Unlike in 2024 when Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed all monies for the arts, the legislative purse has opened a bit in 2026.
But many of the pillars of Leon County arts and culture are so far looking at no funding from the state.
Elected or appointed government officials who are responsible for “who gets what” in a hundred different arenas must every year weigh the merits of the arts supplicants who come looking for money, and balance them against the actual money available – and the possibility of vetoes.
Amanda Stringer, CEO of the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, was disappointed and perplexed when she learned that the $150,000 grant request made by the orchestra to the 2026-27 Cultural and Museum Grants (CMG) program, under the Department of State, was not funded at all.
Stringer says that since 2024, the lowest point in cultural grants with the governor’s veto, the TSO has “planned ahead.”
“Thanks to our loyal donors, our programing will not suffer,” Stringer said.
But, she says, “nothing is transparent. Much is confusing this time.”
She isn’t alone in her disappointment.
Confusing process
Of the 563 applicants for support, many others were left scratching their heads, wishing for more “transparency” and less “confusion” as to the process for selection.
Other Leon County grant requests for 2026-27 that were denied included the Riley House & Museum, 621 Gallery, LeMoyne Arts, Young Actors Theatre and Tallahassee Little Theatre.
Other organizations were selected for grant distributions, from $40,000 to the maximum $150,000.
The Tallahassee Community Chorus, Goodwood Museum and Gardens, Tallahassee Ballet, and Bach Parley in Leon County, as well as Gadsden Arts Center and Museum and Quincy Mainstreet Theatre in Gadsden County received their requests.
Becoming the recipient of a State of Florida distribution can be perplexing, say several of those applicants who use their right and left brains daily, juggling artistic pursuits with the dollars and cents needed to pay for them.
Sometimes there are lots of “presents” from the state; some years, nothing at all. The roller coaster of grants for the arts in recent times has left organizations perplexed and worried, and at other times overjoyed.
For example: in 2022, $59 million was granted by the Legislature and approved by the Governor. In 2023, it dropped slightly to $52 million. Yet in 2024, per a veto by Gov. DeSantis, not a penny was distributed to the arts petitioners.
Things recovered slightly in 2025 to $21 million for arts funding. And this year, it seems … though again, the arts community is still unsure … around $20 million will be granted.
The total figure is still “wavering” because it appears that after the first $12.4 million dispersion of grants, there may be a second $7 million tranche available that the legislature has labeled “in proviso.”
How does the process work?
Jennifer Jones, President and CEO of the Florida Cultural Alliance, an arts advocacy organization, explained the process.
She is familiar with how 16 panels of arts experts, the Florida Arts Council, the Department of State, the Legislature, and finally the governor interact in deciding who and what will be funded.
“Hundreds of applications are received each year for the Cultural and Museum Grants (CMG),” she says.
Initially the applications are vetted by State Department staff for completeness and eligibility. The requests are then passed onto panels of volunteer arts experts who score and rank the submissions according to specific rubrics.
Next, the 15 appointees of the Florida Arts Council review the applications and make their recommendations to Secretary of State Cord Byrd. (Seven of these persons are appointed by the Governor; four by the Speaker of the House; and four by the President of the Senate.)
The Secretary of State then makes his own review and recommendations to the Legislature, who may then incorporate an appropriation for the grants into the state budget.
This year the Legislature has approved $20 million in arts grants, a little over $12 million for the Secretary of State’s first recommended list and an additional $7.5 million for an “in proviso” second list prepared by the Department of State.
Finally, the whole list, or lists, will be sent to the governor — who has line-item veto power — for his signature. At this time, no one seems to know when or if the “second list” from the Department of State will appear.
‘Hard to figure out’
Kathleen Spehar, Executive Director of COCA, the Council on Culture & Arts, says that “the whole process was strange this year. First applications were open, then closed for some reason. Then reopened. Currently we’re all looking for clarification. We’re feeling uncertain how choices are being made at the moment.”
Executive Director of LeMoyne Arts, Arielle Raff, says that the “entire process has felt confusing.”
While LeMoyne received a score of 94.667, they were not funded this year — though the “in proviso” monies may become available at a later date. She says they’ve been told they’re “eligible” for more grant money this year, but it hasn’t been funded. “The whole thing is really hard to figure out.”
Those who make art and love presenting it to the public are aware of monetary constraints and budget priorities, but Americans for the Arts, a group that monitors arts’ economic value to communities, points out that on a nationwide scale, nonprofit arts and culture generated $166.3 billion and was responsible for 4.6 million jobs last year.
In Leon County the revenue and the jobs will not be so dramatic, but the value of music, visual art, literature, and dance is for many — priceless.
All of the cultural arts applicants are hoping that when the final list arrives on the Governor’s desk there will be no repeat of 2024, when all arts funding was scratched off.
They are crossing their fingers that the “in proviso” second list may come through to fund their own particular request.
And the true beneficiaries of those grant dollars – the residents and visitors to Leon County – are also hopeful that art and culture in its many, many forms will be strongly supported by all those charged with making Leon County and our region the brightest light in Florida.
What’s received funding so far
LEON COUNTY
GADSDEN COUNTY
JEFFERSON COUNTY
This story contains previously published reporting by USA TODAY Network – Florida Capital Bureau reporter James Call. Marina Brown can be reached at mcdb100@comcast.net.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida arts funding perplexes many who receive zero in state money
Reporting by Marina Brown, Tallahassee Democrat correspondent / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Marina Brown, Tallahassee Democrat correspondent | USA TODAY Network
