In early May, after President Trump announced plans to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) the following year, his administration rapidly withdrew or terminated hundreds of NEA grants already awarded or promised to cultural organizations nationwide.
Among the affected were three jazz-centered organizations in Seattle: Earshot Jazz, Seattle JazzED, and South Hudson Music Project, all of which were expecting $25,000 in funding.
On May 2, the NEA sent an email to grantees explaining the abrupt termination of grants, stating that it had updated its grantmaking policy priorities to align with the President’s artistic vision.
The NEA email conveyed, “Your project, as noted below, unfortunately does not align with these priorities.”
Earlier in January, the NEA had previously notified 41 organizations in Washington state that they were recommended for grants totaling over $1 million, with ten awards earmarked for music-specific projects totaling $255,000.
Despite these recommendations meaning that grant applications had successfully passed committee review and were poised for funding, KNKX has confirmed that all ten awards were withdrawn earlier this month.
The repercussions are significant, particularly for the local jazz scene.
Earshot Jazz, a nonprofit dedicated to jazz advocacy and festival production since 2006, has relied on NEA support for its annual jazz festival, a Seattle tradition that started in 1989.
This year, after applying in early 2024, Earshot Jazz was informed in November 2024 of a $25,000 NEA grant allocation for the 2025 festival, crucial for covering artist fees, venue costs, and marketing expenses.
Managing Director Karen Caropepe stated, “We had already completed all of our acceptance paperwork. We use the NEA grant to cover artist fees, venue fees, and some marketing for the festival.”
Typically, the festival’s revenue is sourced from a combination of ticket sales and grants, donations, or sponsorships.
Notably, this NEA grant accounted for 25% of the total budgeted contributed income for the festival.
With funds to secure performance contracts already committed based on the grant’s assurance, interim executive director Merica Whitehall expressed serious concerns: “We’ve been committing to contracts with artists with the expectation of using that $25,000. Now we’re committed and we’re just learning we don’t have the $25,000. That’s going to have incredible reverberations throughout the organization because we’ll have to reduce spending.”
The need for the organization to cut back and potentially tap into its cash reserves poses further issues for Earshot Jazz, as a diminished operating reserve could jeopardize future grant opportunities.
On May 7, as part of an online donation campaign for Washington State nonprofits, titled “GiveBIG Washington,” Earshot reached out to its community for support to mitigate this funding loss.
In a parallel situation, Seattle JazzED, a nonprofit focusing on jazz education, along with South Hudson Music Project—known for its significant role within the local music community—now face similar challenges.
Seattle JazzED provides jazz education to approximately 300 students annually, and the newly appointed executive director, Liz Riggs Meder, acknowledged that losing the grant considerably limits their capacity to offer accessible programs for families struggling financially.
Riggs Meder stated, “Our ability to do that is directly funded through individual donations and grants. Losing $25,000 is $25,000 less we have available to families who wouldn’t otherwise be able to access music education.”
For the South Hudson Music Project, the situation is equally disheartening. The project had planned a four-night festival in the fall called “What’s Going On,” conceived as a tribute to mid-century Black musical pioneers.
Lauded musician and executive director Wayne Horvitz expressed frustration over the NEA’s decision to rescind grants, emphasizing the unprofessionalism of the act.
He recalled, “Plenty of presidents or CEOs come in and change their agendas, but they don’t take away things that were already given…it just shows no sense of class or decorum.”
Having previously benefited from both NEA and local funding, Horvitz noted that the loss of the $25,000 grant from the NEA will require a reworking of his festival plans, thus limiting opportunities for local musicians.
“It’s the money, you know? I have $25,000 less to put this festival on than I did. And so, I have to just rework everything,” Horvitz remarked.
Despite these challenges, he remains committed to potentially moving forward with the festival, albeit adjusted, admitting, “It just reflects the values [of this administration] in the most unpleasant sort of way.”
The controversy surrounding the NEA cuts has raised questions about the future of arts funding in the U.S., and grantees, including Earshot Jazz, Seattle JazzED, and South Hudson Music Project, are rallying to appeal the funding termination.
An appeal process was made available for disqualified grantees, requiring documentation demonstrating alignment with the president’s new priorities.
However, with rising concerns regarding staffing shortages following NEA resignations due to funding cuts, there is skepticism over whether these appeals will be acknowledged.
As Riggs Meder put it, “I don’t even know if people are employed at the NEA anymore. So, that email may just live on a server for the rest of its life.”
In this turbulent climate, Inspire Washington has emerged as a pivotal advocate, dedicated to preserving state funding for arts and culture organizations.
Executive Director Manuel Cawaling revealed their multi-faceted strategy aimed at combating the impacts of the federal budget cuts and recouping lost grant funds.
This approach includes tracking political developments regarding executive orders and lawsuits on their website, setting up face-to-face meetings with Washington’s congressional delegation to advocate for the cultural sector, and empowering the public to voice their concerns through grassroots efforts via their Inspiration League platform.
Cawaling emphasized the critical nature of this moment, stressing the importance of both opposing immediate cuts and pushing Congress to allocate adequate funds in the upcoming 2026 budget discussions.
He warned, “If Congress carries out the president’s wishes and doesn’t appropriate funds for the NEA, the government will only be required to fund arts at the statutory levels, which was only 0.0003% of the total federal budget in 2024.”
For cultural organizations that have been denied grants, including Earshot Jazz, the struggle is not merely about funding loss; it symbolizes a broader threat to the future of arts and culture in the United States.
Whitehall articulated the urgent concern, saying, “It’s not just about the $25,000 that’s been lost. It’s about the future of funding for arts and culture in our country…It’s very confusing and perplexing how the federal administration can think that America can continue to innovate and lead without funding creativity and imagination.”
image source from：https://www.knkx.org/jazz/2025-05-27/seattle-jazz-music-2025-nea-grants-earshot-jazzed-south-hudson-music-project-arts-funding
