United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund
By Margaret A. Keough
Mid-America Arts Alliance to Support Historically Under-Resourced Arts and Cultural Organizations
Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA) has collaborated with our five sister US Regional Arts Organizations, through a seed grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, to form the United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund in an urgent response to the impact of COVID-19 on the nation’s arts organizations. The $10 million investment will support small to mid-sized arts organizations across the country. M-AAA was awarded $1.54 million to provide support within its six-state region of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas.
“Through the immense generosity of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Mid-America Arts Alliance will be able to sustain organizations vital to the distinct arts ecosystem in our region,” said Todd Stein, president and CEO of Mid-America Arts Alliance. “These grants will support organizations in the arts and culture landscape who are led by and serve communities of color and who have not historically enjoyed access to deep funding. Organizations serving rural communities will also be prioritized. We are fortunate to be able to sustain these vital institutions at a time when the arts are needed most to heal and unite communities and our nation.”
The United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund will provide non-matching grants to arts and cultural organizations across the US that face economic hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund will target rural and urban organizations that have statewide, regional, or national impact. Grants will range from $10,000 to $100,000 and will support small and mid-sized arts organizations of all artistic disciplines, especially those that are historically under-resourced, and those representing under-resourced populations, communities, and art forms. It may support expenses associated with general operations, immediate response activities, future scenario planning, support for new media needs, help with the costs of collaborations, and costs associated with helping organizations reimagine their work and increase their resilience.
The process involved nominations for organizations to be considered for funding. We will identify and invite organizations in the region to apply for funding on June 29, with full applications due on July 17. An announcement of the recipients is expected in mid to late-August 2020.
Nominations are now closed, and we have invited a select number to apply in full. Thank you for more than 1,000 nominations of organizations in making a difference in their communities, from all six M-AAA states.
Applicant organizations must:
- be a small or mid-sized 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit arts organization (for this fund, defined as having a budget of $250,000 or more in the most recently completed fiscal year). Organizations with a budget between $150,000–$250,000 operating in severely under-resourced circumstances with a record of vision and impact on community may also be considered;
- be led by and/or represent and serve under-resourced populations and communities that have unequal access to critical resources for support, investment, and capitalization by systems of bias and favored distribution; and
- be located and incorporated in the M-AAA region, which includes the states of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.
