Dear Colleague:
 
The NEA is in urgent trouble and needs our support more than ever.  One
thing we can each do is to tell those who represent us in the US Senate
and House of Representatives of our individual support for the NEA.  The
following letter is a good boilerplate and can be personalized as you
like, and addressed to your individual senators and congressional
representatives.  By all means pass it on to anyone you feel may be
interested!
 
 
I would like to voice my strong support for the continued funding and
independence of the National Endowment for the Arts.
 
The non-profit arts produce $37 billion dollars in economic activity
annually, employ 1.3 million people and generate $3.4 billion in taxes
to the United States Treasury.  Each NEA dollar in a community attracts
$11 in private investment.  The NEA must be fully funded in order to
continue to generate private support at this impressive level.
 
The NEA's contribution to the visual and performing arts substantially
benefits the citizens of this country.  NEA support signals that
national standards of excellence have been met, insures quality
programming in communities large and small, and attracts substantial
private support.  This is the leadership role that the National
Endowment for the Arts has achieved and must sustain.