State legislators have stripped funds from five local arts nonprofits, accusing the organizations of showing disrespect for the legislative process by not attending committee hearings.

A Feb. 17 amendment to House Bill 9 removed or reduced state grant funding for 22 arts programs, including five Flathead Valley organizations. The organizations were originally slated to receive between $12,500 and $13,500 each from a longstanding arts grant funded through the state’s coal trust.  

Rep. John Fitzpatrick, R-Anaconda, introduced the amendment to penalize organizations that had not provided in-person or Zoom testimony at prior hearings regarding the bill. 

“It might be laziness. It could be the sense of entitlement. It could be fiscal incompetence or failure to accept personal responsibility,” Fitzpatrick said of the absent organizations. 

But Jen Asebrook, executive director of Whitefish Theatre Company, said the faux pas was the result of miscommunication, not incompetence. 

“I think there was a grave, grave misunderstanding of what was required of us,” said Asebrook. “I feel bad that we misunderstood this, but we can’t follow rules that we don’t understand.” 

The Montana Arts Council is responsible for reviewing and managing applications for the state’s cultural and aesthetic grants. While Asebrook received an email from the council regarding dates to provide testimony to the Long-Range Planning Committee, communications never implied that testimony would factor into funding decisions.  

“You are not required to testify but the committee chair strongly encourages everyone to participate,” reads an attachment to the Dec. 19 email. 

Asebrook promptly replied to the email, informing the council that she would be unavailable on the scheduled dates and asking if she could provide written testimony instead. A Montana Arts Council employee confirmed that written testimony “works great,” so Asebrook was shocked when the Whitefish Theatre Company had its proposed award reduced from $12,500 to $2,000. 

“It may not seem like that much money,” she said. “But all of those little grants add up for little nonprofits like us. If we had known the rules, we would have done it.” 

Asebrook’s story mirrors that of other Flathead Valley arts organizations.  

North Valley Music School and Whitefish Review also had their grant awards reduced to $2,000 after providing written testimony rather than appearing in-person or via Zoom. North Valley Music School Executive Director Deidre Corson said that, in previous years, the school had not been penalized for not testifying. 

“This is my 13th year being involved in the music school, and this is the first time I’ve seen something like this,” she said. 

During a Feb. 21 hearing, Carolyn Valacich said the Glacier Symphony’s recent change in leadership contributed to the organization’s decision against attending the legislative hearings. Alpine Theatre Project Executive Director Cynthia Benkelman said she did attend a hearing, but the committee ran out of time before she could testify. The current amendment fully retracts both organization’s proposed awards. 

“There is no requirement for anyone to come before an appropriations committee and testify on behalf of the funding they hope to receive,” Fitzpatrick admitted during the Feb. 21 hearing.  

But the representative maintained his assertion that the amendment was “an appropriate method” to send a message to nonprofits he characterized as “slackers.”  

“It’s a no-brainer,” he said. “These folks are running a business. All you’ve got to do is spend five minutes on Zoom, and someone hands you a check for $12,000 and you can’t bother to do it and then you come here with a litany of excuses of why you couldn’t do it. I can’t buy it." 

Another nonprofit executive, who asked that their name and affiliation not appear out of fear of jeopardizing their own organization’s funding, said Fitzpatrick’s statements spread “misinformation” about the funding process. While the executive did testify before the committee, they had not interpreted her attendance as a requirement for funding and disputed Fitzpatrick’s claims that the grant funds were “a gimme check” for arts organizations. 

“It’s much more complicated than what it appears,” the executive said. “It’s a pretty rigorous process to even apply for these grants.” 

Their organization dedicated several staff meetings to completing the 15- to 20-page grant application, and they spent several additional hours researching and writing a statement to read before the committee — a process they doubted smaller nonprofits would have the resources to undertake. 

The executive’s organization is one of the 48 applicants that are now posed to receive an increased grant award as funds are reallocated, but they expressed frustration with the committee’s decision to “go after the little guys.” 

At the Feb. 21 hearing, a representative from the Montana Arts Council apologized to the organizations for the initial miscommunication and acknowledged that she misinterpreted the committee’s expectations for applicants. The council has reportedly suggested that impacted nonprofits also adopt an apologetic tone when communicating about the proposed funding cuts. 

For Jen Asebrook, that isn’t hard. 

“If we had known the rules, we would have done it,” she said. “I feel sorry. I want to apologize because it was an honest mistake." 

The amendment will face votes in both the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee before the cuts are finalized. 

Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at [email protected] or 758-4433.