Calendar of Opportunities: 119th Congress (2025 Session)

Send a happy new year note to your elected officials and introduce yourself. If your legislator is newly elected, they are likely still becoming familiar with constituent organizations. This is a great opportunity to preview what you’re planning for the year, flagging any special community events your elected officials might find of interest.

Planning a special President’s Day concert or event? If your arts organization or school is celebrating in some way, invite your elected officials to participate and consider giving them a brief speaking role. (Remember remarks can also be recorded ahead of time!)

March is full of celebrations for arts education! Consider coordinating activities and social media to be part of a groundswell of support for arts instruction in schools, including:

• Music in Our Schools Month
• Youth Art Month
• Dance in Your Schools Month
• Theatre in Our Schools Month

If you’re with an organization, prepare stories that demonstrate how vital the arts are in engaging students and the role you play in supporting arts education.

If you work in education, collaborate with school leaders to celebrate the arts in your school — and don’t forget to include legislators if appropriate!

Invite officials to visit with you and to check out any education or community programming behind the scenes. These are prime photo opportunities for both you and your officials. You can also go to your officials’ district offices to let them know what you’re up to and ask what they could use from you to help inform their work.

Looking to get more involved with direct advocacy? We’ll be hosting meetings with legislators and Staff for National Arts Advocacy Week in partnership with Americans for the Arts. Stay tuned for opportunities to join us!

Memorial Day events are also a great time to show officials how the arts are involved in local celebrations and observances. If your organization or school is hosting an arts event, remember to plan well ahead and consider inviting officials to attend (or speak). Don’t forget to post photo or video!

Both the House and the Senate will be spending some time in their home districts in June. Use this as an opportunity to connect with them in person by inviting them to a summer event!

Many arts organizations around South Carolina participates in some sort of 4^th of July celebration. Your elected officials will be looking for opportunities to be part of civic events – make sure they know far in advance, so they can join yours. Again, these types of community-wide celebrations make for ideal moments to provide a brief speaking opportunity to policymakers to welcome the audience and kick off your local celebration of our nation’s independence.

Legislators will also be in recess in August, so it’s also important to use July to plan ahead for in person meetings so you can get on their calendar!

The August recess is typically the longest stretch of time when members of Congress go home. Request time early so you can be part of your officials’ plans. If you don’t have any programming to show them, collect your best stories from the year to date, and ask to meet your officials so you can have a catch-up chat to learn how each other’s year is going and where your interests and activities may line up. And of course, you can have this conversation via phone/video as well!

We’ll likely have some federal budget updates for you at this time, so look for those additional, specific opportunities to take action for the arts!

September 14-20 is National Arts in Education Week. Be sure you’re following us on social media so you can engage with our advocacy content and help us spread the word about the importance of arts education.

You can also gather your own testimonials, photos, and video demonstrating the impact of arts education – share with your community, families, friends, and most definitely your elected officials!

October is National Arts and Humanities Month. If you partner with any humanities/literacy organizations, this is an opportune time to feature your joint efforts and support those partners.

The close relationship between the arts and humanities is the perfect opportunity to recruit more advocates to the cause, and double the impact of your messages!

Veterans Day on November 11th is another huge opportunity for civic engagement! Has anyone in your organization served in the military? Be sure to highlight them!

If you are involved in any arts and military efforts, let your community know, and invite your elected officials to experience these programs in person.

Does your organization send holiday cards? Don’t forget to include elected officials!

Thank them for their year of public service—especially any who have supported the arts—and let them know what you would do with increased support in the future. If you’re planning a festive event or participating in a community-wide celebration marking the end of the year, make sure your officials are invited, and if appropriate, find a speaking role for them.