MAITLAND, Fla. — Central Florida arts and culture organizations felt the pinch last year after Gov. Ron DeSantis cut out roughly $32 million for the arts. 

Art & History Museums of Maitland Director of Development Jessi VanPelt traveled to Tallahassee recently to advocate for yearly grant funding after the nonprofit didn’t receive money from the state last year. 

Now she said leadership at the organization is thinking ahead and hosting their biggest fundraising event of the year on Saturday.

What You Need To Know

  • Last year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis cut out roughly $32 million for the arts from the state budget

  • Art & History Museums of Maitland didn't receive funding last year, but leaders at the nonprofit say they hope they will this year

  • On Saturday, the organization is hosting its biggest fundraising event of the year, during which they hope to raise $50,000

They hope to raise $50,000, which will go toward basic operations so they can keep serving the community. 

Staff are hoping for the best, especially after funding cuts. 

“It put us, in particular, in a hard place,” VanPelt said. “We were eligible for up to $150,000 of funding. So, we did a combination of things. We are fortunate to be funded by the city of Maitland significantly. We’re able to go to them and ask for a little bit of more funding. But that’s probably not a possibility this year,”

VanPelt said the organization was fortunate that it didn’t have to cut programming last year. 

Many of their programs are free and they even started a summer campaign to raise money. 

People chipped in to help, and they hope that happens again. 

“So, when organizations hold fundraisers like this, it really supports basic operations that provide the backbone for everything that we do, the fun stuff the community does get to see,” said Danielle Thomas, the executive director for Art & History Museums of Maitland.

The event takes place on Saturday starting at 6 p.m.