Budget 2022/23 Recommendation for Continued Support to Hotel Tax Arts & Culture Allocation

CALL TO ACTION: >>> Arts for a Better Bay Area, the San Francisco Arts Alliance and its partnering organizations have drafted a letter to send to our City's officials to request and ensure ongoing support to supplement Hotel Tax shortfalls due to the pandemic as we move into the budgeting cycle for 2022/23. JOIN US IN THIS EFFORT, PLEASE ADD YOUR NAME! <<<

THE REASON:

City of San Francisco budgeting in May 2021, Mayor London Breed supported allocating City General Funds to help backfill revenue losses due to reduced hotel/tourism occupancy to provide operating support and relief to arts and culture organizations and artists. For more information, please see the Mayor's press release from last year: https://sfmayor.org/article/mayor-london-breed-announces-funding-fill-gap-arts-budgets-due-covid-19

Proposition E (Arts for Everyone) passed in 2018 with a sweeping vote from San Francisco voters to ensure 1.5% of Hotel Tax revenues are dedicated annually to provide operating support and opportunities to arts organizations and artists. This percentage goes directly to Grants for the Arts and San Francisco Arts Commission (who provide grants to arts organizations and artists), Cultural Centers, Cultural Districts, and the Arts Impact Endowment.

With hotel occupancy down compared to 2019 and tourism still working to recover, it is essential to continue providing funding allocations to backfill the funding gap due to Covid-19 to aid our also recovering arts and culture sector.

While the Mayor proposed two years worth of funding allocation (2021/22 & 2022/23), we are mobilizing this effort to express our support and encouragement for this budget year's continued backfill for arts and culture at the proposed $31.4M, as our arts/culture organizations are still working to sustain and recover.

ADD YOUR VOICE:

>>> Please join us and add your voice! Fill out the simple Google Form here to join us in the effort and add your organization or individual name to the letter. Thank you! * <<<

* See a copy of the letter here!