When the Sarasota County Commission cut tourist tax funding to Embracing Our Differences and two other organizations in July, commissioners also put a hold on renewing its long-running contract with the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County to oversee the arts grants program.

At the time, commissioners said they wanted to see changes in the way the grant vetting process works, the methods used to calculate how organizations qualify for funding and the requirements placed on grant recipients to measure attendance before approving the $285,000 contract.

After revisions were made to requirements and goals, commissioners have now approved a one-year $284,000 contract with the Alliance to oversee the process once again.

Since 1997, the Arts Alliance (formerly the Sarasota County Arts Council) has administered the grants program, which is funded by a small portion of taxes paid on hotel stays and short term rentals. This year, the county collected enough to provide $2.1 million, divided among 35 arts and culture programs.

Organizations must apply and meet various goals before they are ranked and awarded a portion of the funding.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

Most of the organizations that apply receive some funding and commissioners usually approve the grants recommended by the Tourist Development Council, a county advisory board that works with the Arts Alliance. But this year, commissioners voted to pull $112,000 in funding for the annual outdoor art display Embracing Our Differences; the Chalk Festival, which is returning to downtown Sarasota this year; and WSLR/Fogartyville Community Arts and Media Center.

Measuring tourism through grants

Commissioners raised concerns about how the outdoor Embracing Our Differences and Chalk Festival could effectively monitor how many people were attending the exhibits as required to measure the grant’s impact on tourism. The concerns were first raised in January but the organizations had thought they had time to implement new monitoring systems.

Sarah Wertheimer, executive director of Embracing Our Differences, said her organization had been working with the city of Sarasota on a system to monitor how many people visited the annual display. Denise Kowal, founder of the Chalk Festival, said her organization would have to switch to paid ticketing instead of having an open exhibit. The commissioners gave no explanation for not funding WSLR, the community radio station, which is known for its progressive programming.

While commissioners said their vote on Embracing Our Differences was about measuring the impact of the grants on tourism, Wertheimer said it was politically motivated because of the exhibit’s focus on artwork and inspirational measures that stress diversity, equity and inclusion.

Commissioners “have chosen to politicize the work we do though we are not a political organization in any way, shape or form,” she said. “They have chosen to politicize human rights and human beings.”

Wertheimer said this week that the organization raised a lot of money after the vote, including a major gift from Hugh Culverhouse, Jr., who donated $107,000 to cover the loss of both the county funds and state arts grants that Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed.

Commissioners agree to new requirements

After a presentation by Nicole Rissler, director of parks, recreation and natural resources for the county at the Sept. 11 meeting, commissioners said they were satisfied with the changes in the scope of the contract agreement with the Arts Alliance.

“I think it was thoughtful in terms of staff and the Arts Alliance in working through what we asked for and really to put a pulse on where the taxpayer money is going and where it’s most effective,” said Commissioner Neil Rainford, who was appointed to his seat by DeSantis and recently lost his primary election campaign to former Sheriff Tom Knight. “I think this will help the program continue to grow and make us the cultural coast we want to be.”

Commissioner Joe Neunder said the agreement represented “high levels of quantifiable metrics that we can track and gain data that helps everybody involved in the process, including this board making financial decisions. We want a good return on our investment for our community. We want to push our cultural coast.”

Brin Hersh, CEO of the Arts Alliance, said he was grateful to the commissioners for approving the agreement.

“The economic impact of our arts and culture sector is significant, drawing tourists from across the state, country and world to experience Sarasota’s rich cultural offerings,” he said in a statement. “By working closely with the county and local arts organizations, we ensure innovative strategies are in place to attract visitors and support the vibrancy of our arts community.”

Follow Jay Handelman on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Contact him at [email protected]. And please support local journalism by subscribing to the Herald-Tribune.