Vermont Arts Council asks legislature to fully match federal NEA funds in FY26 budget request

Susan Evans LaFlora, executive director of the Vermont Arts Council, told the Appropriations Committee during FY26 budget testimony that the council is asking the legislature to fully match federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts so the state can draw down the full federal award.

The request matters because the council uses state and federal dollars to fund grants and services that, it says, support artists, cultural organizations and local businesses statewide. “The Vermont Art Council is the state's arts agency. We're the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Arts,” LaFlora said, and she warned that without the state match “we're really only able to fund on average about 45% of the applications that we do receive.”

Nut graf: The council said its FY24 grants totaled a little more than $3.2 million and reached artists and organizations in every Vermont county. Council leaders said a state match multiplies federal funding, meaning lost state matching dollars would leave federal money on the table and reduce grant capacity for local arts programs, cultural facilities work and recovery assistance.

LaFlora told committee members that the council receives most of its funding from the NEA and the state and noted the NEA requires a state match to release federal funds. She said the council appears in the governor’s proposed budget at $1,003,000 and asked the legislature to “fully match our federal awards so that we can allow all bring all of these funds to Vermont.” Council staff told the committee the governor’s number is roughly $68,000 less than the federal award the council expects; LaFlora said final NEA award amounts have arrived late in past years but the council is preparing on the basis of the figure its NEA partners communicated.

The council described how those matched dollars are used. In FY24 the council said it awarded just over $3.2 million to roughly 1,931 individuals and 235 organizations and businesses statewide, funding everything from small artist grants and professional development to public art placed on state construction projects and capital improvements through the cultural facilities program. LaFlora noted a recent Creative Futures grant program provided $9,000,000 in pandemic recovery grants that the council says helped many creative businesses stay open and recover.

The testimony also described non-grant work the council performs. LaFlora highlighted business-development training for artists — including a USDA-funded “Assets for Artists” program that the council says served 76 artists — and the Vermont Arts and Culture Disaster and Resilience Network (VACDARN), a coalition co-led by the council and the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration that provided conservation and recovery assistance after recent floods. LaFlora cited an instance where a conservator assisted an 82-year-old artist in St. Johnsbury whose studio flooded and said the council has provided support to institutions such as the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson following flood damage.

On film policy, LaFlora told the committee the council’s research and a legislative film committee concluded Vermont cannot compete with larger nearby jurisdictions on tax-incentive-driven film production. Instead, she said the council proposes modest investments in film workforce and infrastructure supports — a database of filmmakers, a resource hub and help connecting crews and equipment — to help local creators and keep graduates of Vermont film programs working in-state.

LaFlora also noted the council’s longstanding programs that tie public art to state capital projects and the council’s unique governance: it operates as an independent nonprofit that was created in statute (the Vermont Council on the Arts) and has operated under a DBA as the Vermont Arts Council. She said the council’s State Street headquarters was severely damaged by flooding in 2023 and remains unoccupiable; the council is renting temporary space.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about the NEA match requirement and potential effects of a reduced state allocation. Senator Rich Westman pressed whether a lower gubernatorial number would simply reduce the federal match; LaFlora explained that failing to match federal awards would leave federal dollars unused and reduce grantmaking capacity.

The council concluded by noting scheduled FY26 public hearings for the committee’s budget review and inviting further questions. The committee set two public hearings in Room 11: one at 1:45 p.m. on Feb. 13 (weekday/time as announced) and another at 5 p.m. on Feb. 20, during which public commenters may speak for two minutes each.

Ending: The Vermont Arts Council urged the Appropriations Committee to preserve the state match in the FY26 budget so the agency can continue grantmaking, disaster response and artist development programs that it says support local economies and cultural life across Vermont.