Funding for Arts & Culture

In 2018, hundreds of non-profit organizations were devastated when the legislature slashed the arts and culture grant program by 90% from $25 million in 2017 down to $2.7 million. As a lifelong supporter of the arts, Carlos jumped into action with Rep. Anna V. Eskamani to raise public awareness on the importance of government investment in the arts and embarked on a sustained statewide effort to boost funding. On 1/15/19, Carlos and Anna hosted a public town hall to address the legislature’s devastating cuts and create a unified call to action to reverse the trend.

The result: The 2019-2020 state budget saw an 800% increase to 480 arts and culture groups across Florida!

During the 2019 legislative session, Carlos consistently met with community stakeholders, legislators and budget leaders to make funding for the arts a priority. His work paid off and a diverse number of non-profit organizations directly benefited from his advocacy.