This story was adapted from the Myrna Loy Center for the Performing Arts’ May 2025 newsletter. It is one example of how disruptions in federal funding have affected Montana nonprofits.
Krys Holmes, former Executive Director of the Myrna Loy in Helena, used to describe working there as “toiling in the salt mines of joy.” The work is hard. It doesn’t pay much, and it’s far from glamorous. But every once in a while, you hit the motherlode and it makes everything seem worth it. In May 2025, the Myrna hit a disaster in the mines instead.
Late on a Friday, the Myrna received notice that the National Endowment for the Arts was terminating all three of its active NEA grants:
– $15,000 to produce a show in fall 2025 about Black music and poetry from Montana’s past
– $25,000 to offset artist fees and housing for the 2024–25 season
– $40,000 to bring Indigenous artists from across the state to Helena in 2026 for performances, workshops, exhibits and storytelling series
Together, that was an $80,000 hit to the Myrna and a real loss of programming for the Helena community.
The NEA’s reason for the terminations was that the projects no longer aligned with the agency’s new priorities. The Myrna had applied for the grants based on the NEA’s priorities at the time. Those priorities included rural access to the arts, arts opportunities for students, and presenting Indigenous culture-bearers.
“Unfortunately, we missed our chance to time travel to May of 2025 to see how the new administration would dramatically alter the focus of the NEA,” wrote Executive Director Benji Cosgrove. “I guess nowadays, government contracts and agreements are more like an internet dating site. You can sign up, but there’s no guarantee it’s going to work out.”
Operating a nonprofit arts organization has always been a struggle. Cosgrove said having the federal government add another layer of financial instability was a tough pill to swallow, and that his frustration extended to colleagues across the country who also had funds clawed back. “It feels like we collectively grabbed a couple of cents from the take-a-penny-leave-a-penny tray at Town Pump only to find out later that Town Pump is suing us for theft,” he wrote.
At the time, the Myrna began appealing the terminations. Cosgrove wrote that the organization would weather the storm with the help of its community partners, supporters, patrons and staff. “But I won’t lie,” he added, “the salt mines have been unforgiving.”
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