Culture Works is pleased to announce they have been selected to receive an American Rescue Plan (ARP) grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to help the arts and cultural sector recover from the pandemic. Culture Works will be receiving $500,000 to distribute as grants to eligible nonprofit cultural organizations and individual artists in the Dayton Region. ARP funding is designed to put artists back to work and to fund organizations’ operations and facilities, health and safety supplies, and marketing and promotional efforts to encourage attendance and participation in the arts.

In all, the NEA will award grants totaling $20,200,000 to 66 local arts agencies nationwide for subgranting. “The NEA’s significant investment in local arts agencies, including Culture Works, is a key element in helping the arts and culture sector recover and reopen, while ensuring that American Rescue Plan funding is distributed equitably,” said Ann Eilers, NEA’s acting chair. “These grants recognize the vital role of local arts agencies and will allow them to help rebuild local economies and contribute to the well-being of our communities.”

“We are honored to be one of two recipients approved for this funding in the state of Ohio, and one of 66 nationwide,” said Lisa Hanson, President/CEO of Culture Works. “These funds will be able to support the critical work of both 501(c)(3) arts and cultural organizations and individual artists in our service area, particularly those who were not able to benefit from other recovery programs.” 

Once the award from the NEA is finalized, Culture Works will create a new grantmaking process to distribute the funding. Details about the application process, eligibility requirements, and informational sessions for potential applicants are expected to be announced in the first quarter of 2022. Information will be posted on the Culture Works website at www.cultureworks.org as well as on social media.

This is the second of three installments of the NEA’s American Rescue Plan funding. Last April, the NEA announced that 40 percent of its $135 million in ARP funding would be allocated to 62 state, jurisdictional, and regional arts organizations for regranting through their respective programs. The third installment of APR funding to arts organizations to support their own operations will be announced in early 2022.

For more information on the NEA’s American Rescue Plan grants, including the full list of local arts agencies funded in this announcement, visit www.arts.gov/COVID-19/the-american-rescue-plan.