Greetings, As a resident of Fort Worth, I urge you to continue public support of the arts through funding the Arts Council of Fort Worth & Tarrant County in the 2012-13 budget. The arts make a real and viable difference in the lives of the people of Fort Worth on many levels, and the organizations that offer that to the city deserve your support. The 43 organizations that the Arts Council gave grants to last year reached more than 2.6 million people. They brought more than $84 million into the city from visitors who participated in local programs. They helped improve student test scores, keep our children safe, and bring to our streets and communities culture we wouldn’t otherwise have known. Funding for the arts is a low-risk, high-return investment that affects every City Council district and stimulates millions of dollars in spending by residents and visitors. In addition, Fort Worth already lags behind nearly every other major city in Texas in public funding for the arts per resident — an embarrassment in a city with institutions such as the Kimbell, The Modern and the Amon Carter. The Arts Council should be funded from the city’s budget to ensure that we remain a city of cowboys and culture. I urge you to continue funding for the Arts Council for 2012-13. Sincerely, [Your name]