- December 4, 2025
Shock. Betrayal. Frustration.
Those were the feelings that coursed through the leaders of several local arts organizations when they heard the Volusia County Council had decided to cut over $611,000 of cultural grant funds at their Oct. 7 meeting. The last-minute decision — spearheaded by County Councilman Danny Robins' concerns over third-party drag shows and LGBT+ events at two local theaters — left 33 Volusia arts and culture organizations wondering how to proceed with programs that previously were reliant on the county funds.
When Daytona Playhouse Board President Kathy Thompson heard the council had withheld all of the grant funds, she was shocked.
"I feel betrayed," she said. "We worked so hard to meet all their demands over the last two years."
The county had tweaked its cultural grant program earlier this year. The applications, reviewed by the county's Cultural Council Advisory Board, asked organizations to outline exactly what programs would be funded through grant dollars, based on past direction from the County Council that these art organizations shift from using taxpayer dollars for operating expenses to community programming, with goal that organizations would aim for sustainability.
None of the programs listed by any of the arts and culture organizations — including DeLand's Athens Theatre and Lake Helen's Shoestring Theatre, who were singled out for renting out their space to Volusia Pride — mentioned any drag performances or LGBTQ+ events.
The list instead showed art exhibits, children's plays, community concerts, programs for veterans, summer camps and history events.
"They're definite programs and I think that the way that the County Council portrayed the programming was disingenuous," said Stephanie Mason-Teague, executive director at the Ormond Memorial Art Museum. "... I just felt blindsided. The way that they were suggesting cutting the funding was just completely and totally unexpected."
Athens Theatre has started a GoFundMe to help all of the impacted organizations. The "Volusia Arts Lifeline" fundraiser has a $700,000 goal and has raised almost $17,000 so far.
The Observer spoke with six arts and culture organizations impacted by the council's decision. Here is how the lack of grant funds will affect each of them.
The Daytona Playhouse had been recommended to receive $30,743. The funding was going to boost the 2025-2026 Playhouse series, a lineup of shows including "My Fair Lady, "39 Steps" and "Love Loss and "What I Wore."
It would've been a funding boost compared to last year, Thompson said, as the Daytona Playhouse received about $13,000 in the 2024-2025 grant cycle. Knowing that they were recommended to receive much more this year, the Daytona Playhouse decided to do "My Fair Lady" for its big spring musical.
"That $30,000 was going to allow us to look at seriously renting beautiful costumes and being able to costume a very large cast," Thompson said. "We're going to have to take a serious look at how we can manage now that money isn't going to be there."
The playhouse's expenses were over $200,000 last year, Thompson said, and the grant funds have historically also helped to keep the price of children's tickets at $6.50. That's something the playhouse will need to look at now.
In a statement, OMAM detailed how it's utilized cultural grant funding in the past. The museum was recommended to receive $30,311, down from last year's $34,514 grant.
The programs funded by the museum include its Free Family Arts Nights, veterans workshops, adult and youth art classes and youth summer camps. OMAM also offers scholarships to underserved youth and adults that may not be able to attend tuition-based programs, according to the statement. Without the county grant funds, the museum may have to cancel, or decrease the number, of these programs.
"I think what people don't think about is that free isn't free to provide," Mason-Teague said.
OMAM was in the process of growing its veterans programming and outreach — that's important to the museum, which was founded in 1946 as a tribute for those who served, with World War II veterans helping to build the galleries and clear the land for its gardens.
"The cultural organizations are providing programs that the county would not be able to provide on their own," Mason-Teague said. "The programs add such a significant value to the quality of life for our residents. It's almost comical to suggest that money would be better served fixing sidewalks."
The Ormond Beach Historical Society was recommended to receive $11,036 in cultural grant funds, down from the $18,059 received in 2024-2025. These would help with its Pilgrims Rest Cemetery Tour, historical bus tours, speaker series, summer camp, children's programs and family days at two local historic sites.
Board President Mary Smith said that they were "extremely disappointed" at the news.
"We're going to have to amp up our fundraising abilities, because we have to make up the deficit," Smith said. "It's part of our budget and now it's not. We definitely have to find new avenues and that's what we're working very hard right now to do."
The lack of funds will cause a dent in their organization for a bit, Smith said.
"It's going to give us a little bruise, but I don't think it's anything we can't overcome," she said.
