Mississippi Arts Commission: Advocacy

Overview

“On behalf of the Board of Trustees and staff of the Mississippi Museum of Art, and the entire community of the State of Mississippi, thank you for the general operations support grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission. We believe this support to be critical in maintaining the benefits of art appreciation developing throughout our state with your assistance.”

Betsy Bradley, Director

Mississippi Museum of Art

With increased funding, the Mississippi Arts Commission can support our constituents through greater grant opportunities and more educational programming. With a strong group of statewide arts advocates, the Mississippi Arts Commission can become a stronger voice for the arts across Mississippi. As an arts advocate, we ask that you take every opportunity to share your support of the arts with your legislator. (Click here for the Mississippi Legislature website.)

If you would like a list of arts advocacy tips, click here. If you need an assistance getting in touch with your Legislator, feel free to contact MAC's Public Relations Director, Susan Liles for assistance. For more tips on advocacy, refer to the links below.

Arts Advocacy Resources

American Arts Alliance

1112 16th Street, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036
202-207-3850

Established in 1977, the American Arts Alliance is a nationwide consortium of nonprofit performing, presenting and exhibiting arts organizations. The mission of the Alliance is to be the principal advocate for America's professional nonprofit arts organizations and their publics in representing arts interests and advancing arts support before Congress and other branches of the federal government.

Americans for the Arts

1000 Vermont Avenue, NW, 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20005
202.371.2830

Americans for the Arts is a leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. They are dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every individual to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Their website has abundant resources for arts advocates, including arts research, connections to state and federal representatives, and news on federal legislation affecting the arts.

Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest

2040 S Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
202-387-5048

The Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest (CLPI) is a national organization that educates nonprofits about the important role lobbying and public policy participation can play in achieving their missions. CLPI provides training on lobbying and advocacy, as well as motivational, legal and how-to information via its website, books and one-pagers. CLPI is unique in that it works with nonprofits across a broad spectrum of interests and focuses mainly at enabling nonprofits new to the public policy arena to become strong advocates for their causes.

Mississippi Alliance for Arts education

101 Carrie Road
Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39402
601-268-6996

The Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education is committed to increasing public understanding of the benefits of arts education and providing arts education for all students - from their first day of school until graduation.

National Assembly of State Arts Agencies

1029 Vermont Avenue, NW, 2nd Floor
Washington, DC 20005
202-347-6352

The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) is the membership organization of the nation's state and jurisdictional arts agencies. They are involved in a number of advocacy efforts, including serving as a national co-sponsor of the national Arts Advocacy Day in Washington D.C. NASAA has a number of publications on advocacy available on its website.

National Conference of State Legislatures

444 North Capitol Street, N.W., Suite 515
Washington, D.C. 20001
202-624-5400

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) monitors arts and culture-related legislation at the state level and provides information to legislators and the public.

Vote Smart

This site makes it easy to find out who your federal and state representatives are and provides information on candidates and elected officials in five basic categories: biographical information, issue positions, voting records, campaign finances and interest group ratings. The organization also has publications available for voters and reporters.