CARES Act and COVID-19 Resources
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The National Endowment for the Arts has announced guidelines to distribute funding to nonprofit arts organizations from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to preserve jobs and help support organizations forced to close operations due to the spread of COVID-19.
With the $75 million appropriated to the National Endowment for the Arts through the CARES Act, the Arts Endowment has awarded 40 percent of the funds directly to state and regional arts agencies to distribute through their own funding programs. Sixty percent of the funds are designated for direct grants to nonprofit arts organizations all across the United States.
The more than 3,700 organizations that have received National Endowment for the Arts awards in the past four years are eligible to apply for a direct grant through the Arts Endowment's program. Funds can be used for staff salary support, fees for artists or contractual personnel, and facilities costs. The direct grants will not require a cost share or match and will be for a fixed amount of $50,000. Designated local arts agencies eligible to subgrant may request $100,000 or $250,000 for subgranting programs.
The deadline to apply is April 22, 2020 with the earliest announcement of grant award or rejection by June, 30
. Please see the Arts Endowment’s website for
program description
,
eligibility requirements
,
application review
, and
FAQs
.
In May, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation will announce its program of support made possible through the Arts Endowment CARES Act funding. Guidelines will be announced via email, newsletter, and social media.
In the meantime, we have compiled a list of resources for artists, organizations, creatives, and administrators that can be found here:
https://www.midatlanticarts.org/covid-19-coronavirus-resources/
. The list is ever evolving - so check back frequently. We also encourage everyone to take a look at their state government page for information on small business, non-profit, and individual relief programs.
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Performing Arts Global Exchange Deadline Extended!
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MAAF has extended the deadline to book
roster artists
through
Performing Arts Global Exchange (PAGE)
—a new grant program through which U.S. presenters receive fee-subsidy grants when they book international artists from a curated roster. No complicated application involved!
You now have until May 31 to engage PAGE artists
to perform and connect with your community during the 2020 – 2021 season. Scheduling flexibility due to COVID-19 is available; please reach out to the respective artist's agent to discuss your needs.
About PAGE
Performing Arts Global Exchange (PAGE)
is a new MAAF grant program for performing arts presenters nationwide in cooperation with the National Endowment for the Arts. PAGE brings exemplary international music, dance, and theater to audiences across the United States. Fee-support grants are available to nonprofit presenting venues and units of government based anywhere in the U.S. or its territories who book artists from a curated roster for both performance and community-engagement activities. Artists on the roster have not widely toured in the U.S. and reside in a selected region, with the inaugural year’s roster featuring artists from neighbors Canada and Mexico. See the full 2020 – 2021 roster
here
. Eligible presenters can receive more than one grant for booking more than one roster artist each year.
Photo: PAGE roster artist Vox Sambou. Credit: Courtesy of the artist.
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April is Jazz Appreciation Month!
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Typically marked with celebratory concerts, award ceremonies, and jam sessions, this April, the COVID-19 pandemic has put a dramatic halt to the traditional public and communal aspects of jazz. In the face of these challenges, the jazz community continues to improvise and face this unexpected crisis with collective resilience. Across the mid-Atlantic region jazz service organizations, advocates, and artists are coming together to support each other and keep the music going. Artists have turned to online platforms to bring live music to their audiences, to jam with their peers, and to conduct wellness checks on fellow musicians.
Many musicians are using this time to reconnect with their music. Eric Spelsberg of the
West Virginia Jazz Society says “times like these generate a flood of creativity, so we anxiously await the wonderful stuff being conceived and developed right now.” In anticipation, WV Jazz Society is dreaming up special kick-off events for when the industry is back in full swing while others are finding ways to celebrate the music now.
Jazz Philadelphia has partnered with local organizations to launch
VJAM Philly, a virtual celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month. President, Gerald Veasley talks about the mission, “VJAM Philly helps jazz lovers remember the artists behind the music.” Executive Director, Heather Blakeslee says, "The strength of the VJAM Philly program is that it includes our entire community: musicians, jazz presenters, jazz radio stations, arts advocacy organizations, jazz educators, and others. We'll all in this together sharing information, resources, and support so that we can come through this stronger and more resilient."
This sentiment is being seen in efforts across the region.
In the US Virgin Islands, Dion and Nicole Parson of the
United Jazz Foundation
have shifted to virtual lessons for private students and the
UVI Youth Ensemble
and are in the process of launching a new jazz radio series to stay connected with community members with limited online access.
The
Capital Hill Jazz Foundation in Washington D.C. has been hosting weekly stakeholder calls that host, Aaron Myers finds “have helped to bolster each other’s goals, ensuring our response through this pandemic is intentional and precise.”
These are just a few highlights. Countless individuals and organizations across our region are creating new ways to celebrate Jazz Appreciation month and support the industry. As Veasley says, “our stages may be silent but artists’ music needs to be heard and their stories need to be told.” The spirit of jazz and Jazz Appreciation Month is alive and well in the mid-Atlantic region.
To learn more about any of the initiatives mentioned here or to get connected to a local organization, contact MAAF Program Officer, Performing Arts, Jess Porter,
jess@midatlanticarts.org
Article by Jess Porter. Photo: United Jazz Foundation's Dion Parson teaches a virtual class. Credit: Nicole Parson.
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- ArtsWave supports projects and organizations that create a wave of arts that connect the region and make it vibrant. To that end, the organization welcomes applications to its 2020 African American Arts Grants program. The program will support organizations with a mission related to the African American experience and a majority (51 percent or more) of annual expenditures dedicated to arts and cultural activities. Grant requests may not exceed $25,000, and most award amounts will range between $5,000 and $10,000. Deadline: May 1, 2020.
- The Academy of American Poets is accepting applications for the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize. A prize of $25,000 will be awarded to an outstanding book of poetry published in the United States in the previous calendar year. In addition, the winner will receive an inclusive ten-day residency at Glen Hollow in Naples, New York, as well as distribution of the winning book to hundreds of Academy of American Poets members. Eligible entries include any original book of poetry, written in English and published in the United States during 2019, in a standard edition (48 pages or more) by a living poet. Deadline: May 15, 2020.
- The Foundation for Contemporary Arts is inviting applications for its FCA Emergency Grants COVID-19 Fund. In response to the impact of COVID-19 on the arts community, FCA has created a temporary fund to meet the needs of experimental artists who have been impacted by the economic fallout from postponed or canceled performances and exhibitions. For as long as the FCA board of directors determines it is necessary and prudent to do so, the foundation will disburse one-time grants of $1,500 to artists who have had performances or exhibitions canceled or postponed due to the pandemic. Deadline: August 31, 2020.
- Artist Relief is an initiative organized by the Academy of American Poets, Artadia, Creative Capital, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, the MAP Fund, the National YoungArts Foundation, and United States Artists — all small to mid-sized national arts grantmakers — to help support the financial, professional, social, and mental well-being of artists impacted by the coronavirus public health crisis. The initiative will distribute grants of $5,000 to artists facing dire financial emergencies due to COVID-19, as well as serve as an ongoing informational resource and co-sponsor (with Americans for the Arts) the COVID-19 Impact Survey for Artists and Creative Workers to identify and address the needs of artists moving forward. Deadline: September 30, 2020.
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