Over $725k in Sustainability Grants and CARES Act Funding from South Arts Help Keep Arts Organizations Open During the Pandemic
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To help ensure the continued operations of arts organizations through the COVID-19 pandemic, South Arts has awarded 20 Sustainability Grants totaling $194,200 to organizations across the region of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. These funds, made possible through the National Endowment for the Arts and appropriations from the CARES Act, are intended to keep employees in their jobs and allow organizations to remain solvent during the pandemic.
In addition to these awards, South Arts is providing $60,000 to each of the nine State Arts Agencies in South Arts’ region each to distribute to rural and culturally specific arts organizations in their respective states. Each State Arts Agency will determine their own method of distributing this collective $540,000 to ensure it has the most impact within their state.
Applications for South Arts’ Sustainability Grants were open between May and June 2020. Arts service organizations serving constituents statewide, regionally, or nationally were eligible to apply. Applications were reviewed by a panel of leaders in the field, who adjudicated each applicant based on their impact and need. Based on the panel’s recommendations, 15 organizations were selected to receive awards ranging from $5,000 to $20,000.
Additionally, the five dance companies in South Arts’ Momentum program were each awarded $10,000. Momentum is an intensive three-year professional development program for Southern dance companies focused on strengthening touring capacity. Participating dance companies include Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami, Helen Simoneau Danse, New Dialect, staibdance, and Wideman/Davis Dance.
To read about the 20 organizations receiving these funds as well as all of South Arts’ other programs and opportunities, visit www.southarts.org.