On November 8, you have a vote to cast—and YOUR vote is IMPORTANT!

This year, all 441 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and one-third of the U.S. Senate—34 in total—are up for election. The Arts Action Fund of Americans for the Arts has produced the

2016 Congressional Arts Report Card

as your one-stop guide to learn if your Congressional delegation supports the arts and arts education. Simply click the link above for all recent voting records; you’ll find Missouri on page 12-13 of the Report Card.

(Info on Presidential Candidates can be found here under News & Views on the MCA website as well).

The stakes are very high.  Your help is needed to:

•Increase funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Humanities

•Stand up for every child’s right to a well-rounded education that includes the arts

•Elevate the arts to a cabinet level advisor

•Protect charitable giving tax incentives

Please be an informed voter as you prepare to cast your vote in November. The ARTS thank you!

Americans for the Arts recently hosted a very helpful advocacy-training session, entitled:  Advocacy Best Practices with Stan Rosenberg: How to Talk to Elected Officials. Thanks to Americans for the Arts for making the slides available. Please review this valuable session, either to hone your own advocacy skills or to share with your board of directors or membership. It will be time well-spent!

How to Talk to Elected Officials

On The Web: www.AmericansForTheArts.org    By Email: ArtsEducation@artsusa.org  SAVE THE DATE September 11–17, 2016 Passed by Congress in 2010, House Resolution 275 designates the week beginning with the second Sunday in September as National Arts in Education Week. During this week, the field of arts education joins together in communities across the country to tell the story of the impact of the transformative power of the arts in education. We hope that you can participate: 1.) Celebrate. Host a celebration in your community. Whether big or small, an existing event, or a new one. Download and use the shared logo and be sure to register your event on ArtsMeet, a national arts event calendar. 2.) Advocate. Work with your elected officials and decision-makers to share the value of the arts in education. Whether a mayor, principal, or U.S. Congressman, check out sample resolutions, videos, and the Arts Education Navigator—an online tool with six action steps to crafting a personal advocacy plan. 3.) Participate. Share your story in the social media campaign, #BecauseOfArtsEd, to bring national visibility to the issue of arts education. See below for more information. Participate in #ArtsEdChat each night of the week at 8:00 p.m. (ET). Also, be sure to attend and invite friends to the Facebook Event. PARTICIPATE #BecauseOfArtsEd An essential part of National Arts in Education Week is visibility. This is your chance to tell your own personal story about the transformative power of the arts in education on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Whether you are an individual or an organization, you can share your story using #BecauseOfArtsEd on social media and use hashtag #ArtsEdWeek for anything related to the week. Post on Facebook. Tell the world your #BecauseOfArtsEd story on Facebook. Let us know what you are doing now in work and life and how arts education has a positive impact with a photo! Be sure to use #ArtsEdWeek, too. Send a tweet. Share your quick #BecauseOfArtsEd story on Twitter. Be sure to include an image or video along with #ArtsEdWeek. Share a photo. Post your favorite arts education photo on Instagram along with your #BecauseOfArtsEd story about the impact of arts education on your life. Be sure to use #ArtsEdWeek. Be sure to check out the #BecauseOfArtsEd blog salon on ARTSblog starting on September 12. LEARN MORE Equity in arts education has become the topic of the year among arts educators, administrators, funders, and advocates. Fostering inclusive arts education by specifically addressing the needs of diverse student populations can contribute to our field achieving its goal of being equitable, diverse, and inclusive. Each day during the week of September 12–16, hear from experts about the research and strategies in specific areas of inclusion. These daily webinars will be held at 3:00 p.m. (ET) and last no more than 30 minutes. To continue the conversation, join Jeff M. Poulin (@JeffMPoulin) and special guests for an #ArtsEdChat from 8:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. (ET) by following the specified hashtag. Register for the #ArtsEdChats today. You can either view them live or throughout the week. The topics include: Monday, September 12, 3:00 p.m ET: The Changing Demographics in Education. Use #Demographics. Register for the Changing Demographics in Education webinar now! Tuesday, September 13, 3:00 p.m. ET: English Language Learners. Use #ELLchat. Register for the English Language Learners webinar now! Wednesday, September 14, 3:00 p.m. ET: Autism Spectrum Disorders. Use #ASD. Register for the Autism Spectrum Disorders webinar now! Thursday, September 15, 3:00 p.m. ET: Social and Emotional Learning. use #SEL. Register for Social Emotional Learning webinar now! Friday, September 16, 3:00 p.m. ET: Career and Technical Education. Use #CTE. Register for the Career and Technical Education Webinar now!

Part of every legislator’s job is to listen to people voice their opinions about topics that concern Missouri citizens. People should not shy away from contacting their legislators, who do need (and want) to hear from their constituency, even if it’s about a matter on which they disagree.

Here’s some basic advice on contacting your legislator:

1. JUST DO IT:    There are many reasons why people don’t contact their legislators. They think their call or visit doesn’t matter, or lawmakers are “too busy” or have already heard from other on the subject.   Legislators really appreciate hearing from people in their district, and appreciate that they take the time to contact their representatives. So……call, write, or visit!
2. LOOK FOR DIFFERENT WAYS TO REACH OUT:    Not everyone feels comfortable with face-to-face meetings or public testimony. But that’s important! Even if it isn’t well-polished, it shows sincerity. Sending written letters or emails is good, but phone calls and personal visits are even better.
3. DO YOUR HOMEWORK:     Putting effort into researching the topic is important, but don’t expect to know every nuance. However, it IS important that you know the bill number when you are asking a legislator to vote for or against a particular proposed item.  (When in doubt, contact Missouri Citizens for the Arts for info about any particular bills that impact the arts—-our Legislative Consultant is always informed and ready to assist you!).
4. ADVOCATE, EVEN AGAINST THE ODDS:     Those who express their support for a bill stuck in committee are still going to make an impact.  Don’t hesitate to contact people on your side of the issue. There’s nothing more potent for a legislators than being about to say, “I am hearing from people in my district and they want us to vote on this.”

 

About the Lecture

The David Rockefeller Lecture on arts and business is an annual lecture in New York City featuring prominent business leaders addressing the vital connection between the arts and business. The Lecture is named for David Rockefeller, founder of the Business Committee for the Arts for the Americans for the Arts program and former Chairman and CEO of Chase Manhattan Corporation. This ongoing lecture series was created to advance Rockefeller’s belief that the arts are essential to free enterprise and human achievement, and to encourage businesses to form alliances with the arts as an expression of their broader responsibility to their communities.

Americans for the Arts has a core belief that when the arts and businesses partner, everyone profits, and this belief is carried through our programs including the Business Committee for the Arts, pARTnership Movement campaign, and professional development and communications strategies reaching arts and business leaders alike.

2016 Lecture Recap

David Rubenstein, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of the Carlyle Group, presented the 2016 David Rockefeller Lecture on May 4 at The TimesCenter in New York City. He was introduced by acclaimed singer Renée Fleming and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Blakely Youth Ensemble performed.

Thank you to The Conference Board for providing video services for the event.

To view the entire lecture, click on the red arrow below (Lecture is 1 hr. 2 minutes),  or click here to view  David Rubenstein’s 2-minute “Call to Business Leaders.”