Join Fellow Arts Advocates: Speak Up by This Friday!

August 12, 2020

While lead negotiators may have stepped away from the table, Congress continues to consider the scope and scale of the next massive package of COVID-19 relief. The details really matter, and you can add your voice once again by contacting Congress this week, alongside colleagues in the broader performing arts sector.

Join Your Performing Arts Partners in Taking Action by This Friday, August 14.

House and Senate leadership are at odds over the overall cost of the relief package, even as bipartisan support has been growing for expanding access to Paycheck Protection Program forgivable loans, extending unemployment benefits, creating new and expanded tax credits, incentivizing more charitable giving, and delivering funding to support our nation’s schools and communities.

The final bill will determine support available to the arts sector, its workforce, and the communities it serves. Key decisions are being made right now to determine who will qualify for relief, even as the broader scope of the package is debated.

Orchestras, artists, and partners are facing critical decisions that will affect jobs, livelihoods, and services to communities for the remainder of 2020 and beyond. Relief simply can’t wait. 

Please use these resources, and take a moment to personalize your message: 

• League summary of key policy developments
• Key policy requests advanced in partnership with the arts and nonprofit sectors
• Advocacy campaign, with customizable letter to Congress

Why speak up by this Friday? While the timing on the next phase of negotiations is uncertain, it’s important to keep up the visibility on arts issues and emphasize the urgent need for relief. It can be helpful to join a critical mass of your fellow performing arts advocates in weighing in together, and since this is likely to be the last relief package of the year, we need to keep up until the message sinks in loud and clear: the arts need relief and literally cannot afford to keep waiting for it. 

While this is not necessarily your last chance to speak up, your ongoing contact to Congress does make a difference.