions.

Who’s not eligible?

• Adult entertainment venues
• Municipal- or state-owned venues
• Non-ticketed live event producers (e.g., bars with karaoke nights)
• Movie theaters (covered in previous phase of program)
• Sporting events and venues
• Temporary or pop-up live event venues
• Public or private universities
• Lobbying organizations

What will the application involve?

Business Oregon will be asking entities to look at fiscal years 2019 and 2020, using federal tax returns to establish overall loss. Their funding formula creates parameters around award sizes, which will generally range from $5,000 to $250,000.

They will prioritize entities that have not yet received funding from these four programs:

• Oregon Cultural Trust’s Coronavirus Relief Funds
• Department of Administrative Services’ funding for venues, released in 2020
• Shuttered Venue Operators Grant
• Operational Cost Assistance Program (administered by Business Oregon)

If you have received funds from one of these programs, you are still encouraged to apply.

Later in May Business Oregon will launch the companion program that targets support for organizations that support live venues and individual artists and musicians.

Let us know if you have any questions, and we’ll share more information as it becomes available.

Thanks,

The CACO board and lobbying team

The post Relief Funds to Begin Flowing Soon! appeared first on Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon.

Crossroads is the oldest continuously operating art center east of the Cascades. A 501(c)3 non-profit founded in 1963, the center creates opportunities for the entire community to be engaged, inspired, and transformed by the arts. It’s a welcoming place where people meet and the arts speak. Admission is free for all.

Crossroads works to fulfill its mission through community-wide programs such as:

• First Friday exhibits that showcase artists and music
• Acting as a community partner to attract art-based industries
• Workshops and courses for kids and adults at the center and in local schools
• Networks, support systems, scholarship programs, and gallery space for artists
• Partnerships with public agencies to provide programs and services for at-risk and underprivileged youth and families, and adults in recovery programs

After the 1970 economy devastated rural Oregon communities, Baker City rebounded in the 1980s and became one of Oregon’s most beloved cultural communities. After completing a 6-year $1.6 million renovation of the Carnegie Library in 2008, the library has become Crossroads’ home. The arts have continued to thrive through many challenges over the years.

Two years into the pandemic, now Crossroads is facing another troubling time:

• When the pandemic hit in 2020, Crossroads limped along and survived. The community supported Crossroads even when the center had to close for 50 days. The center transformed itself within months by going online.
• Since Crossroads opened again on May 15, 2020, it has remained open ever since while keeping guests, students, and staff safe. The center had two online First Friday openings and has shared art programming and content on social media. Crossroads staff worked with partners to rebuild its website and place all gallery artwork and featured shows online for sale to support its local artists.
• Crossroads found 2021 to be financially devastating, ending the year with a 91% loss compared to 2020 and significant losses in three of the four quarters. Thanks to the leadership of the Crossroads Board of Directors, reserve funds helped the center navigate 2021.
• In 2022, Crossroads is seeing improved attendance and participation from local community members and a tentative return of tourists; however, additional state funding is critical to sustain staff and programs.

“During the darkest days of the pandemic, arts and culture uplifted us all worldwide,” said Crossroads Executive Director Ginger Savage. “Artisans offered classes and activities online often at no charge. Now it’s time to give back to those artists and help them rebound out of COVID.”

In the early days of the pandemic, Crossroads staff called its members to check in. The center’s staff is calling all members again this month to check in after the pandemic’s long isolation.

Crossroads is just one of many of our precious Oregon arts & culture organizations facing an ongoing challenge during the pandemic.

“I couldn’t have survived the pandemic without my friendships on the Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon board,” said Savage. “To be supported by remarkable leaders from around Oregon was a source of inspiration and hope. We have worked hard to get funding to arts and culture organizations in Oregon. We need your help even more to ensure that ARPA funds get out now. The advocacy work is far from done…we need your help to advocate for additional state and federal funding to assist in recovery.

Renew your membership, make donations, read newsletters, and help supply needed materials to art organizations.  And if you can volunteer, we need your help!”

