Federal funding for creative arts

In 2025, federal funding for the creative arts is expected to decrease by 2.9%, lowering the total budget to $160.5 million. Although a Continuing Resolution (CR) will temporarily keep funding at last year's levels until Congress passes a new appropriations bill, funding growth overall will remain nearly flat. Under directives from the Trump Administration, the agency overseeing these funds will start canceling existing grants to cut costs. Organizations affected by these cancellations will be given short notice but will have an opportunity to appeal the decisions. Because the Trump Administration is focused on reducing government spending, the agency is at risk of further cuts or even losing support. To avoid further jeopardizing its funding, the agency is making changes to align with administration priorities. This includes narrowing the scope of its grant program, prioritizing favored projects, limiting the diversity of initiatives it supports, and reducing overall spending.

Looking back at the past five years, federal funding for creative arts experienced a 3.3% increase in 2020 as government investments expanded to support businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, which influenced beneficial legislation for the organization. Specifically, arts and cultural industries received $75.0 million through the CARES Act in 2020. Despite additional funding from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which aimed to maintain fiscal support, appropriations were 1.3% lower than the preceding year; this decline was partly due to the strengthening of the US dollar, which reduced the necessary funding to accommodate rising prices. In 2022, funding increased modestly by 0.3% following the approval of a budget boost under the Consolidated Appropriations Act. However, 2023 saw a significant reduction of 11.0% due to congressional revisions in allocations to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The inability to secure requested funding boosts in 2024 reflected ongoing divisions in Congress over funding priorities. Nevertheless, the American Rescue Plan Act sustained the agency with nearly $135.0 million on a multi-year basis, facilitating grant-giving activities in the period. Overall, federal funding for creative arts reflected a CAGR of 0.8% from 2020 to 2025, which is reflective of the dynamic balancing between economic response efforts and fiscal constraints.