Community Corner
COVID-19 Relief Resource Guide Helps Those Most Impacted
The Austin Creative Alliance has compiled a resource guide for funding opportunities and assistance programs to help the community.
AUSTIN,TX—Austin Creative Alliance, working to advance, connect and advocate for Austin’s arts, cultural, and creative communities to strengthen and protect the character, quality of life, and economic prosperity of our region, has compiled a list of resources and funding projects and programs in response to COVID-19.
From emergency grants to business strategies to educator resources, the list provides links to organizations accepting applications for relief services. To learn more, click on the individual organization's link to be redirected to their website.
EMERGENCY GRANTS
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An initiative organized by Academy of American Poets, Artadia, Creative Capital, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, MAP Fund, National YoungArts Foundation, and United States Artists—all small to mid-sized national arts grantmakers—that have come together in this unprecedented moment guided by the understanding that the wellbeing of artists has financial, professional, social, and mental dimensions, and should be fostered with a holistic framework of support. As such, Artist Relief will distribute $5,000 grants to artists facing dire financial emergencies due to COVID-19.
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Immediate assistance to individual artists in Austin facing food, housing or medical insecurity. Artists may apply for up to $500 to replace verifiable lost income due to the cancellation of a specific, scheduled gig or opportunity.
The Red River Cultural District is distributing $100 HEB gift cards to support Austin workers in the music, hospitality, and service industry businesses who have suffered economically as a result of event cancellations and business closures.
ARTS AND CULTURE LEADERS OF COLOR EMERGENCY FUND
Help those pursuing careers as artists or arts administrators whose income has been directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This fund is for those who self-identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color).
Help professional writers continue their careers with dignity by providing no-strings-attached “loans” to pay for pressing expenses. Repayment of this emergency support is not required.
Financial support for COVID-19 related emergencies happening to craft artists.
DRAMATISTS GUILD FOUNDATION PROVIDES EMERGENCY GRANTS FOR WRITERS
Financial assistance to individual playwrights, composers, lyricists, and book writers in dire need of funds due to severe hardship or unexpected illness.
FOUNDATION FOR CONTEMPORARY ARTS EMERGENCY GRANTS
Urgent funding for visual and performing artists who have sudden, unanticipated opportunities to present their work to the public when there is insufficient time to seek other sources of funding and those that incur unexpected or unbudgeted expenses for projects close to completion with committed exhibition or performance dates.
PEN AMERICAN WRITER'S EMERGENCY FUND
Small grants program for professional—published or produced—writers in acute or unexpected financial crises. Depending on the situation and level of need, grants are in the range of $2,000.
RAUSCHENBERG FOUNDATION MEDICAL GRANTS FOR ARTISTS
One-time grants of up to $5,000 for medical or dental emergencies available to visual and media artists and choreographers living anywhere in the United States or U.S. Territories.
If you're a musician or music industry worker who lost 50% of your income, you're eligible to apply to this fund.
United States-based musicians who've been active for the past five years are eligible to apply for a microgrant. Keep in mind, this fund also asks for paperwork proving that most of your income has come from your work as a musician. We're also not sure how they define a "professional musician" but there is an email on the page where you can inquire for more information.
RELIEF FUNDS FOR BLUES ARTISTS
For Blues musicians and their families in financial need due to a broad range of health concerns. The Fund provides for acute, chronic and preventive medical and dental care as well as funeral and burial expenses.
ADOLPH & ESTHER GOTTLIEB EMERGENCY GRANT
Intended to provide interim financial assistance to qualified, mature visual artists whose needs are the result of an unforeseen, catastrophic incident, and who lack the resources to meet that situation. The maximum amount of this grant is $15,000; an award of $5,000 is typical. To quality, you must be a visual artists (music, theater, dance, and writing are not covered by this grant) working professionally in a mature phase of your career for at least ten years.
Colorado-based Artists' Charitable Fund assists American visual fine artists (painters and sculptors) living anywhere in the United States by paying a portion of their medical/dental/eye-care bills.
The Artists’ Fellowship provides emergency aid to professional fine artists and their families in times of sickness, natural disaster, bereavement or unexpected extreme hardship.
The mission of The Haven Foundation is to offer interim financial assistance to freelance professionals in the arts who face crises. The Foundation’s reach is the United States, and its awards are granted with a view to helping individuals overcome temporary adversity and return to full-time work.
NATIONAL COALITION FOR ARTS' PREPAREDNESS & EMERGENCY RESPONSE (NCAPER)
NCAPER is a voluntary task force of national, regional, state, and local arts organizations, public agencies, and foundations, NCAPER helps ensure that artists, arts/cultural organizations, cultural funders, and arts businesses have the capacity and ability to respond effectively to disasters and emergencies affecting the arts and culture sector.
Awards supporting artists and writers with families with up to $6,000.
EQUAL SOUND CORONA RELIEF FUND
If you are a musician who has lost income due to a canceled gig as a result of the Coronavirus / Covid-19 outbreak, this new grant provides monetary support to musicians who have lost income due to a canceled gig as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
BUSINESS STRATEGIES
GUIDANCE FOR ARTS ORGANIZATIONS
Former Head of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Michael Kaiser, offers his advice on steps arts organizations can take now to survive the event cancellations across the country.
