"Thanks for your tireless efforts to see this through the legislative process. Makes me feel as though Utah's bright future will be even brighter - for those of us who live here, and for the many who may consider moving to our great state. Your work really is important for the culture and 'livability' of our state." David N. Sundwall M.D. | Chief Medical Officer - Rocky Mountain Care, Professor of Public Health - Emeritus, University of Utah School of Medicine - Division of Public Health

“I can’t thank you enough for all you have done to help USUO this session. We are so grateful and appreciate your time and effort in helping us receive some funding for the POPS RFP.”  Hillary Hahn, Utah Symphony | Utah Opera

Advocacy Tools

• For members only: click here to see the results of the most recent legislative session, our advocacy trainings, elected official contact info and loads of other member only perks! You have to be a logged in dues paying member to see this page. If you're not a member, join here!
• Our Advocacy toolkit (a how to guide on advocacy also includes what c3's can and can't do as well as contact info) // Available on the members only page of our website. Or, request a copy by emailing [email protected]. You must be a current member of Utah Cultural Alliance to have access.
• Priority Bills & Appropriations for the most recent session
• Click on the Advocacy blog page to see candidate survey responses, recordings of our advocacy forums, legislative committee reports, bill tracking lists, lists of current appropriation requests, and other useful tools.
• WESTAF's Advocacy Toolkit & NASAA's Why Should Government Support the Arts guide, specific to the NEA

Grassroots Training & Political Information

 We seek to advance grassroots involvement in public policy through:

• Information Source // We track relevant bills and appropriations. We attend relevant legislative committee and municipal council hearings and take notes which we distribute to members.
• Updates // UCA keeps members apprised of public policy changes that impact the cultural sector through its weekly newsletter, blog, and social media.
• Legislative Forums // Offered during the 45-day legislative session, these meetings keep members current on the legislative climate, and encourage action as appropriate. We train members on how to build relationships and communicate needs with elected officials.
• Advocacy Workshops // Near or on Arts Day on the Hill, UCA offers an advocacy workshop at the state capitol. Members receive a tour of the house and senate, and learn the most effective ways to communicate with elected officials.
• Advocacy Toolkit // a member-only benefit and provides a primer of advocacy tips and techniques and contact information for elected officials.
• Candidate Surveys // During election years, we develop and distribute surveys focused on arts and culture issues to all candidates. Results are tabulated and posted on our website and distributed to members, the general public, and the media.

Direct Advocacy

• Advocacy // UCA’s board and staff tracks, takes positions, and lobbies for and against bills, appropriations, zoning, and other political decisions that affect the cultural sector.
• Lobby Days on the Hill // UCA partners with entities such as Utah Division of Arts & Museums, the Utah Museum Association, the Utah Nonprofit Association, and State History to co-host Arts Day on the Hill, Museums Day on the Hill, Nonprofit Day on the Hill, and History Day on the Hill. We organize the advocacy portion of these events, determine messaging, and organize attendees into regional advocacy groups to meet with legislators. We educate attendees on the relevant bills and appropriations that affect the cultural sector. Through these days, hundreds of cultural individuals and organizations come to the Capitol to speak with legislators.
• National Advocacy // Our Executive Director serves as the Utah State Captain of the Americans for the Arts. This person acts as a conduit of information between members and issues on a national level. We organize and attend all Utah meetings with the federal delegation for National Arts Day. UCA is fundraising to send a representative to National Humanities Advocacy Day.
• Cultural Caucus // In 2003, the legislature formed the Utah Legislative Arts and Cultural Caucus. Currently 61 Legislators participate in the caucus. The Cultural Caucus supports the philosophy that culture builds communities by voicing messages that drive legislative leadership to sustain and grow arts and culture as an industry.
• Endorsements Process: First, candidates request our endorsement by submitting a candidate survey (see the blog for responses). All candidates are interviewed by the endorsement committee, comprised of members from our 501c4 board. The endorsement committee asks questions to ascertain true support of the arts and humanities, evaluates the voting records of incumbents, and any other useful information to make these decisions. They then make recommendations to the full 501c4 Utah Cultural Alliance board and their recommendations must be approved by at least 60% of the board.