President Obama signed into law the Protecting Americans From Tax Hikes Act of 2015, which retroactively reinstates the provision for tax-free charitable gifts from IRA’s for 2015 and makes the provision permanent going forward. This is important news because the law that allowed individuals to make tax-free charitable gifts from an IRA expired at the end of 2014.

If you have been considering a tax-free rollover gift from your IRA to Missouri Citizens for the Arts or Missouri Citizens for the Arts Education Fund, you may find the information below helpful.

Under the new law:

· You must be 70 ½ years of age or older when the distribution is made.

· The transfer must go directly from your IRA to MCA or the charity of your choice.

· The provision has been made permanent. You may made tax-free transfers from your IRA to a charity or charities totaling up to $100,000 each calendar year. Your spouse may also be eligible to make such gifts up to $100,000 from his/her IRA.

· A charitable rollover gift from your IRA will count toward your minimum distribution requirement.

· Gifts from IRA may only be used to make an outright gift to a qualified public charity. Missouri Citizens for the Arts is a 501(c)4.  Missouri Citizens for the Arts Education Fund is a 501(c)3.

IRA assets cannot be used to fund a gift annuity, charitable remainder trust, a donor advised fund, or a private foundation.

Please consider Missouri Citizens for the Arts or Missouri Citizens for the Arts Education Fund when you make your charitable gift-giving plans. We thank you for your support.

Missouri Citizens for the Arts supplies the critical component of arts advocacy for the arts in our state, especially for the funding of Missouri Arts Council. The Letter Project was a statewide letter-writing project that MCA created to reach across all socio-economic, urban-rural and big city-small community borders to tell legislators just how valuable the arts are to Missourians. Over 1,000 letters were delivered to Governor Jay Nixon in December, 2015, making a powerful case for arts funding.

Michael Donovan, Executive Director of Missouri Arts Council, referenced The Letter Project during an interview with KCUR in Kansas City:

The Missouri Arts Council, which funnels money to arts organizations around the state, will see a $1.2 million  for its fiscal year 2017.  That will put MAC’s state funding at $6 million, up from $4.8 million.  It’s the first increase in several years.

“We are grateful that the governor and legislators recognize the value of the arts to the state,: says Donovan. “There was a lot of strong advocacy from arts organizations,” he added, noting that more than 1,000 letters were sent to the governor’s office through a campaign led by Missouri Citizens for the Arts.

This year’s increase doesn’t necessarily reflect greater enthusiasm in the legislature for public funding of the arts, however.  The Missouri Arts Council is funded through an income tax on professional athletes and entertainers who visit the state to play and perform (It also receives money from the National Endowment for the Arts).

What’s known as the Non-resident Athletes and Entertainers Tax (A&E) generates significant revenue–an estimated $40 million this fiscal year.  According to state law, MAC is supposed to receive 60 percent of those dollars–which would be about $24 million this year.  But the General Assembly has funneled most of it to pay for other things, leaving MAC with this year’s $6 million. (In 2015, KCUR followed Kansas City arts leaders to Jefferson City, where they unsuccessfully asked lawmakers to fully fund the Cultural Trust.)

“We’re getting about 25 percent of what the statute suggests that we should be getting,” Donovan says.  In recent years, the legislature had asked MAC to spend down the balance in an account known as the Cultural Trust, which holds the revenues from the A&E tax.

“We were spending money out of the Cultural Trust and continued to do that until this year, when the balance of the trust money was less than 1 percent,” Donovan says.  “So our funding was going down, our costs were going up, and the non-resident athletes and entertainers tax had gone up dramatically.  It doubled in the last 10 years.”

Still, he says, this year’s increase will make a difference for arts organizations throughout the state.  “We’re going to be able to make sure that the arts are available throughout the state, both in rural and metropolitan areas.  We know there’s a lot of art in Kansas City and St. Louis, but we’re increasingly able to get into the rural areas in outstate Missouri.”

The interview was conducted by C.J. Janovy, arts reporter for KCUR.

As America moves closer to National Elections, Missouri Citizens for the Arts wants YOU to be an informed voter.

Thanks to Americans for the Arts, there is a dedicated website to put the candidates views, voting records and support history regarding the arts at your fingertips.  The site provides important data compiled by Americans for the Arts (AFTA) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to help you make informed decisions.

Find it all at www.artsactionfund.org/pages/artsvote2016

Here’s a quick tour to help you use the site effectively and easily:

• On the left side, find detailed info for both New Hampshire and Iowa  (key states in the selection of national candidates).
• National Facts & Figures gives a wealth of arts-info to help you speak knowledgeably with your legislators.
• ArtsVote Policy Recommendations offers suggested policy resolutions for national party platforms.
• Congress and the Arts allows you to easily see voting records for your legislators and candidates.

The info will continually be updated throughout the coming year. Check in often to be an informed stakeholder in the ARTS.

Missouri Citizens for the Arts invites YOU to participate in THE LETTER PROJECT:

What is the Letter Project?

The Letter Project, led by Missouri Citizens for the Arts, is a way for citizens to let Missouri’s Governor Jay Nixon know that they care about the arts! We hope to deliver 500 letters to Governor Nixon, asking for budget funding of the ARTS in our state. Being an Arts Advocate means communicating that you believe the arts are important to your representatives and how to best support the cause.

The Letter Project provides an easy way to state WHY the arts are important:
1. The ARTS generate income for our state.
2. The ARTS enhance our quality of life.
3. The ARTS improve education for our students.

The Letter Project clearly explains HOW Governor Nixon can support the arts:
1. Appropriation of 60% of the non-resident professional Athlete & Entertainers’ (A&E) income tax to Missouri Arts Council ($24.million)
2. 40% distribution of A&E income tax to the Cultural Partners (10% to each Partner)
3. Funding of the Missouri Fine Arts Academy at $750,000
4. Encourage the Missouri State Board of Education to support comprehensive fine arts instruction, 60 minutes per week for all students, & one fine-arts graduation requirement for high school

The Letter Project leaves plenty of room for personalization!
The letter places the arts FIRST by giving you a frame at the top of the paper to illustrate your talents. If you are a visual artist – use the space to draw an image! It can be a personal representation of your favorite things about Missouri, a colorful self-portrait, or whatever you think will catch the eye of Governor Nixon.

Not a visual artist? Are you a musician, writer, or arts appreciator? Fill the space with music notes, thought bubbles, zig-zags, etc. Anything to make your letter stand out!

Involve friends, family, organizations to which you belong, anyone who cares about the ARTS!!

CLICK ON “Revised Letter Project Form (3)” link below to print out the form letter. There are 2 letters on a page: one for you, and one to share with a friend!

You’ll see several lines at the bottom of the sheet for you to share your story, name and address.
When you are finished with your Letter(s), please snail-mail them all by November 7, 2015 to:

Missouri Citizens for the Arts

P.O. Box 187

Eureka, MO  63025

(or scan and email your letter to:  director@mo4arts.local )

Revised Letter Project Form (3)

Missouri Alliance for Arts Education has completed a comprehensive study of the impact of the arts in Missouri’s schools. The final report offers valuable information, making a strong case for the need of the arts in our educational system. The full report can be accessed by clicking here.