Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1506077
LMGI HUMANITARIAN AWARD 2023 THE CREATIVE COALITION T he LMGI Humanitarian Award recognizes extraordinary commitment to empowering social change through arts and entertainment. As the industry's premier nonprofit, nonpartisan social and public advocacy leadership organization, The Creative Coalition (TCC) has been standing astride the crossroads of art and activism to support free speech, education, and federal arts funding for more than 30 years. Founded in 1989 by a quorum of industry leaders, The Creative Coalition is dedicated to informing and engaging policymakers, young filmmakers and the public about the creative community's views on pressing topics. A statement from The Creative Coalition reveals a bold mission to affect change from the ground up: "We wanted to get beyond celebrity-in-politics tokenism and photo ops to move inside the political process—to actually help shape policy." The charity offers education services to help prepare its members for public roles as advocates and spokespeople, who go on to testify before Congress and appear on TV news shows like Crossfire. The organization also sponsors forums and awareness-building events for central issues such as education policy, violence in America, the role of the media, and campaign finance reform. Since 1996, The Creative Coalition has hosted a series of outreach events at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions to give voice to artists and creators in the halls of government. This year, the organization also participated in Arts Day on Capitol Hill, the annual advocacy event that focuses national policymakers' attention on the benefits of supporting public arts. And in April, actors Brendan Hunt (Ted Lasso), Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), BD Wong (Law & Order), Billy Eichner (Bros) and Yvette Nicole Brown (Community), among many others, advocated for funding on behalf of TCC ahead of the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C. At present, the charity is gearing up to push back against proposed federal funding cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts. "The arts are not a luxury; they are an essential part of our cultural fabric and an economic driver for communities across our nation," says actor and TCC President Tim Daly (Madam Secretary). CEO Robin Bronk adds that arts funding "is not just about supporting artists and performers but also about supporting the communities and institutions that promote art. Thirty-five percent of arts endowment grants occur in high-poverty