Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra takes the stage at the City of Tallahassee’s Celebrate America event on Saturday, July 4, 2026, at Tom Brown Park in Tallahassee, Florida.
Sarah Cheatham | Tallahassee Dem
USA TODAY Network, Reuters
In June, across Tallahassee and other north Florida cities, you might have heard joyous sighs of relief when hopeful arts organizations who’d applied for funding awards from the state were rewarded with grants from $40,000 up to $150,000. Great news.
But of the 563 applications received by the state, the June list of awards included only 11 Leon County recipients funded to a total of $862,368. Arts advocates say each of them was an excellent choice, but they were left confused as to why so many prominent organizations had been ignored despite having been ranked by panels of experts as highly worthy of support.
Exactly zero dollars in funding had been awarded to The Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra; nothing to LeMoyne Art Foundation; the Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science got nothing; Young Actors Theatre of Tallahassee – zero; and the same with FSU’s Opening Nights, FSU Museum of Fine Arts, and a few more.
7 more organizations funded
Then on Sept. 17 funding came through for seven more Leon County organizations, including The Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, LeMoyne Arts and Young Actors Theatre as well as FSU’s MoFA, Opening Nights, Tallahassee Museum and the District Board of Trustees of Tallahassee State College.
But even as Mandy Stringer, CEO of the Tallahassee Symphony, Kathleen Spehar, CEO of the Council on Arts and Culture (COCA), and Arielle Raff, Executive Director of the LeMoyne, expressed disappointment, they and others were also left feeling simply confused and concerned as to how the recommendations and choices had been made.
Jennifer Jones, President and CEO of the Florida Cultural Alliance, an arts advocacy organization, explained the usual and multi-layered process for selecting recipients for the arts grants. “Initially the applications are vetted by State Department staff for completeness and eligibility.”
The requests are then scored and ranked by panels of volunteer arts experts and reviewed by the Florida Arts Council.
“The Secretary of State then makes his own review and recommendations to the Legislature, who may then incorporate an appropriation for the grants into the state budget,” Jones said.
But state Arts and Culture funding had been unusual for several years, bouncing up and down by millions since 2022. And then came 2024 when Gov. DeSantis vetoed all of the monies designated for Arts funding. The cultural scene was in shock.
New grants come through
This year, organizations were hoping that around $20 million would be distributed (down from an all-time high in 2022 of $59 million). But without explanation, the Legislature seemed to “waver.” With an initial disbursement of $12.4 million in grants in June, the body then seemed to pause, suggesting there might be another $7.5 million available later, but from a “proviso fund.”
Why it was necessary to “hold back” from the $20 million of planned grants, has not been explained. All arts advocates knew to do at that point was to begin letter, email, and personal ‘lobbying’ with those in charge, trying to explain the importance of not letting the area’s arts languish.
And in fact, the Legislature has now committed to most of the hoped-for grants. Most recently updated Sept. 17, Leon County has received $1,723,529 to be distributed to 7 additional organizations. Yet some questions in the process still seem difficult to explain.
This year all submissions with a ranking above 80 were at least considered. Previously, rankings of 95 were assured a recommendation, but not those below. This year, one organization ranked “83.333” received a gift of $40,000; another group ranked 87.07 received $65,700. But two others ranked “100” and “99.663” received – zero.
Unexplained rejections
Other unexplained decisions included: The Tallahassee Museum was not recommended, but it was funded. The Quincy Music Theatre was recommended, but not funded. And Gadsden Arts was also recommended, but received no funds.
And as before, the Riley House Museum in Tallahassee did not receive their grant. Another unfunded organization that continues to leave supporters shaking their heads is that COCA, the Council on Culture and Arts organization which advocates for other arts organizations, and in fact, has a “non-compete” policy when it comes to obtaining arts funding, received nothing.
“Yes,” says Kathleen Spehar, “we are going to have to do some deep thinking and adjust.”
Lena Juarez, a lobbyist with JEJ and Associates and a TSO board member says that “No one knows what caused “the dam to break” and the held-back proviso monies to be released,” but she believes that the public’s involvement meant a lot. So does Dan Taylor, a past president of COCA’s Board of Directors, an arts advocate, and artist.
But he also suggests that many organizations voluntarily “backed off” on some of their activities and stated points of view fearing state retribution for their positions on DEI, “inclusion,” and Social Justice. “You have the feeling folks are running scared a lot of the time.” He muses that if there is a change in politics after the elections, “things might be different.”
In the meantime, there is no rest for those who need money.
Spehar says that, “In October we begin again to prepare for the funding requests we’ll be making for 2027/28.”
Recommended organizations that were funded
Proviso list of final state funding for arts organizations in Leon County.
$1,723,529 to 18 organizations from Leon County
Florida Art Education Association: $40,000
Florida Association of Museum Foundations: $58,021
Florida School Music Association: $85,396
Goodwood Museum & Garden: $90,000
LeMoyne Art Foundation: $102,800
Ringling- FSU: $150,000
Opening Nights- FSU; $150,00
MoFA – FSU: $79,000
Scientiae: $25,000
Southern Shakespeare Co: $72,329
Tallahassee Museum: $150,000
Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra: $150,000
The District Board of Trustees – TSC: $123,000
The Florida Music Education Association: $150,000
The Tallahassee Bach Parley: $40,000
The Tallahassee Ballet: $126,614
The Tallahassee Community Chorus: $25,000
Young Actors Theatre of Tallahassee: $106,361
$278,728 to 4 organizations from Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jefferson, or Wakulla counties:
Monticello Opera House; Gadsden Arts; Havana History & Heritage Society; Quincy Music Theatre
Recommended organizations that were not funded: 12 from Leon County
Recommended but not funded: 621 Gallery; Artist Series; Ayoka African Drum & Dance; Council on Culture & Arts; John Gilmore Riley Center/Museum for African American History & Culture, Inc; Making Light Productions; Theatre Tallahassee
Vetoed:Asian Coalition of Tallahassee; Ben Gunter; Divine Revelations Ministries; Springtime Tallahassee; Theatre with a Mission
5 total from Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jefferson, & Wakulla counties
Recommended but not funded:
Havana Mainstreet; Quincy Mainstreet
Vetoed:Gulf Specimen Marine Lab; Forgotten Coast Cultural Coalition; Jack Rudloe Writing Florida’s Waters
Some of the information in this story was previously published in the Democrat in June, 2026.
Marina Brown can be reached at: mcdb100@comcast.net. She is the author of six Gold Medal-winning books.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: After unexplained wait, state arts funding flows for Leon County
Reporting by Marina Brown, Tallahassee Democrat correspondent / Tallahassee Democrat
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The Tallahassee Ballet and Young Actors Theatre will team up for An Evening of Music & Dance: Ballet & Broadway at Opperman Music Hall at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 18, and 2:30 p.m. Sept. 20, 2026. Provided by Tallahassee Ballet USA TODAY Network, Reuters 
Moments from the Chain of Park arts festival in Tallahassee on Saturday April 18, 2026. The festival is open to the public Saturday, April 18, until 5:00 p.m. and Sunday, April 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dan Taylor, President of LeMoyne Arts, seen here. Sarah Cheatham/Tallahassee Democ USA TODAY Network, Reuters
Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
This story was originally published September 30, 2026 at 5:08 AM.