NASAA Is Your Arts Advocacy Partner

Welcome to 2025! As state legislatures convene, Congress gets organized and we welcome a new administration to the White House, NASAA is working hard in support of state arts agencies. We’re entering what promises to be a big year. There may be advocacy challenges ahead, but let’s not forget that we have tried-and-tested resources and tools at our disposal that can be compelling for case making in today’s political environment. Especially for those state arts agency leaders who are newer in our field, I’d like to highlight a few of them.

Arts and Creativity Strengthen Our Nation contains specific language recommendations, sample narratives and insights into how advocates can hone their arguments to broaden support for the arts and position the arts as a necessity. The guide includes perspectives on what messages appeal to lawmakers across the political spectrum, as well as advice on how to adjust the framing of tried-and-true arguments about the economic, educational, health and civic benefits of the arts. This set of resources includes How to Talk about Public Funding, a structured set of arguments emphasizing why government support is essential. It also includes The Core Message, an elevator pitch that distills five key message components.

Creative Economy State Profiles are state level dashboards that tell the story of how the arts (including arts jobs) contribute to each state’s economic picture. Making the economic case for the arts remains an important component of advocacy activities. NASAA is able to produce these dashboards because of a partnership developed and sustained by the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, for which we’re grateful. The dashboard is updated annually.

NASAA’s Practical Advocate series offers tactical guides designed to empower advocates for effective action. Being an Arts Ambassador offers practical actions for new advocates to get started. Creative Caucuses in State Legislatures explores how state arts caucuses work, as well as their benefits and challenges. Advocacy vs. Lobbying: An Arts Primer provides clear guidance about the advocacy spectrum: when there’s a question about whether someone is allowed to advocate, this guide provides needed clarity. Five Reasons to Support the Arts shares compelling reasons to support the arts in a handy grab-and-go guide. These guides and others within the series can be found on NASAA’s Advocate page.

We’re developing a new edition of Why Should Government Support the Arts?—please stay tuned for it! In the meantime, as you have advocacy questions, please don’t hesitate to contact your NASAA team: