At press time, Congress was poised to vote on a long-awaited deal to provide economic relief from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of note to the arts community are provisions that will offer stimulus payments and extended unemployment benefits for artists and other creative sector workers, including self-employed gig workers. Also, arts organizations are expected to benefit from extended and expanded Paycheck Protection Program forgivable loans. Finally, the "Save Our Stages" Act appears to have made it into the final funding bill, providing $15 Billion in grants to "live venues, independent movie theaters and cultural institutions." Details of the programs are still to be determined.  Relief Package Summary 

In the recent announcement by Governor Newsom that $500 Million in relief grants for small businesses, he stated that nonprofit organizations and "cultural institutions" would be eligible to apply for up to $25,000. Details were to have been released by December 18, but the CA Office of the Small Business Advocate issued a statement that the program is still being developed. All potential applicants are encouraged to register here to receive information when the grant program is ready to begin accepting applications. 

At its meeting on December 15, the Orange County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution to allocate $10 million in relief to small businesses, divided equally among the five districts to administer. On December 18, ArtsOC delivered a letter to the Supervisors stating, "We encourage you to again open eligibility to nonprofit organizations to apply for these funds. Further, we wish to suggest that you consider allocating 10% of the new relief funds to assist the arts community." ArtsOC will continue to reach out to the Supervisors on this matter.

California Arts Council (CAC) has opened its grant programs for 2021 applications with deadlines in February. There are very significant changes to the programs, including the consolidation of several different project grant programs (arts education, veterans, local impact) into a single Impact Project category and the addition of a General Operating Support category designed for COVID-19 relief. Also, priority will be given to organizations with budgets under $250,000, although larger organizations are eligible to apply. All applicants (as well as current grantees) must now include in their organizational profiles a racial equity statement. Full details may be found here.