Ragtag Film Society loses $30,000 federal grant
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Ragtag Film Society in Columbia announced in a Monday press release that its grant funding from the National Endowment for the Arts was terminated on Friday.
The group is a 501(c)(3) organization that runs and operates Ragtag Cinema on Hitt Street in Downtown Columbia and the True/False Film Fest, which has been a regular event in the city for two decades. Ragtag Film Society Executive Director Andrea Luque Káram told ABC 17 News in an email that the grant was for $30,000 and has been regularly received for “a few years.”
“Ragtag Film Society is a mission-driven organization that believes in integrity, inclusivity, playfulness, and sustainability,” Monday’s release says. “Despite previously approving grant funding, the NEA announced these core values are no longer relevant to the federal administration’s agenda — an agenda that according to the NEA’s notification email, “reflects the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President.’”
The release says arthouse theaters have struggled in recent years because of new habits from viewers, which includes streaming.
“Termination of federal funding will only further impact the organization’s ability to fulfill its mission: to captivate and engage communities in immersive arts experiences that explore assumptions and elicit shared joy, wonder, and introspection,” the release says.
The release says that Ragtag will have to rely on community support and that donations can be made on its website. Káram wrote that the group will be “duplicating fundraising effor to plan effectively for Fiscal Year 2026.”