NEA Announces CARES Act Funding to Support Arts Jobs and Help Sustain Arts Organizations

Wednesday Apr 8th, 2020

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On the morning of April 8, 2020, The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) posted the application guidelines for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds; almost a month earlier than anticipated. The application guidelines can be found on the NEA’s website.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act recognizes that the nonprofit arts industry is an important sector of America’s economy. The National Endowment for the Arts will award funds to nonprofit arts organizations across the country to help these entities and their employees endure the economic hardships caused by the forced closure of their operations due to the spread of COVID-19. As part of this important investment, the NEA has designed a plan to expedite the distribution of critical funds to the national, regional, state, and local levels to help retain as many jobs as possible, as quickly as possible. These funds are intended to help save jobs in the arts sector and keep the doors open to the thousands of organizations that add value to America’s economy and the creative life of our communities.

 This program will be carried out through one-time grants to eligible nonprofit organizations including arts organizations, local arts agencies, statewide assemblies of local arts agencies, arts service organizations, units of state or local government, federally recognized tribal communities or tribes, and a wide range of other organizations that can help advance the goals of the Arts Endowment and this program. Grants will be made either to organizations for their own operations, or to designated local arts agencies, eligible to subgrant, for subgranting programs to eligible nonprofit organizations. 

All applicants must be previous National Endowment for the Arts award recipients from the past four years (Fiscal Year 2017-2020; see “Applicant Eligibility” for more information).

Deadlines:

Part 1 - Submit to Grants.gov
April 22, 2020 by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time
Prepare application material so that it’s ready to upload when the Applicant Portal opens

Part 2 - Submit to Applicant Portal
April 27-May 4, 2020 by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time

Earliest Announcement of Grant Award or Rejection
June 2020

Earliest Beginning Date for National Endowment for the Arts Period of Performance
July 1, 2020 

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