The COVID-19 pandemic has had an immediate and severe impact on the financial health of our local arts organizations and individual artists.

What we're doing

For the second year in a row, we've made changes to this year's Community Arts Grant program to give our grantees more time to focus on their evolving operational needs. Current grantees will have a a simplified grant application for 2021 with reduced requirements for eligibility.

How you can help 

Arts patrons - please remember that a loss of income for the arts organizations is not a loss of profit. It's a loss of the operating funds that enable them to pay employees and artists and cover the day-to-day costs of operating a business. Many of these organizations necessarily operate on very thin margins and report significant revenue loss from canceled performances, eliminated school programming and events, and closed venues.

1. Make a gift to Culture Works. As the United Arts Fund for the Dayton Region, we are uniquely placed to be able to support a number of arts organization through this difficult time. Each year, our Campaign for the Arts provides general operating support grants - flexible funding that arts and cultural organizations can use in the areas of greatest need.
2. Share arts and cultural videos and stories on your social media. We have seen over the past year how the world looks to the arts for comfort and inspiration during troubled times. In the midst of sobering news, spread some joy and hope. Here are a few local groups and organizations providing streaming arts experiences for you and your loved ones to enjoy from home: 
   • Dayton Area Artists and Art Leaders Zoom Chats - Mike London of Montgomery County sat down for an individual Zoom chat with artists and creatives in our region in an effort for us all to get to know them better. Enjoy fascinating interviews with arts leaders and artists.
   • Discover Classical WDPR-FM and WDPG-FM - Discover Classical provides 24-hour classical music streaming for the Dayton Region. 
   • Dayton Performing Arts Alliance -  Enjoy an array of exciting virtual performances from Dayton Opera, Dayton Ballet, and the Dayton Philharmonic—from small DPAA ensembles who have taken the stage to record concerts live and in-person, socially distanced, of course, to virtual multimedia replays of previous breathtaking DPAA performances, with brand new photo and video presentations to accompany the recorded musical performances.
   • Dayton Contemporary Dance Company - In response to the pandemic, DCDC invites you to experience their 52nd Season through their NEW HyFlex performance model. HyFlex is a flexible means for you to connect with DCDC and allows you to engage with their performances at your own comfort level and, in some instances, on your own time.

  RESOURCES FOR ARTS ORGANIZATIONS 

• SBA Shuttered Venue Operators Grant - Program details, application instructions, and more
• COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans - Information and application
• Put Creative Workers to Work Policy Proposal - Add your endorsement as an organization or an individual to this proposal of specific actions that the next Administration can take to activate the creative economy within a comprehensive national recovery strategy.
• United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund - A national recovery initiative for under-resourced arts and cultural organizations
• TABLE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS -  Americans for the Arts
• Americans for the Arts Impact Study - a five minute survey on the Economic Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the Arts and Cultural Sector 
  • The Economic Impact of Coronavirus on the Arts and Culture Sector - Latest results from the ongoing survey above
  • One-page summary update as of 12/7/2020 
• Arts Education Partnership Resources for Serving the Arts Education Field in the Time of COVID-19 
• Practical Steps in a Time of Uncertainty - Michael Kaiser, DeVos School of Arts Management

RESOURCES FOR ARTISTS

• Americans for the Arts Survey: The Impact of COVID-19 on Artists and Creative Workers
• File for Ohio Unemployment
• TABLE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS -  Americans for the Arts
• ARTIST RELIEF FUND - Apply for $5,000 grants funded by a coalition of national arts grantsmakers
• The COVID-19 Impact Survey for Artists and Creative Workers - Designed by Americans for the Arts
• Sweet Relief Musicians Fund - For musicians and music industry workers who have lost more than 50% of their income
• Musicians Foundation Aid 
• Craft Emergency Relief Fund - For established artists working in a craft discipline
• Foundation for Contemporary Arts COVID-19 Relief - For experimental visual artists
• The Author's League Fund
• The Actor's Fund
• Freelance Artist Resources

GENERAL COVID-19 RESOURCES 

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Ohio Department of Health
• The Ohio Channel - Current and archived Press Conference Updates from Governor Mike Dewine
• Global Coronavirus Dashboard

Please check back often; we are adding resources as we find them. If you are aware of a resource not included here that you think others will find helpful, please email us.