Cuyahoga County residents partially fund the diverse and renowned nonprofit arts and culture organizations and programs through a voter-approved 1.5-cent per cigarette tax that was first passed in 2006. Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) is the public authority created to distribute the funds in our community. Since then, CAC has supported millions of cultural experiences for residents in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County each year. However, revenues have declined approximately 50% due to decreasing cigarette sales. This poses a significant threat to these vital cultural experiences and programs. Therefore, we are asking voters to approve a small 3.5 cent per cigarette replacement issue.

CAC is solely funded by the excise tax on cigarettes. This is the only county-wide tax in Cuyahoga County with declining revenue. The steady decline in cigarette sales over the past decades has dealt a heavy blow to CAC’s revenue, reducing annual receipts by nearly 50% since its inception. We need to replace the tax to ensure CAC can continue to fund hundreds of arts and culture nonprofits that benefit residents.

Investing in arts and culture is not just a matter of aesthetics; it is an investment in a source of tremendous pride for our region. By supporting this tax, we promote a better quality of life, education outcomes and opportunities, and economic prosperity:

• Boosts economic development. With a $533 million contribution to the regional economy and thousands of family-supporting jobs, the arts and culture industry not only generates employment opportunities but also elevates our overall quality of life, drives tourism, enhances neighborhoods, and attracts and retains talent.

• Enhances the quality of life by funding and connecting residents to tens of thousands of events and programs in thousands of locations in Cuyahoga County. Every year, CAC-funded organizations offer millions of cultural experiences for residents and visitors, and about half of admissions are free of charge.

• Builds stronger, more vibrant neighborhoods by connecting residents to opportunities to explore new areas or celebrate the cultural experiences. The work of CAC’s grant recipients helps build stronger communities by using arts as a tool to help residents feel safer, active, happier, and more connected to their communities and to each other.

• Improves Education. Through in- and out- of school arts and cultural activities, educational outcomes are improved and unique, safe, and healthy options and life opportunities are provided to young people.
  

Now, more than ever, we need the transformative power of arts and culture to heal,

inspire, and unite us. We can make a resounding statement about our commitment to the arts and our unwavering belief in their ability to shape a better future for our community through supporting this initiative.

Kids. Seniors. Eastside. Westside. Every resident in every neighborhood of Cuyahoga County has access to the wide range of free programming available. It adds up to over 5 million experiences every year.  Arts and culture are essential to making Cuyahoga County a vibrant and appealing place to live. They enhance our quality of life, provide educational opportunities, and contribute to the uniqueness of our community.

Each fall, CAC convenes a panel of diverse arts and cultural professionals from outside the region. They are recruited and carefully vetted to ensure grant applications benefit the public. Panelists evaluate applications at a public meeting or through a written review online. Organizations whose applications meet the criteria, which vary between grants, are recommended to receive funding.

Cuyahoga County-based nonprofits.  Since 2007, CAC has granted $247 million through 4,000 grants to more than 485 nonprofit organizations throughout Cuyahoga County. Nearly every community has been touched by CAC funding millions of cultural experiences annually and the programs and organizations funded benefit all county residents.

CAC makes grants to support the operations of arts and culture nonprofits  and public programming initiatives.

CAC has a small team of seven staff who manages the grantmaking and day to day operations. CAC administrative costs are currently less than 10%. The vast majority of its revenue goes directly to support local arts and cultural nonprofits.

Cuyahoga Arts & Culture is one of the largest local public funders of arts and culture in the nation and the largest institutional funder of arts and cultural experiences in Cuyahoga County, investing as much funding in the arts as the top three foundations in our County combined. CAC has also emerged as the largest and most influential funder dedicated to enriching arts and culture in the country.

If we do not change the current tax structure, revenue will continue to decline, and all organizations will suffer. With less funding, organizations may have to eliminate programming and services offered to residents in Cuyahoga County.

The 3.5 cents per cigarette replacement amount was based on research that included assessing the decline in revenues and input from stakeholders and community leaders.

If voters pass the issue in November of 2024, revenues would start to be collected

February 1, 2025. Funds could start to be granted in 2026.

CAC will continue to support the operational expenses of Cuyahoga County’s art and culture nonprofits.

The State of Ohio would not permit the inclusion of taxing vaping products in the Ohio Revised Code for funding of Regional Arts and Culture Districts.

Yes, many other options were considered and thoroughly analyzed. We explored taxing a range of products and items, including dine-in meals, alcohol, marijuana, and property taxes. Extensive research on each was conducted that included financial projections, legislative viability, public opinion research, and political assessments.

Currently, marijuana cannot be taxed on the local level in Ohio. Given that Cuyahoga County has some of the highest property tax rates in the state and that property taxes are widely used to fund a number of important public purposes, it was determined that replacing the current tax on cigarettes was the most viable mechanism that would produce the best results.