Urgent action needed!

CT Humanities and our partners in humanities, arts, and tourism have been hard at work advocating for funding for the cultural sector during the current CT Legislative Session.

Now, we need your help. On Thursday, April 3, there is a public hearing before the Connecticut General Assembly’s Appropriations Committee, and we are asking you to submit written testimony in support of funding for humanities, arts, and tourism organizations.

**If you’ve previously written testimony in support of cultural sector funding, feel free to reuse portions of that.

Senate Bill 1551, AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT’S SPENDING ON ARTS AND HUMANITIES ACTIVITIES, seeks to take a percentage of the Meals Tax and use the proceeds to increase funding for humanities, arts, and tourism in Connecticut.

We need you to show the profound and meaningful impact that humanities, arts, and tourism funding has had on your organization and, importantly, to your visitors and your community. In particular, we would appreciate your focusing on the economic reverberations of funding – how it impacts not only your organization, but also your community, restaurants, and businesses. We also need you to show how more reliable funding through a percentage of the existing meals tax would help your community’s economic vitality. Our AEP6 Connecticut calculator can help you in determining your own organization’s economic impact.

In my in-person testimony at the hearing, I will be noting that federal funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services has been suspended and that National Endowment for the Humanities and National Endowment for the Arts funding may be threatened. If relevant, you can note the impact that will have on your organization and community, and why state funding is even more critical.

In addition to economic impact, we are calling on our partners to help us demonstrate how the cultural sector contributes to Connecticut’s success in the following ways:

• Workforce Development: Investment in CTH helps retain jobs and hire new staff members, keeping CT residents employed and bringing in talent from other states;
• Educational Attainment: Museums and cultural organizations support schools and teachers by providing classroom materials, field trips, and educational opportunities and digital resources;
• Cultural Vibrancy: Cultural organizations make your town a place that people want to live in and visit;
• Out of State Investment: Support from CTH increases your ability to leverage federal and private funds to advance your mission; and
• Engagement: Our organizations foster a sense of community and keep residents more informed and engaged, fostering empathy and building relationships.

HOW TO SUBMIT WRITTEN TESTIMONY:

• Submit testimony online here.
• Choose 4/3/25 at 10:00 a.m. as the hearing date and time.
• Once you select the date and time, in the Bill Number box, choose SB01551 – AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT’S SPENDING ON ARTS AND HUMANITIES ACTIVITIES.
• Under the Supports/Opposes box, choose Supports.
• You can either type your testimony in or upload a document.

We’ve created a template, online here, to help you compose your testimony.

Our CT Humanities Advocacy webpage has many resources that can help you compose your testimony. If you need support in any way, please don’t hesitate to email us.