Kansas to Lose About $800K in Arts Funding

Kansas is set to miss out on about $800,000 in arts funding this year because state spending doesn’t meet a minimum set by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Wichita Eagle reports that the state is about $250,000 short of the minimum needed to receive federal matching funds for the NEA. Kansas allocated $191,000 in arts funding for this fiscal year.

The executive director of the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission says losing more than $400,000 in federal matching funds will limit the amount of grants the commission can award this year. The loss of NEA funding has resulted in the loss of other arts funding, bringing the total to $800,000.

The Mid-America Arts Alliance announced it would suspend Kansas’ memberships earlier this month. One of its requirements is that states must meet the NEA minimum.