Five organizations that submitted applications last year did not vie for funds for 2026, commission learns
In July 2024, two Sarasota County commissioners raised concerns about three Sarasota County arts organizations that an independent panel had recommended to receive grants for programs during the current fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1, 2024.
Commissioner Joe Neunder expressed opposition to seeing taxpayer money put toward Embracing Our Differences and the Fogartyville conerts produced by public radio station WSLR in Sarasota, with then-Commissioner Neil Rainford agreeing and calling, as well, for denial of support for what he described as “sidewalk chalk.” Rainford was referring to the Sarasota International Chalk Festival.
Neunder explained that he did not believe the Fogartyville application to be appropriate for county funding, noting of WSLR, “It’s a media arts/radio station.”
As for Embracing Our Differences, Neunder pointed out, “It’s a [Sarasota] bayfront artwork display.” He also had learned from county staff, he continued, “There seems to be some logistical issues there.”
Rainford stressed that he did not believe taxpayer money “should be going for sidewalk art.”
In statements they provided to The Sarasota News Leader, representatives of each of the three organizations disputed Neunder’s and Rainford’s characterizations of their programming during that July 2024 discussion.
Ultimately, the commissioners did not approve grants for those three organizations out of Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax — or, “bed tax” — revenue, even though Commissioner Mark Smith tried to persuade his colleagues otherwise.
This year, no commissioner argued against any of the 33 programs recommended for funding in the 2026 fiscal year, which will begin on Oct. 1.
The total amount provided to the grant recipients will be $2.1 million.
Of the three organizations denied funding last year, only WSLR chose to try again this year, for its 2025-26 Fogartyville Concert Season, a county chart showed.
During the Open to the Public comment period at the start of the July 9 commission meeting, Jesse Coleman, executive director of WSLR and Fogartyville, told the board members, “For those of you who may be hearing about us for the first time, Forgartyville Community Media and Art Center is more than just a venue. It’s an intimate, welcoming listening room with a strong sense of place.” It is located “in the heart of the Rosemary Art and Design District,” he added. “We present music that spans genres [and] cultures,” helping people “discover something new and meaningful …”
A grants program with a long history
Brian Hersh, CEO of the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County, which oversees the vetting of the applications for the grants, pointed out to the commissioners during their regular meeting on July 9 that what is known as the Tourist Development Cultural/Arts program was established in 1995. It “offers competitive funding” for arts organizations in an effort to draw more visitors to Sarasota County.
He did note the “change in criteria” for the program, which went into effect for this fiscal year, as The Sarasota News Leader reported in July 2024:
During the July 9 discussion, Commissioner Smith commended Hersh and his team, as well as the panelists, for following those criteria, “to make sure that we’re getting those ‘heads in beds.’ ” Smith was using a term that tourism marketing leaders employ in regard to visitors.
“I’m impressed by the range of the different artists, again showing the spectrum of the arts community here in Sarasota, which we’re all proud of,” Smith added.
Sarasota County has more than 80 active arts organizations, Hersh pointed out. Add in the cultural institutions, he said, and “We’re way over 100 organizations.”
The grant application period opened on Feb. 5, Hersh noted; it closed on April 1. The Alliance received applications from 35 organizations, he said. Five that vied for grants for this fiscal year did not participate in regard to the 2026 fiscal year, he pointed out.
Two of the 35 dropped out during this year’s process, he continued, leaving 33, all of which were recommended to receive funding.
None of the applications scored below an 80 on a scale up to 100, Hersh noted. Any score below 80 means no funding will be recommended.
Altogether, the applications approved had requests of $2,477,000. Based on the scoring criteria, Hersh continued, the total amount awarded would be $2,213,600. However, he added, the county had only $2.1 million to allocate to the program for next year, so the scores were adjusted to fit that amount.
Commissioner Smith ended up making the motion to approve the grants as proposed, and Commissioner Ron Cutsinger seconded it.
Cutsinger noted that he and Hersh participated about eight years ago in the Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s Leadership Institute, which Cutsinger characterized as an “incredible privilege.”
Cutsinger added, “You go through that and you’re friends for life.”
He told Hersh that he was “very, very happy to see [Hersh] take [the Alliance] position a couple of years ago,” following the retirement of long-time Alliance CEO Jim Shirley.
“You’ve already done a great job with it,” Cutsinger added in addressing Hersh.
Smith’s motion approving the grants as recommended passed unanimously.