The post Crossroads Carnegie Art Center Brings the Arts to Life in Baker City appeared first on Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon.

CACO members!

Please lift your voices with us to help Oregon’s arts and culture sector recover strong. Although HB 4040 won’t be moving forward, we do know that legislators have been tasked with crafting a $100 million economic development funding package to help in recovery of the pandemic. We must ensure that the creative economy’s important work is identified in that package, so we are asking that $50 million be set aside for arts & culture recovery.  

It is vitally important that you contact the following members of the Ways and. Means Committee to share your needs as soon as possible.

Remember, the pandemic is severely affecting more than 70% of our organizations financially, forcing closures, layoffs, furloughs, and other cost-saving measures. As the first to close and the last to fully reopen, the cultural sector will not fully recover for several years.  In Oregon, COVID-19 has devastated creative economy businesses with lost revenue of $1.6 billion. In addition, 64% of all creative workers in our state  (43,332 people) were unemployed in July 2020.To help us regain our footing, we are asking the legislature to invest $50 million to create stability in the arts and cultural sector and allow us to be a part of Oregon’s recovery in rural and urban communities. The pandemic and the significant needs in the sector has united arts and cultural organizations in advocating for critical pandemic relief funding that is inclusive and equitable.

Our lobbyist team and board teamed up with Metro, the Oregon Fairs Association, and the Independent Venue Coalition to send this statement to members of the legislature.

Please send your letters to the following leaders and send a PDF of your letter to CACO.  

With gratitude, the CACO board

Working on the Economic Development Package

• Lively (Springfield): Rep.JohnLively@oregonlegislature.gov
• Gomberg (Central Coast): Rep.DavidGomberg@oregonlegislature.gov
• Bynum (Clackamas): Rep.JanelleBynum@oregonlegislature.gov

Transportation and Economic Development Subcommittee 

• Co-chair, Sen. Lawrence Spence (Portland): ​AkashaLawrenceSpence@oregonlegislature.gov
• Co-chair, Rep. Gomberg (Central Coast): DavidGomberg@oregonlegislature.gov
• Hansell (Athena): Sen.BillHansell@oregonlegislature.gov
• Jama (Portland): Sen.KayseJama@oregonlegislature.gov
• Nelson (Portland): Rep.TravisNelson@oregonlegislature.gov
• Scharf (Independence): Rep.AnnaScharf@oregonlegislature.gov
• Sosa (Hillsboro): Rep.NathanSosa@oregonlegislature.gov
• Rep. Zika (Redmond): Rep.JackZika@oregonlegislature.gov

The post Back in the Lobby Saddle Again! appeared first on Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon.

Ginger was joined by bill sponsor Rep. Nosse and representatives from the Oregon Symphony, the Independent Venues Coalition, Metro, the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association, and the Oregon Fairs Association Foundation, who all expressed ardent support for the bill. Read Ginger Savage’s testimony for HB 4040.

You can watch the hearing here. Speakers:
39:00      Rep. Nosse
44:10      Ginger Savage
50:13      Speakers from Whiteside Theatre in Corvallis, Oregon Fairs Association Foundation, Oregon Symphony, Metro, and Oregon Restaurants Assoc.

Across the arts and culture sector, the need is great and committee members heard firsthand how entities have experienced severe losses in revenue, staff, and attendance at performances and exhibits.

We also presented this document summarizing the comments from all of you who responded to our survey earlier this week–thank you!!

There was no testimony in opposition and the bill has been scheduled for a work session on Monday, February 14, which also marks a crucial deadline in Oregon’s legislature. Bills must be passed out of their policy committee on Monday or they are considered dead for the session.

CACO’s lobby team is working closely with Rep. Nosse, Business Oregon, and our coalition partners on an amendment that makes some important operable changes to the grant program. This amendment will be discussed and voted on at Monday’s work session.

Thanks to everyone who reached out to committee members and submitted letters of support – your voice was heard and greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

The CACO board and lobbyist team

The post News from the legislature on HB 4040! appeared first on Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon.

