Another Open Letter to AIG

Dear AIG:

Nearly a year ago I wrote an open letter to you.  I can see how–with all the negative economy hoopla and millions of dollars being lobbed about at that time–it would be easy to overlook my note.  So, I thought I would take a moment to write again.  You may imagine the dismay I felt while reading of the $100,000,000 recently dispensed by you in the form of “retention payments” or “bonuses” to various AIG employees.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the arts were so highly prized by society that they, too, needed to be retained?  Since we continue to face challenging financial times and since, as a corporate entity, AIG seems to be financially solvent, I write to ask for your monetary support in preserving the arts.  As before, it really won’t cost that much at all and, in fact, this request is for even less than my previous entreaty, primarily due to the fact that interest rates have continued to fall, along with the values of U.S. homes and the U.S. dollar.

Given current the current fiscal status of the global economy and the essential need to curb lavish expenditures, as an artist I know I could operate well for a significantly healthy length of time with $50,000 worth of n0-strings-attached post-tax funds.  This may seem like a large amount, but consider these an artistic grant that will greatly enrich the American cultural character.  Moreover, based on what you have allocated in recent days, this amount constitutes only about 0.005% of the $100,000,000 you shared as bonuses among your employees.  Also, please consider that the current bonus amount, $100,000,000, when divided into equal $50,000 grants could successfully encourage the creative lives of 2,000 American artists, thereby keeping funds within America, fostering American cultivation and motivating our still-sluggish national economy.  And halved, these funds could be shared with 4,000 American artists, amounting to more than 75 artists in each state.

To address the question I know is perched upon your curious lips, To what will these funds go?, let me reiterate: I am an active, established professional working in the performing arts community, as evidenced by my web site and my blog among other things.  Such a grant will enable me to further my own professional development of specific areas such as acting, singing, dancing, improvisation and other similar disciplines, as well as recitals, concerts, one-woman shows and other like performances.  As a fiscally-savvy girl, I can make these $50,000 last at least five years and I’ll be glad to share quarterly budget reports with you that will detail–transparently–where every cent is responsibly spent.

To learn more about the opportunity to sponsor me as a performing artist, please send an email inquiry to publicrelations@aleciabatson.com.  Or, simply use the online request form.  I very much look forward to hearing from you.

Best,

Alecia