A small group of artists and arts administrators joined forces in 1982 to combat the threatened elimination of state funding for the arts in Illinois. Out of these early advocacy efforts, Arts Alliance Illinois was born. Given consistent declines in public funding and a state budget crisis, the Alliance has reimagined its work, broadening its definitions of advocacy and service to the field to include statewide civic engagement, arts education, and cultural equity and arts access. More than 25,000 active subscribers and hundreds of members comprise the only statewide, multidisciplinary organization focused on the health of the entire cultural sector. The Alliance activates artists, creatives, and cultural organizations through systems and policy change to put arts at the center of Illinois communities.