A move toward private donors for the arts

When legislators decided a few weeks ago to again chip away at the small pool of state money allocated for arts funding, Fairleigh Cook Jackson’s job got a whole lot more important.

As campaign director of the Community Fund for the Arts, which is housed in the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, Jackson (pictured at right) helps 14 member organizations supplement state funding with private donations.

As state dollars for arts programs decrease an average of about 23% each year (33% slated for 2013), groups like Playmakers, the Baton Rouge Gallery, the Baton Rouge Ballet Theater, the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra and others have to rely more on community support to get by.

“For a lot of these organizations, the CFA is a large part of their budget,” Jackson says. “And for us to feel like we can still help them, we have to get more supporters. We’re all just looking out for each other.”

To combat dwindling funds, Jackson has reached out to businesses to develop workplace-giving programs where employees can contribute monthly from their paychecks. Visit Baton Rouge has signed on, as has the Center for Planning Excellence and the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, which Jackson says speaks to the Chamber’s recognition of the arts as vital to economic development.

While its umbrella organization—the Arts Council—gets funding through state and federal grants as well as private donors, the CFA relies only on private donors. Unlike state grants, the money CFA doles out to its members can be used for any operating expense. And a donor can designate funds to a specific organization.

Even though the CFA campaign has been around since 1985 and is modeled off the United Way, Jackson says it’s still somewhat misunderstood in the community: “Once people understand what it is we do and how we work in relation to the Arts Council, they are more willing to give to a united fund.”

Jackson is hoping locals will respond to the state cuts with increased public support for the arts. “Having access to all these organizations and really seeing what they do for the community, it’s really solidified my feeling that we are in a good place in Baton Rouge,” she says. “There are a lot of things that these organizations are doing to really preserve our story in Baton Rouge and that should be recognized.”

The CFA’s major drive for 2012 ends June 30 and they are about $100,000 shy of the $400,000 goal for the year. For more information on how to contribute, visit cfabr.org.