The show goes on: After Trump cuts, this KC-area nonprofit lost $85,000 in funding | Opinion
The funding cuts — $85,000 in all — from the National Endowment for the Arts and another group cut through Enrique Chi’s heart like a hot knife slicing through butter.
Chi is lead singer of Kansas City-based musical act Making Movies. He is also founder of Art as Mentorship, a nonprofit organization that uses the arts to mentor young children around the metropolitan area.
Recently, Chi announced that Art as Mentorship had lost a NEA-affiliated $65,000 grant to expand its services to area youth. Another $20,000 NEA grant to help the organization put on its fourth annual Celebrate Ameri’Kana Music and Arts Festival was withdrawn, he said.
These cuts were devastating, Chi said. An email message sent from an unsigned arts.gov account canceling the music and arts festival grant was difficult to consume, he said. The letter came in May after President Donald Trump’s proposal to eliminate NEA funding from the federal budget.
“Pursuant to the offer letter, the tentative funding recommendation for the following application is withdrawn by the agency and the National Endowment for the Arts will no longer offer award funding for the project,” the message read.
Talk about a punch to the gut.
NEA letter revokes grant
“The NEA is updating its grantmaking policy priorities to focus funding on projects that reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President,” the correspondence continued. “Consequently, we are terminating awards that fall outside these new priorities.”
The letter went on to say “the NEA will prioritize projects that elevate the nation’s HBCUs and Hispanic-serving institutions, celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, foster AI competency, empower houses of worship to serve communities, assist with disaster recovery, foster skilled trade jobs, make America healthy again, support the military and veterans, support Tribal communities, make the District of Columbia safe and beautiful, and support the economic development of Asian American communities. Funding is being allocated in a new direction in furtherance of the Administration’s agenda.”
When I asked Chi his reaction after receiving the news, he said: “It hit home. Twenty thousand dollars is a lot. There was a logistical and tangible challenge. My brain sat with these thoughts: This is an attack on community and change-maker ideas. This is a psychological attack.”
Art as Mentorship had already received half of a $130,000 grant from NEA-affiliated group Mid-America Arts Alliance when Chi said he was notified of the larger cut. Not too many organizations could afford to withstand an $85,000 financial hit, he said.
But the show must go on. And it will, Chi said.
“We are taking it all in stride,” he said.
Arts festival will go on
On July 26, the music and arts festival will take place at Concourse Park in Kansas City’s historic Northeast neighborhood. The festival will showcase young talent from across the region and features Making Movies and La Lulu, a Latin Grammy-winning violinist from New York.
The most enticing part about this eclectic event is free admission. Last year, 2,500 people attended the festival according to Chi’s estimate.
“It’s going to be amazing and it’s going to be free,” he said.
To make up for the cuts, the organization is asking supporters to participate in a matching funding campaign that has already raised $12,000 to support the festival. Between now and July, Art as Mentorship encourages philanthropist groups and individuals to donate.
“If you are in a position to support a nonprofit, consider us,” Chi said.
Art as Mentorship has built up a reputation for amplifying young musicians from underrepresented communities. The work this organization does is very important. Just this week, its Rebel Song Academy hosted 26 area youth for a week of immersive songwriting and creativity.
But as Chi said, his was just one of hundreds of nonprofits across the country affected by deep cuts in federal funding.
How to donate
Despite these expected but unwarranted cuts, there is one part of the NEA’s rejection letter that stung Chi the most, he said.
“Your project, as noted below, unfortunately does not align with (the Trump administration’s) priorities,” the letter read.
“I really had to sit with that,” Chi said “It was a bummer.”
To help offset the cost of Celebrate Ameri’Kana, supporters should visit artasmentorship.org and donate to a worthy cause.
