Outside The Lens Calls on San Diego City Council to Restore Arts & Culture Funding Before June 9 Budget Vote
May 28, 2026
“San Diego is Betting on Philanthropy to Save the Arts–It Won’t.”
SAN DIEGO, CA – Outside The Lens, a leading youth media arts nonprofit, is calling on the San Diego City Council to restore arts and culture grant funding in full before the fiscal year 2027 budget is adopted on June 9. The organization stands to lose approximately $125,000 under Mayor Todd Gloria’s May Revise, which did not restore funding for arts and culture grant programs or the Office of Child and Youth Success.
The May Revised Budget proposed partial restorations for library hours, recreation centers and violence prevention programs in historically underserved communities. Arts and culture funding was not included. The city said it is “continuing discussions with philanthropic partners to support one dedicated youth-focused position within the Mayor’s Office.”
“Arts and culture belong alongside parks, libraries, and public infrastructure because they are essential,” said Sarah Beckman, Executive Director of Outside The Lens. “San Diego has committed to opportunity in every neighborhood, to enriching communities, advancing prosperity, and investing in young people. Yet arts and culture continue to be treated as optional—as if public safety, roads, and creativity exist in competition with each other. They do not.”
San Diego’s philanthropic community is already stepping up in many ways, but private donors and foundations cannot — and should not — be expected to replace a longstanding public commitment. Philanthropy is meant to expand what’s possible, not backfill the consequences of public disinvestment.”
Youth need and deserve the opportunities, spaces, and communities that create a sense of safety, belonging and possibility. We are asking San Diego City Council to restore Cultural Affairs funding in the FY27 budget because we owe the next generation a city worth staying for, fighting for, and building a future in.”
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About Outside the Lens
Outside The Lens (OTL) is a San Diego-based nonprofit that inspires young people to become storytellers and changemakers through media arts. The organization serves K-12 and transitional age (18-24) students, equipping them to learn technical skills in digital photography, graphic design, filmmaking, and emerging media as well as develop creative confidence and expertise in critical thinking, and visual literacy. Through its pioneering Media Makers program, OTL provides young people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD) — including those who are autistic or neurodiverse — with technical, social, and economic opportunities that build creative agency, self-determination, and genuine belonging. For 25 years, OTL has brought arts-integrated programming to over 30,000 students through in-school classes, after-school programs, summer camps, workshops, and teacher training. Learn more at outsidethelens.org.
Media Contact:
Nickie Peña
nickie@nickiepena.com | 760-707-8169