Sarasota County approves arts grants without DEI debate, leaving Urbanite behind

When arts organizations in line for tourist tax grants were asked in July to acknowledge new diversity, equity, and inclusion stipulations to receive public funds for 2027, most hoped the Sarasota County Commission would either provide more clarity or overlook the culture war issue.

Instead, without much discussion or further clarification, commissioners on Wednesday approved $2.1 million in county support to 33 organizations.

The lone exception was Urbanite Theatre, which declined to sign the DEI acknowledgment circulated by the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County. Commissioners redistributed its $40,230 grant equally among the other groups, all of which signed the acknowledgment.

The new clause, added this year to Sarasota County’s cultural grant agreements, cites Senate Bill 1134. Signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in April and taking effect on Jan. 1, the law prohibits counties from using public money to support DEI initiatives. DEI is defined in the bill as any effort to use race, color, sex, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation to influence hiring, provide preferential treatment, or promote programming and activities. 

The grants are funded by the county’s Tourist Development Cultural/Arts (TDC/A) program, which uses tourism tax dollars to support cultural events, exhibitions, and performances that draw visitors to the area. The Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County administers the program.

In July, Alliance CEO Brian Hersh told Suncoast Searchlight that “as part of administering the grant program, the Alliance shared an acknowledgment form with applicants to ensure they were informed of the new language being added to the grant contracts this funding cycle.”

In a statement sent to reporters, county spokeswoman Emily Blaine said the county did not direct the Alliance to send the letter but that the Alliance has authority under its county contract to work with staff to administer the grant program. 

Despite the Urbanite’s refusal to sign the acknowledgment, the theater remained on the list of organizations submitted to the commission for approval Wednesday, provoking Commissioner Teresa Mast to question why the theater’s allocation was still included in Hersh’s presentation. 

Hersh said he was told by the Urbanite that, while the theater felt it would comply with the DEI stipulations, it chose not to move forward because of that contract language.

“The Urbanite let us know they believe they could indeed comply, but they would choose not to move forward with the grant if that language was in the contract, and if the contract was extended,” Hersh said. “They still have a long history of funding, and it doesn't reflect the quality of their work or application." 

Mast again pressed him to clarify whether Urbanite themselves pulled out of consideration.

“If you are not willing to comply with what those requirements are, then why are you even in the batch to be proposed for funding?” Mast said.

Commission Chairman Ron Cutsinger then tried to clarify whether Urbanite pulled out of consideration, at which point Hersh submitted an updated recommendation list that excluded Urbanite and redistributed its allocated funds to the other grantees. Those recommendations were approved.

Hersh later issued a statement saying, “Urbanite Theatre has expressed that they would not be willing to sign a contract with Sarasota County that included newly added language corresponding to SB1134. The language added to the contracts occurred after the Tourist Development Council had reviewed and recommended the slate of grantees.”

Summer Wallace, co-founder and producing artistic director of the Urbanite, was unable to be reached for comment. However, Marketing Director Hannah Levite said in a statement that “Urbanite chose to exclude ourselves from consideration because we were not comfortable signing the grant’s anti-DEI compliance requirements.

“It was a difficult choice, but we believe it was the morally right one, and we are proud to stand by that decision. We are grateful that the funds will be redistributed among other local arts organizations doing important work in our community,” she added. 

Though Wednesday’s decision cleared the way for the 2027 grants to be awarded, it did not resolve remaining questions about the DEI requirements going forward, including how the county would monitor organizations’ spending, handle potential DEI violations, or whether additional restrictions or requirements would be added to future TDC/A applications.

In previous interviews, some arts leaders questioned whether the subject matter of some of the productions or exhibits they present could potentially run afoul of the new state law.

The TDC/A contracts are overseen by the county’s Parks and Recreation Department. As the grants come in the form of reimbursements, the department would determine whether arts groups violated the state DEI law, and thus forfeit their funds, county spokesman Josh Taylor previously told reporters.

However, the penalties for violating Florida’s law on DEI have been vague. SB 1134 stipulates that any resident could sue their county for relief and damages if the court finds that public funds went toward DEI.

In Wednesday’s meeting, the commission also unanimously approved the Alliance’s budget request for fiscal year 2027, but only after reducing it by $2,354 to comply with the county’s request for all organizations to limit increases to a maximum 1.6 percent over last year. 

Hersh had proposed a budget of $308,970 — up from $301,788 this year — an increase of just over 2 percent. Mast said the further reduction was a matter of “fairness” in holding all organizations to the same limited increase this year.

This story was produced collaboratively by Suncoast Searchlight and ArtsBeat, both nonprofit newsrooms based in Sarasota and serving the Suncoast region.