This is a great spreadsheet of many national and regional opportunities for Direct Relief (aka grants) available for artists:
Coronavirus 2020 Artist Relief Funds
Below you will find a list of available national funds for artists. We will do our best to update deadlines and eligibility as it becomes available.
Weekly, rolling deadline providing $5,000 unrestricted support for artists facing dire financial emergencies due to COVID-19. To be eligible for a relief grant, applicants must be: Practicing artists able to demonstrate a sustained commitment to their work, careers, and a public audience; Experiencing dire financial emergencies due to the COVID-19 pandemic; 21 years of age or older; Able to receive taxable income in the U.S. (e.g. citizen, green card holder, and/or permanent resident who can provide a W9 and SSN or ITIN); Residing and working in the U.S. for the last two years; Not a full-time employee, board member, director, officer, or immediate family member of any of the coalition partners; Not previously awarded a relief grant from this fund. After review, qualifying applications will be selected via a lottery process for funding each week. Artists who do not receive funding are invited to re-apply each month. Cycle I: April 8 – April 23; Cycle II: April 24 – May 21; Cycle III: May 22 – June 18; June 19 – July 23; Cycle V: July 24 – August 20 (all cycles close 11:59pm ET). Each cycle, all non-funded applications will be removed from our system so that artists can reapply the following round. Artist Relief is organized by the Academy of American Poets, Artadia, Creative Capital, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, MAP Fund, National YoungArts Foundation, and United States Artists with support from a number of national foundations.
Limited financial aid is intended for artists and their dependent families who are in need of assistance due to sickness or distress caused by unfortunate circumstances. Requests for educational or working grants are not eligible, nor do we award scholarship funds or “fellowships” for study, projects, art supplies, schooling, travel, or exhibitions. Awards are made on a monthly basis. From September to June, the Board of Trustees reviews all applications to determine if they have been properly submitted and if they are eligible. Applicants are encouraged to apply early in the month. Unclear how much amounts are.
Foundation for Contemporary Arts
One-time $1,500 grants to artists who have had performances or exhibitions canceled or postponed because of the pandemic. Eligibility Requirements: In accordance with our mission, FCA will continue to focus its support on artists making work of a contemporary, experimental nature. If you are unsure about whether your work is experimental, you can see other artists we have supported on our Instagram and our website. Relief will be provided to artists who can demonstrate that they have had an engagement canceled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Applicants must be individual artists, or an individual representing an artist collective, ensemble, or group. Curators, producers, workshop organizers, organizations, or arts presenters are not eligible to apply.
Currently, this fund cannot support performers, ensemble members, or designers who were working on a project that was canceled; we recognize the vital contributions that performers, artist assistants, designers, and others make to the field and have listed other resources that offer more targeted support to those artists below.
Applicants must be living in the United States or U.S. territories and have a U.S. Tax ID Number (SSN, EIN, ITIN, or other)
For the purpose of providing COVID-19 relief, we are temporarily suspending the three year waiting period between grants. If you have received a grant from the Foundation in the past three years you may apply for COVID-19 relief.
We will be giving a weekly $500 grant to an artist with financial need whose main source of income has been affected by COVID-19 shutdowns. We are committing to offering this grant through the week of 5/14 and for as long as we are able to after that.
CERF+ emergency assistance is available to established artists working in a craft discipline that meet the following eligibility requirements. In light of the anticipated volume of requests for assistance, for the time-being, CERF+ ‘s emergency relief grants related to Covid-19 will focus on those infected with the virus that require intensive medical care.
The Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant program
is intended to provide interim financial assistance to qualified painters, printmakers, and sculptors whose needs are the result of an unforeseen, catastrophic incident, and who lack the resources to meet that situation. Each grant is given as one-time assistance for a specific emergency, examples of which are fire, flood, or emergency medical need. The program does not consider requests for dental work, chronic situations, capital improvements, or projects of any kind; nor can it consider situations resulting from general indebtedness or lack of employment. The maximum amount of this grant is $15,000; an award of $5,000 is typical. To be eligible for this program, an artist must be able to demonstrate a minimum involvement of ten years in a mature phase of his or her work. Artists must work in the disciplines of painting, sculpture or printmaking. Each application will be reviewed by the Directors, who will exercise their discretion in considering it, and will determine the amount of each award. Applicants should note there is a set amount appropriated for these grants each fiscal year; once this budgetary limit has been reached, the Foundation will not be able to judge any additional requests on their merits. There are no deadlines.
New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is proud to partner with the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation to administer a new emergency grant program called Rauschenberg Emergency Grants. This marks the first phase of a program that will be in the tradition of Change, Inc., a non-profit foundation established in 1970 by Robert Rauschenberg to assist professional artists of all disciplines in need of emergency medical aid.
Eligibility: Any artist in any discipline who has been impacted by COVID19-related cancellations and closures may apply for assistance. Stipends and support will be given on a first-come, first-serve basis, with the only limitation being how much money we are able to raise. The only requirements are (1) you demonstrate you’re an artist by sharing your resume and website, where applicable, and (2) you share this fundraiser with your own networks and provide a screenshot of that activity. Unclear how much funding amounts are.
ConvertKit has established a $50,000 fund to help creators in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please read details below and then submit your information if you are in need.
This fund, created by The Soze Foundation, TaskForce and Invisible Hand, supports artists + activists whose work has been impacted by COVID-19. We have received 6,148 applications and have already distributed $90,000 in grants to over 250 artists + activists.
PEN America’s Writers Emergency Fund
PEN America will distribute grants of $500 to $1,000 based on applications that demonstrate an inability to meet an acute financial need, especially one resulting from the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. We have developed a new streamlined process for the duration of this crisis, and expect to be able to review and respond to applications within 14 days. To be eligible, applicants must be based in the United States, be a professional writer, and be able to demonstrate that this one-time grant will be meaningful in helping them to address an emergency situation. The fund is limited, and not every application can be supported. Deadline: 4/20.
The Artists’ Fellowship Financial Aid
The Artists’ Fellowship provides emergency aid to professional fine artists and their families in times of sickness, natural disaster, bereavement or unexpected extreme hardship. At this time, we are temporarily limiting relief and assistance applications to those qualified applicants who are dealing with immediate MEDICAL emergencies and their aftermaths. Meeting monthly from September to June, the Board of Trustees reviews all applications to determine if they have been properly submitted and if they are eligible. Applicants are encouraged to do this early in the month. The Board does not meet in July and August.
Twenty Summers Emergency Arts Fund
TWENTY SUMMERS is dedicated in engaging with leading and emerging artists and cultural figures while fostering the creation of new work. Though our mission has typically been achieved through distinctive programs at the infamous Hawthorne Barn — where Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, Tennessee Williams and other icons once created or presented new work — we know that drastic times call for drastic measures, and sometimes new initiatives as well.
That is why Twenty Summers is launching an Emergency Arts Fund (EAF) for artists and arts organizations facing unmanageable financial loss as a result of the Coronavirus. EAF is the first nationwide initiative that supports both artists and arts organizations, gives artists a chance to promote their work from home, and stimulates and connects art-lovers during a time of social isolation.