Todd Harris Explains How the The PEACH Education Tax Credit Works for Georgia’s Creative Economy

Commentary by Todd Harris, Video courtesy of Georgia CEO. 

How to advance public education & help diversify the creative industry in one step…

𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗮?

If you are a company (or individual) in Georgia you can financially support innovation in public education and connect diverse students to the massive and growing creative industry without spending one extra penny!

The money you already owe the state in taxes can be directed to public education.

And the Creative Communities Fund invests in skill development for K-12 public school students in the following areas of the Creative Industry:
● Video Game Production, Esports, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality
● Film, Theater Arts, and Television Production
● Animation, Special Effects, and Postproduction
● Creative Writing
● Audio Production/Music Production

𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗮?

Move here.  🤣

But seriously, the Creative Industry in Georgia is massive ($37 Billion in revenue) with workforce support like this education credit.

A similar program may exist in your region, or work with stakeholders to copy/paste/adapt the Georgia Peach Tax Credit.

𝗡𝗼𝘄, 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆

As most people realize, the Creative Industry has work to do.
● Employed screenwriters are 30% women and 23% BIPOC so both are well under their respective representation in the population.
● The game industry is further behind, being 24% women and only 5% black
(Shoutout to Network of Academic and Scholastic Esports Federations, Cxmmunity, & many others doing great work to diversity gaming)

It is of course a complex, interdependent chain with multiple barriers and pain points. It will not be fixed with a single step.

But we can make progress with the step of education.

Students are our future and our next generation of storytellers.

We want more diverse stories from more diverse storytellers.

To realize those stories, and realize associated economic gains, students benefit from access to industry tools and training, so they can produce and distribute – via film/tv, gaming, animation, VR/XR, AI, and technologies to come.

But the required hardware & software & training, and therefore jobs, are out of reach to many populations.

Now access can be unlocked more equitably via public education and this fund.

The Peach Tax Credit Creative Community Fund supports diverse storytellers and helps prepare ALL students to thrive in the next-generation workforce.

Editor’s Note:

The  PEACH Education Tax Credit allows individuals and corporations to donate to the public education system in Georgia and receive a dollar-for-dollar credit on their state income taxes. These dollars are then used to direct grants to K-12 schools and districts. The Georgia Creative Communities K-12 Fund is a program under the PEACH Education Tax Credit. For this initiative, GFPE will invite schools to apply for grants focused on one of five priority areas:

• Film, Theater Arts, and Television Production
• Animation, Special Effects, and Postproduction
• Video Game Production, Esports, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality
• Creative Writing
• Audio Production/Music Production (see more)

Video courtesy of Georgia CEO.