The Daytona Beach Symphony Society was recommended to receive $29,772, up from $28,148 awarded in 2024-2025.
These funds are used to offset the costs to bring in orchestras to perform in the community. Executive Director Mark Francis said it costs about $30,000 a concert to host the Jacksonville Symphony.
"We're under contract to bring five concerts to town, and we will do that, but it probably has more of an effect going forward into the future in the years to come," Francis said.
The lack of county grant funds will likely mean less advertising and revisiting the free tickets students receive as part of attending Volusia County Schools.
Overall, the council's decision is "an enormously chilling effect."
"I don't believe that people will be as willing to begin programs," Francis said. "I would assume some programs will be cut at various institutions. The effect it has as far as how it makes us look to the rest of the state, to anybody that wants to invest money here in a business? Well, they may reconsider that."
The Bel Canto Singers would have received $3,384 in cultural grant funds, down from $3,905 in 2024-2025. The grant funds were earmarked for the choir's concert series.
The council's decision came two weeks after the choir's new director, Adam Stich, came onboard. It's been "quite a jolt," he said.
"It was very disheartening," Stich said. "It affects our season a little bit as we move forward and we're trying to secure some alternate sources of funding ... so that we can fulfill our mission of bringing music to folks in Volusia County.
The Bel Canto Singers have been around for over 50 years and they're one of the smaller of the over 30 organizations impacted by the loss of funds.
"We're committed to doing what we have to do in order to create the best possible experience for our volunteer musicians and also for our concertgoers," Stich said. "It's a joy to have an organization like this here in Volusia County, so it's something that more people can support by coming out and seeing the concerts."
This was the first year Civic Ballet of Volusia County was applying for a county cultural grant. They were recommended to receive $29,271, which would have helped with their annual productions of "The Nutcracker" and its Festival of Dance in the spring.
Civic Ballet President Nelly Droznin said there was a gasp in the council chambers when the decision to pull funding was made. As a new applicant, she knew that the council would eventually sunset the program — all of the organizations were aware of that, and, had been informed available funding would start to lessen year after year.
"But to have everything pulled from under everybody's feet with zero preparation when all the programs are underway, it was shocking," Droznin said.
The Civic Ballet has been in operation since 1996 and has always heavily relied on volunteers while raising funds through sponsorships. But putting on "The Nutcracker" is a big undertaking, Droznin said. The Civic Ballet has historically provided free tickets to local families and charities, and hosted three shows at the Peabody Auditorium. They've also brought in guest stars.
"We want the kids to have a professional experience, and we want to have the audience enjoy a professional show on stage," Droznin said. "Now, we have to rely heavily on finding additional sponsors that would be able to donate to our organization."
The Civic Ballet doesn't see itself as a charity.
"We are a giving organization, but we do need support," Droznin said.
The $611,758 of grant funds equal 0.044% of the county's operating budget for fiscal year 2025-2026, according to the Volusia Arts Lifeline fundraiser.
"For generations, the arts have shaped Volusia County into a place where imagination is nurtured, where children discover their voices, and where neighbors come together to feel inspired, connected, and part of something beautiful," the GoFundMe states. "Now, those same organizations are fighting to keep their doors open, their lights on, and their programs alive. That’s why we’re launching the Volusia Arts Lifeline — a community-powered relief effort to restore what politics has taken away."
The Volusia County Cultural Alliance has also started a petition asking the County Council to restore the cultural grants.
Thompson said she's frustrated by the idea from some councilmen that these grants are seen as a "charitable donation" from the county. They're a partnership between the organizations and Volusia, she said.
"The county is quite happy to completely fund baseball fields, sporting, recreational, beaches, parks, etcetera," Thompson said. "And yet they view the arts as some kind of charity. That's depressing."
During his closing comments at the Oct. 7 meeting, County Council Chair Jeff Brower mentioned several of the organizations had existing endowments to help with funding.
While true, Mason-Teague said this was the county's suggestion for sustainability — and a good one to show they are fiscally responsible.
"We have an endowment fund, and we are increasing our endowment fundraising and our goals and our initiatives, and several other organizations are doing that as well to cover operating expenses, but that still doesn't cover all of your programmatic expenses," she said. "That's where the cultural grant program has been a wonderful partnership with the organizations in the county for years."
