Architecture Nonprofits Appeal to Supporters as NEA Grants Get Terminated
èƵ (TCLF), based in Washington, D.C., managed to find a bit of levity in an otherwise bleak situation with its email. The message that landed in supporters’ inbox on May 7 led with the subject line: “They Dumped Us!” TCLF goes on to explain $30,000 in NEA funding earmarked for the expansion of its What’s Out There Guide to African American Cultural Landscapes had been terminated.
“Losing a $30,000 NEA grant is significant,” the read. “TCLF honored its commitment by securing the required matching funds, and undertaking the work in earnest, but now, critical arts funding has been stripped/withdrawn. The NEA has supported TCLF’s work repeatedly over the past two decades, through multiple administrations; indeed, they have been a vital partner, which has inspired others to give. But TCLF can no longer count on federal support.”