Federal Action Alerts & Updates

The Federal government is quickly becoming our most active area of work at Inspire Washington. With so much going on and changes happening every day, here is a high level list of updates that are most pertinent to the cultural sector in Washington state that you should know and act on today.

National Endowment for the Humanities:

The Trump administration made drastic cuts at the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), by placing 80% of its staff on indefinite administrative leave and cancelling all open grants issued under the Biden administration. Specifically, this threatens any funding you receive through Humanities Washington or directly through NEH. Upwards of $10 million in cultural funding in Washington is at stake. Click this link for the ACTION ALERT to learn more and send a letter your members of Congress to share your concerns and protect this vital cultural resource!

Institute for Museum and Library Services:

On March 14th, President Trump issued an Executive Order to dismantle the only federal agency dedicated to funding library and museum services, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), as well as six other agencies. These cuts represent one third of Washington State Library's annual budget and threatens resources to your local and college libraries. Additionally, museums will lose funding for programming and expanding access. Click this link for the ACTION ALERT and send a letter your members of Congress to share your concerns and protect this vital cultural investment! Click here to learn more from the American Library Association.

Inspire Washington's Monthly Federal Webinar:

Join us on May 2nd at 12pm for our monthly Federal Update. May's event will feature a panel of leaders from ArtsWA, Humanities WA, and WA State Libraries to discuss the cuts and/or threats to our state's cultural agencies. Click here to register.

Share Your Story:

We have partnered with the Seattle Times in effort to get more public attention on the Federal cuts to cultural programs across Washington state. If you have stories of impact of any kind - your job is threatened, your library is cutting programs, a federal program in your community was cut, etc - please complete this survey and share your story!

Cultural Futures is our FREE funding, policy, and advocacy workshop for cultural businesses and supporters!

This spring, we invite you to join your local partners for Cultural Futures! Cultural Futures is Inspire Washington’s annual post-State Legislative Session tour when we visit communities to share what has happened in government within the last year that pertains to the cultural sector. It's our job to alert you to new funding and policy opportunities. All our in-person events are held in public spaces with ADA accessibility and will include live closed captioning.

Why is this work important?

The 2025 State Legislative Session has been a challenging one due to budget restrictions, new lawmakers, and changes in the Federal government. We anticipate many new objectives for each of our sectors—science, heritage, and the arts for the 2026 Session and without new advocates and active engagement across the state, these large goals will be very challenging to achieve. Our work with the Federal government has grown substantially and requires a chorus of voices. We will update you on the pertinent information to know and provide easy ways to participate in our advocacy efforts in Washington DC.

If you have thought about getting involved in the past but haven't yet participated, now is the time! With Inspire Washington, cultural advocacy is easy, fun, collaborative, and inspiring!

On the agenda:

New Funding & Policies - We will break down the wins and successes of the State Legislative Session and the opportunities for your work.
Overview of Washington's Cultural Access Program and next steps for your community.
Federal Advocacy - there's a lot going on in the Federal space right and we want to be sure you have the most current and accurate information.
Grant opportunities - ArtsWA, Humanities WA, USDA, community projects, Capital Funding, Federal Opportunities, and much more!
Listening - What do you need and what should we advocates for? How do you get involved? It will take a broad coalition to secure future funding.
Coalition Building - Do you want to be more involved in policy development and advocacy or learn about partnership? Now is the time! There are so many threats and opportunities on the horizon for the cultural sector and we need every voice at the table. We'll plug you into future activities so that your community is represented.

Cultural Futures Sponsorship

The Cultural Futures tour is a great way to spotlight your business and support cultural advocacy in your community! We have several levels of sponsorship available including statewide, regional, and individual cities that can fit any budget including those listed below.

Download our Sponsorship packet to learn more!

In-Person Tour Schedule

Thank you so much to our 27 venue partners - we couldn't do this without you!

Click on the location to register for your community's event. Bold indicates and newly scheduled event!

LOCATION

DATE & TIME

VENUE

Everett	May 6 @ 11am	Schack Art Center
Bellingham	May 6 @ 5pm	Allied Arts of Whatcom County Gallery
Friday Harbor	May 7 @ 4pm	San Juan Community Theatre
Eastsound	May 8 @ 4pm	Orcas Center
Langley	May 9 @ 7pm	Whidbey Island Center for the Arts
Tacoma	May 13 @ 11am	Tacoma Arts Live
Olympia	May 13 @ 7pm	Olympia Armory
Vancouver	May 14 @ 7pm	theARTScentered
Longview	May 15 @ 7pm	Columbia Theatre Association
Forks	May 20 @ 7pm	Rainforest Arts Center
Port Angeles	May 21 @ 4pm	Field Arts & Events Hall
Port Townsend	May 22 @ 1pm	Key City Theatre
Ellensburg	June 3 @ 11am	Gallery One
Tri-Cities	June 4 @ 7pm	The REACH Museum
Yakima	June 5 @ 4pm	Yakima Valley Museum
Spokane	June 10 @ 4pm	Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture
Pullman	June 11 @ 6:30pm	Regional Theatre of the Palouse
Walla Walla	June 12 @ 4pm	Fort Walla Walla Museum
Wenatchee	June 17 @ 7pm	Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center
Twisp	June 18 @ 6:30pm	TwispWorks
Chewelah	June 19 @ 7pm	Chewelah Radio Station
Shoreline	June 23 @ 11am	Shoreline City Hall
Seattle	June 23 @ 4pm	Seattle Rep
Suquamish	June 24 @ 11am	Suquamish Museum
Vashon Island	June 25 @ 4pm	Vashon Center for the Arts
Issaquah	June 26 @ 4pm	Issaquah Depot Museum
Auburn	June 27 @ 11am	White River Valley Museum

Virtual Tour Schedule

Can't make the in-person event ? Not quite ready for in-person events? Your comfort and safety are important to us. We've got you covered with our three virtual sessions! Click on the session to register.

Virtual 1	May 28 @ 7pm	Zoom
Virtual 2	May 29 @ 12pm	Zoom
Virtual 3	May 30 @ 9am	Zoom

About Inspire Washington

Inspire Washington nurtures the human spirit and strengthens communities by increasing access to science, heritage, and arts programming through advocacy, resource development, education, and coalition building.

Inspire Washington

info@inspirewashington.org

P.O. Box 806, Seattle, WA 98111

InspireWashington.org

Manuel R. Cawaling, Executive Director

Jessi Wasson, Deputy Director

Anna Tatelman, Annual Fund Manager

Madeline Dalton, Outreach Coordinator

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