A new Missouri initiative aims to “educate, inspire, and galvanize” residents to urge greater arts support by elected leaders.

Missouri Citizens for the Arts launched its pilot program Organizing for the Arts this week and is supported by 4A Arts, American Alliance of Artists and Audiences, with the purpose of “turning Missouri arts consumers into arts advocates.”

“For more than 40 years, Missouri Citizens for the Arts has provided a presence for Missouri’s arts industry at the state Capitol,” said MCA Government Affairs Consultant Kyna Iman in a news release. “When funding for the arts is presented as a ‘discretionary’ choice, MCA is there to remind 197 state legislators that for every one dollar invested in the arts, more than eight dollars are returned to the Missouri economy.

“MCA has successfully saved (the Missouri Arts Council) from being zeroed out of the state budget to securing over $10 million in the FY25 state budget to support over 500 arts organizations and events statewide.”

O4A provides the bandwith and capacity-building potential for MCA to expand the grassroots membership base, the release notes, along with refining messaging around the importance of arts funding at the state level and collaborating on inspiring content to persuade residents to become arts advocates.

“With this pilot program, we are thrilled to support the MCA efforts to increase state support of the Missouri creative economy,” said O4A Director Gavin Lodge. “Like arts advocacy organizations across the country, MCA carries the critical task of advocating for greater funding, yet lacks the resources for extensive grassroots organization.”