Artistic Director Nataki Garret testified before the United States House Committee on Small Business last week. You can view “The Power, Peril, and Promise of the Creative Economy” panel on YouTube. She shared that Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) had to cancel 800+ shows and lay off 90 percent of its staff.

Nataki then published an op-ed in The Hill, highlighting the points she made to the committee:

“I’m often haunted by the choices I had to make to keep OSF afloat, but it’s even more difficult for the culturally specific and smaller venue or community-based arts organizations and art workers…How can we continue viewing an industry that makes up more of our GDP than agriculture and mining combined as a luxury or the purview of the elite? How can we look millions of arts and culture workers in this country in the eye and not take the simple, common-sense steps to simultaneously make their lives and our economy more secure and robust?”

As we know, there is no recovery without creativity. Supporting and funding our country’s arts & culture powerhouse is critical to rebuild and revitalize our communities. Empowering the creative workforce can heal our country in the wake of the pandemic.

We have an unprecedented number of bills in the U.S. Congress to fund the creative economy and boost its workforce. If all passed, these seven bills would pour billions of dollars into arts & culture organizations and businesses. You can help get them passed.

ACTION ALERT!

• The Creative Economy Revitalization Act (HB 5019) has been introduced in the House and will soon be introduced in the Senate.This bill takes many of the creative workforce proposals and turns them into proposed legislation to support creative workers. Click here to send an Action Alert to your representatives telling them to co-sponsor and vote for the Creative Economy Revitalization Act.
• Click here to learn more about the Creative Economy Revitalization Act and how you can take action to help turn the bill into law.
• Click here to access toolkits and resources to take action on social media, letters to the editor, and other ways.

Let’s follow Nataki’s lead and let our voices be heard!

The post Help artists lift people out of the darkness appeared first on Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon.

• Re-electing existing board members and electing new board members
• Electing board officers
• Going over 2021 financials and approving 2022 budget
• Reviewing the 2021 annual report, communications report, OCF federal advisory funding plan
• Hearing policy committee and CAC foundation formation reports
• Receiving member updates

You can view the annual report here.

The post Annual report appeared first on Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon.

Many new faces and emerging new leaders will be replacing several long-time legislators including Speaker Kotek, Sen. Johnson, and Rep. Post. These changing political dynamics are overlaid with the coming election season and another COVID surge, which will probably mean a mostly virtual legislative session.

Despite these hurdles, we are thrilled to be working with Rep. Rob Nosse (D-Portland) to bring forward a bill in the short session. Rep. Nosse is requesting an additional $50M in funding to support arts and cultural organizations negatively affected by the pandemic.

We have been working closely with Rep Nosse to articulate eligibility requirements for the grant program that will administered through Business Oregon if the bill passes.

For this legislative session and the rest of the year, our priorities in 2022 are:

• Ensuring 2021 American Rescue Plan Act funding is distributed quickly to the arts and culture sector
• Advocating for additional funding support to the sector
• Supporting the renewal of special assessments for historic preservation
• Addressing construction challenges for cultural capital projects

This handout has more details about each of these legislative priorities.

We appreciate your support and feedback throughout this process. You can make our advocacy efforts more powerful by sharing how the pandemic has affected your organization. Send your thoughts by email.

Our legislators need to hear from you.

We need EVERY VOICE right now.

For example, our board president, JS May, reached out to gubernatorial candidate and former state senator Betsy Johnson after reading her Willamette Week interview in which she expressed concerns that funds for independent venues may not have been a good use of recovery funding.

In their follow-up conversation, Betsy clarified her position and corrected the article. She mentioned her long-time support for arts and culture (as a recipient of the Governor’s Art’s Award). She was not concerned about the rescue fund investments in nonprofit arts and cultural organizations, which have extensive public accountability mechanisms through their boards and public reporting. Instead she was concerned about for-profit venues receiving rescue funds because they do not have similar accountability mechanisms.  Betsy ended by saying she has been and will continue to be a strong supporter of arts and culture in Oregon.

Join us and contact your lawmakers to share your experiences as a stakeholder in the arts & culture community during the pandemic.

Happy New Year,

CACO Board

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