‘Artists always find a way’: Spy Hop seeks community help after losing program funding

SALT LAKE CITY — Spy Hop, a Salt Lake City nonprofit that helps kids find creative outlets, is seeking community support after federal funding was cut for one of its programs.

Spy Hop is short $25,000 for its year-round film program, PitchNic, after losing funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

PitchNic is one of the nonprofit’s most popular programs. 

Executive Director Larissa Trout says the organization reached out to the community to help fill the gap.

Trout says that while they are confident they will raise the funds for the next group of students, they are looking for more consistent funding for future students.

‘The bigger picture is: well, what does the year after that look like? And so on and so forth. because as far as we can tell from the news, it’s really uncertain to know if the NEA will have a budget, if it’ll be able to provide grant funds,” Trout said.

Trout says they are not expecting any changes to happen to the program.

“We’re not planning on doing less, nor do we anticipate cutting the program altogether,” Trout said. “We will find a way. Artists always find a way.”

Director of Marketing Kari Rice says this has taught the students why they should be involved in their community.

“So for them, this is really a moment where they’re learning about why being connected to your community and policy matters.” 

Spy Hop’s leaders say they’re not the only ones impacted. Federal cuts are impacting the art community as a whole, they say.

KSL NewsRadio’s Sam Herrera contributed to this report.