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Arts Council and donors urge committee to preserve Cultural Preservation Endowment and art‑maintenance funds
Summary
Nebraska Arts Council and allied groups urged the Appropriations Committee to resist proposals that would sweep maintenance funds or dismantle the Cultural Preservation Endowment Fund, saying donor matching and creative‑district grants leverage state dollars and support statewide programming.
Mike Markey, executive director of the Nebraska Arts Council, told the Appropriations Committee the council supports the committee’s preliminary budget but urged three priorities: more support for creative districts, protection of the 1% for art maintenance fund, and preservation of the Nebraska Cultural Preservation Endowment Fund (CPF). He asked for an additional $1 million for creative districts, citing reported increases in local sales and lodging tax revenue tied to those programs.
Markey and former director Suzanne Wise detailed risks from proposed sweeps of maintenance dollars and the proposed conversion of the CPF’s annual transfer into a one‑year general‑fund appropriation. Wise said the maintenance fund pays for preventive care of more than 1,800 state artworks and that deferring or sweeping those funds raises the long‑term cost of repairs or replacement. “Allowing millions of dollars of state assets to be at risk for a $100,000, I think, is probably penny wise and pound foolish,” she said.
Speakers from Humanities Nebraska and community donors described the endowment’s leveraging power: state seed funds have prompted private matches over decades, producing roughly $15 million in state investment matched by $21.5 million private contributions. Testimony emphasized the endowment’s role supporting arts education across rural Nebraska and that donors might withdraw commitments if the state changes the matching promise.
Committee members asked whether converting the annual transfer into a one‑year appropriation would reduce donor confidence and whether creative‑district investments demonstrably improve local economies. Witnesses responded with anecdotal and program‑level data about increased tourism and local revitalization, and warned that removing the endowment’s statutory protections could have lasting effects on fundraising and program continuity.
No formal committee vote was taken; the matter remains part of ongoing appropriations deliberations.
