\t\t\t\t\tWhat\u2019s at stake?<\/p>\n
The Measure P arts grant program promised a new chapter in Fresno\u2019s arts and culture scene, which for year has been starved of civic investment. But two years in, the process is beset with controversy as some still disagree over what types of organizations the program should prioritize.<\/p>\n
As the dust settles and the wounds begin to heal from the latest fight over millions of taxpayer dollars for the arts, many Fresno artists and advocates are already gearing up for next year\u2019s funding battle.<\/p>\n
That funding comes from Measure P, the three-eighths-cent sales tax that sets aside 12% of its annual revenue for the Expanded Access to Arts and Culture grant program.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From when the first $8.6 million in awards were given in 2024<\/a>, the grant program marked a never-before-seen civic investment in the arts from Fresno. In a city where both artists<\/a> and arts organizations<\/a> have struggled to survive off of Fresno\u2019s philanthropic landscape alone, the 30 years of municipal funds suggested a new path forward.<\/p>\n But in its first two years, the program has been beset with controversy and chaos <\/a>as critics called for pauses to the program in a push for greater transparency and equity in the grantmaking process.<\/p>\n For some advocates like Alicia Rodriguez, those improvements are worth holding out for.<\/p>\n Rodriguez is the co-founder of Labyrinth Art Collective. The organization has been awarded grants to support projects in both years one and two.<\/p>\n As part of a coalition of arts organizations led by their Tower District peer Dulce Upfront, funding delays were a risk she and others were willing to take as they pushed for their demands, including that the city committee making recommendations on how to allocate this year\u2019s $6.3 million funding pool begin meeting publicly \u2014 a push that was ultimately successful<\/a>.<\/p>\n Now that the city\u2019s Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission (PRAC) has approved year two\u2019s grants despite the delays, there are some questions Rodriguez and other advocates want answered before the next cycle begins.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some of that hinges on a core tension that\u2019s been around since the inception of Measure P:\u00a0 Should it prioritize legacy arts organizations that have served Fresno for decades, or startups that need support to find their footing? Should it focus on sustaining large organizations with bigger bills, or on small organizations that are trying to scale up?<\/p>\n There are disparate answers to that question across Fresno\u2019s arts ecosystem. But not all the visions of how to improve the process are as divisive.<\/p>\n Some suggestions, like coming up with a stipend for the volunteers who review and score dozens of grant applications, have received support from the community coalition as well as city officials \u2014 and hinge instead on whether or not the administrator of the grant program, the Fresno Arts Council, can secure additional funding for that purpose.<\/p>\n Despite the already-tense past few months, these debates could come to a head again in the next 60 days, as the opportunity to update grant guidelines will come in December, according to the PRAC.<\/p>\n The 80-20 ratio<\/p>\n On the question of what kinds of organizations should be prioritized in the grantmaking process, year two\u2019s guidelines \u2014 which were drafted by the PRAC and Arts Council and approved by the Fresno City Council with some tweaks \u2014 offered an answer.<\/p>\n Overall, 80% of the year\u2019s $6.3 million in funding was set aside for so-called \u201cestablished organizations\u201d to compete for across two categories. Those organizations are ones that pull in anything over $50,000 in yearly revenue \u2014 representing a wide range of nonprofits in Fresno, where a handful carry in revenues near $5 million. The remaining 20% was for two categories set aside for \u201cemerging organizations,\u201d or ones with annual budgets under $50,000.<\/p>\n That left emerging organizations fighting for just over $1 million of the available funds while roughly $5 million was reserved for established organizations.<\/p>\n Not everyone was happy with that ratio.<\/p>\n Combine the 80-20 formula with the award amounts the PRAC ultimately recommended \u2014 which ranged from 30% to 90% of what applicants requested \u2014 and some worry whether the formula is setting up small organizations for failure.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the intent was: there\u2019s this pool of money. We want to give these artists and these brand new emerging organizations an opportunity to use this as their stepping stone, then we actually need to give them a stepping stone,\u201d said Erin Burd, executive director of Arts Enrichment for All and two-time applicant in both Measure P grant cycles.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNot a pebble.\u201d<\/p>\n Critics, including Ome Lopez of Dulce Upfront, also believe the \u201clopsided\u201d formula failed to expand access to arts and culture in the way Measure P calls for.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat imbalance,\u201d Lopez said, \u201cit reflects the design of focusing more attention on providing resources to organizations that already have a lot of access to resources.\u201d<\/p>\n But others, including Arts Council Executive Director Lilia Gonz\u00e1les Ch\u00e1vez, have questioned some of the pushback. She said she\u2019s concerned there\u2019s a false equivalency between the size of an organization\u2019s budget and whether they reach underserved populations with their programming.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ordinance is very clear to say that it wants to support and sustain existing organizations and increase access to the parts for underserved populations,\u201d she said. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t say that some organizations are responsible for serving (the) underserved more than others.<\/p>\n Leaders of larger arts nonprofits have also challenged the idea that established organizations don\u2019t need the funding \u2014 revenues are higher, but so are expenses.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one is going to be sitting back with their feet up, thanks to Measure P,\u201d said Arianna Paz Ch\u00e1vez, the executive director of Arte Am\u00e9ricas and daughter of the Arts Council\u2019s executive director Lilia Gonz\u00e1les Ch\u00e1vez.<\/p>\n Since the 80-20 formula comes from the grant guidelines, that is something that can be debated and changed going forward.<\/p>\n Commissioner Laura Ward, who sits on the PRAC, hopes people come to the table to discuss what different formula they would like to see.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf a lot of people who care about this participate and say 80-20 is not right for year three, we should look at a different allocation for year three,\u201d she said. \u201cThen, that is what we would recommend.\u201d<\/p>\n Deciding who\u2019s in charge of the funds<\/p>\n