With a hot debate underway about whether to extend the sin tax on tobacco and alcohol for the benefit of Cleveland’s sports facilities, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, which administers a similar tax for the benefit of the arts community, is laying the groundwork for its case for renewal next year.
The group just released a report detailing where the money they’ve received from the tax, passed in 2006, has gone.
The report includes information about education programs for school children as well as adults, public programs including concert series, festivals, and nature programs — almost 50% of them free, and the number of jobs and the economic benefits created by the arts and culture money. It details how, unlike the sports tax money, the arts and culture tax stream almost all stays in the county, circulating in the local economy.
Since the tax was passed, CAC has given $112 to 259 area arts and cultural organizations, covering dance, theater, music, visual arts, and mixed-media performances among other things.
Read the full report here.
cacgrants.org/cac-annual-report-2013