Florida lawmakers approve $20M for DOS arts grants 

Florida lawmakers this week approved $20 million in grants for local arts and culture nonprofits and another $3.1 million for specific projects as part of the $114.5 billion 2026-27 state budget. 

The budget is set to be voted on May 29. Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign off on the final budget or make changes by July 1. 

The arts funding comes from the Department of State's annual arts and culture grant program. Each year, the DOS's 15-member Council on Arts and Culture vets and recommends funding for organizations that apply for grants of up to $150,000 each. 

The Legislature agrees to fund a certain amount based on the Arts Council's recommendations. The governor often approves that amount, but not always. 

DeSantis shocked many local arts leaders by vetoing the DOS's entire arts and culture grants budget for 2024-25. Two years earlier, however, he approved $58.7 million, one of the highest funding levels in recent years. 

Here's how it played out this year. For 2026-27, the Arts Council recommended $51.9 million in general program grants, also known as cultural and museum grants, for 563 nonprofits in Florida. Secretary of State Cord Byrd narrowed the council's list to 121 nonprofits. It is unknown why some organizations were selected and others were not. 

In Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties, nine nonprofits out of 32 recommended by the Arts Council made Byrd's list. 

The Legislature reduced the Arts Council's recommendation to $20 million for general program grants. Of that amount, $12.543 million was allocated to nonprofits on Byrd's list. Another $7.543 million was placed in reserve. 

Now, Byrd is set to create a second list of nonprofits to divide the reserved funds. It is unknown who will receive funding or how much they will receive. The money could be used to fully fund grants for a smaller number of organizations or provide partial funding to a larger group. 

“That $20 million investment reflects the hard work of arts advocates from across the state, including United Arts Collier, and the legislators who championed it,” wrote Elysia Dawn, CEO of Naples-based United Arts Collier and a member of the Arts Council. “We thank them for their continued support of Florida's arts and culture sector. At the same time, the reduction from the $51.9 million recommended for cultural and museum grants to a fraction of that amount is meaningful and will be felt across communities statewide.” 

Dawn added that United Arts Collier eliminated programs in recent years because of declining state arts funding, including free arts education for 1,000 children annually, an art therapy program for seniors with Alzheimer's disease and dementia, and an art therapy program for veterans. 

Arts advocates continue to point to the financial return on arts investments as they ask lawmakers to support greater funding. 

In 2023-24, the DOS's general program grantees returned more than double the state's investment in sales tax revenue alone, resulting in a net gain of $37 million, Dawn wrote: “This should not be viewed as a discretionary expense. Few line items in the state budget return more than 100% in tax revenue within 12 months — and that doesn't account for the full picture.” 

The most recent national study by Americans for the Arts shows that in fiscal year 2022, Florida's nonprofit arts sector generated $5.8 billion in spending, supported 91,270 jobs and produced $694.7 million in tax revenue. Of that total, Collier County generated $147.1 million and Lee County arts nonprofits generated $135.3 million. 

In a letter to area arts and culture colleagues earlier this year, Alliance for the Arts Executive Director Neil Volz wrote that arts grants drive tourism, small-business growth and workforce development. 

In this year's budget, lawmakers also set aside $3,058,968 to fund the Arts Council's Cultural Builds Florida program, which supports specific arts and culture projects across the state. However, they provided no funding for the council's Cultural Facilities grants, which are often used for larger capital projects. 

Outside the DOS Arts Council's grant program, the Legislature set aside about $42 million for a wide variety of arts- and culture-related capital projects proposed by individual lawmakers.