LEAD YOUR BUSINESS THROUGH THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
12 lessons from Harvard Business Review for responding to unfolding events, communicating, and extracting and applying learnings in order to lead your organization through crisis.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy is providing continuous coverage of ways you can help your nonprofit plan and prepare for the impact of the coronavirus on your workers and volunteers — and your finances. We have curated a couple of key articles for you below. Key articles: Fundraising During the Corona Outbreak 4 Ways to Engage Major Donors During the COVID-19 Crisis What We Learned From Crises and Can Use in Coronavirus Age
TEXAS DISASTER UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE
Artists can apply for regular and disaster unemployment if they have proof of employment. This includes hourly, salary, and contract work. The link will take you to the Texas Workforce Commission page for more information and a link to apply. While the federal government has released new guidance for unemployment in light of the Coronavirus, the Texas Workforce Commission has not yet released specific information regarding disaster unemployment.
The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering designated states and territories low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus. This includes both for profit and non-profit organizations.
EDUCATOR RESOURCES
ONLINE COVID-19 FORUM FOR ARTS EDUCATORS
An online forum for arts educators' COVID-related questions.
Master list of resources including a high-value webinar from the Association of Teaching Artists and a form that will allow you to submit more resources for the benefit of the community.
HASTAC (Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory) is an interdisciplinary community that has a helpful and curated selection of resources for transitioning delivering education.
This comic strip is aimed at helping kids understand and cope with the pandemic, which teaching artists can use to guide conversations they have with their students or share with parents.
DIGITAL PROGRAMMING
ARTSTEPS - CREATE VIRTUAL EXHIBITIONS
ArtSteps offers digital tools to create virtual reality engagements of your physical space.
GOOGLE ARTS AND CULTURE OPEN GALLERY
A partnership with Google to display in high definition your copyright free or copyright cleared content.
This site offers tips and instructions for optimizing Facebook Live to broadcast performances, share exhibition talks, and more.
VIDEO LIVE STREAMS AS AN ENGAGEMENT TOOL FOR MUSEUMS
This article outlines how-to’s and example of live streaming museum engagement opportunities.
This is a case study. Keen to reach the widest possible audience, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery experimented with live streaming to overcome barriers and reach new target groups.
TOOLS FOR VIRTUAL EVENT COMMUNITIES
In response to the cancellation of many in-person events, Higher Logic is offering Event Engagement to assist organizations in driving engagement and connection around virtual events.
BROADWAY LICENSING OFFERS UP STREAMING RIGHTS TO SHOWS THAT CAN’T PERFORM LIVE
This article provides details on how to contact Broadway Licensing for approval to live stream over 400 plays from their Playscripts catalog.
SELF CARE
STUCK AT HOME? THESE 12 FAMOUS MUSEUMS OFFER VIRTUAL TOURS YOU CAN TAKE ON YOUR COUCH
Full-time, part-time, temporary, side hustles, and everything in between: here's Do512’s guide (to the best of our knowledge) to some Austin Job Opportunities available during COVID-19.
CREATIVE PROMPTS FOR ART PROJECTS DURING SOCIAL DISTANCING
Show the world what you are doing to stay creative and connected by tagging @artworkarchive on Instagram and using the hashtag #artuniteschallenge. they will share your picture in our story and spread art throughout our community.
Along with many other organizations, ACA encourages that we utilize only two straightforward COVID-19 damage assessment forms—one for organizations (rolling deadline) and one for artists (deadline Mar 31). By doing so, we are not only unifying as a field, we are reducing the number of requests you’ll get and ensuring more and better quality data for future advocacy for our needs. Please fill out the form for yourself and your arts business now—and stay tuned, as we may need to update them as damage and losses grow.
This survey has been compiled to assess the needs of individual artists age 18 or older across the Mid-America Arts Alliance region (Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas). The resulting data will provide a snapshot of how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting artists. Deadline for submission is March 31
This survey from American for the Arts is designed to collect information about the financial and human impacts that the spread of the coronavirus have had on arts and cultural organizations. The survey also collects basic information about the participating organizations so that the data can be parsed by specific geographic regions, artistic disciplines, and budget categories. Rolling deadline
ADVOCACY
Austin Creative alliance advocates to put Austin’s culture at the forefront of public policy, economic development and tourism investment. We are keeping a close watch on City and State responses, and how those will affects artists and cultural industries. We are already advocating that investment in Austin’s culture come first on the city’s recovery agenda. By joining the Advocacy Team you can stay informed on the latest developments, and receive action alerts when it’s time to speak up and show up for arts and culture.
Americans for the Arts has a simple and quick that will automatically contact your Representative and Senators, urging them ti include relief for arts and cultural industries in stimulus spending.
CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE AND RESPONSE CENTER
A rolling, regularly updated blog from American for the Arts, posting the latest resources, advocacy alerts and news.
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