NEA Grants Canceled–Our Communities Stand to Lose More Than Just Art
This week, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) canceled hundreds of grant awards—just hours after President Trump unveiled a 2026 federal budget proposal calling for the agency's elimination. While the news didn't come entirely by surprise, the timing and scale are deeply alarming. The impact is no less devastating—especially for communities like ours.
At the Firefly Center for Art & Wellbeing in Fosston, we use the arts to support mental health, build community, and offer creative opportunities that connect people of all ages and backgrounds. In towns where resources are limited and isolation is real, arts programming isn’t “extra”—it’s essential.
When the NEA invests in places like Fosston, it’s not just funding a project. It’s fueling resilience. It’s breathing life into communities that too often struggle to retain young people, attract visitors, or offer meaningful outlets for expression and healing.
The arts help keep people here.
They offer our youth something to come back to. They help small businesses thrive around community events. They foster pride in local culture and creativity. They make this a place people want to live, raise families, and grow old in.
The NEA supports these outcomes in every single Congressional district in America. And let’s be clear: this support isn’t symbolic—it’s economic. Arts and culture contribute $1.2 trillion to the U.S. economy and support 5.4 million jobs. Here in Greater Minnesota, NEA funding allows us to provide mental health-informed art workshops, intergenerational classes, healing circles, and creative gatherings that strengthen both individuals and the community at large.
As Erin Harkey, CEO of Americans for the Arts, said: “America’s strength lies in its cultural richness, creativity, and innovation.”
We need your voice. Reach out to your elected officials. Share what the arts have meant to you, your family, and your community. Remind them that communities like ours matter—and so do our creativity, our culture, and our wellbeing. Together, we can turn this moment of uncertainty into one of action—ensuring that the arts are not only preserved but truly valued as essential to education, mental health, economic strength, and vibrant community life.
Click the link below to use Americans for the Arts’ advocacy tool (complete with pre-written scripts) to email or call your legislators TODAY: https://americansthearts.quorum.us/campaign/121806/
The NEA is not a luxury. It’s a lifeline. Let’s fight to keep it.
With resolve,
Heidi Danos
Director, Firefly Center for Art & Wellbeing