MONTPELIER, VT—To offset the Covid-19 pandemic’s continuing economic fallout, the Vermont Arts Council and Vermont Humanities have awarded $1.16 million in recovery funding to 144 Vermont arts and humanities organizations through a collaborative program.
The Covid-19 Cultural Recovery Grant Program was seeded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and funded through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
Arts and/or humanities organizations incorporated in the state of Vermont with a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status were eligible to apply for the grants, which covered general operating or project expenses of $5,000 to $15,000 depending on the organization’s size. The Covid-19 Cultural Recovery Grant Program awarded funding to 72% of applicants.
In 2020, the two organizations jointly gave over $780,000 in Covid-19 Emergency Relief Grants to 123 cultural organizations. The Arts Council also oversaw $5 million in Economic Recovery grants allocated by the Vermont state legislature in July 2020 to further support Vermont cultural organizations.
Vermont arts and culture nonprofits continue to struggle to survive the pandemic’s costly punch. The 197 Vermont cultural organizations that applied for the most recent grant program reported $36 million in lost revenue since March 2020.
Vermont’s broader creative sector, which includes arts and culture nonprofits as well as creative businesses, provides more than 40,000 jobs annually and comprises 9.3% of all employment in Vermont, higher than the national average.
“The cultural sector is poised to help Vermont recover, but arts and culture nonprofits are still struggling,” said Arts Council Executive Director Karen Mittelman. “The American Rescue Plan Act funds provide critical support to ensure that our museums, theaters, galleries and studios will be there for Vermont when the worst of this pandemic is behind us, to bring us back together, inspire us, and enable our communities to thrive again.”
“Vermonters in all 14 counties, in towns from Canaan to Bennington, and from Brattleboro to Grand Isle are benefiting from this desperately needed funding provided by the NEH and NEA,” said Vermont Humanities Executive Director Christopher Kaufman Ilstrup. “We are grateful for the support shown by our congressional delegation that ensured that the cultural sector is not forgotten.”
A total of $135 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds were allocated to both the NEH and NEA, with 40 percent of the funds to be distributed to state, jurisdictional, and regional arts and humanities organizations for regranting through their respective funding programs. The remaining 60 percent of the ARP money is awarded by the NEA and NEH directly to non-profit organizations to assist the field in its response to and recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
About the Vermont Arts Council
The Vermont Arts Council envisions a Vermont where all people have access to the arts and creativity in their lives, education, and communities. Engagement with the arts transforms individuals, connects us more deeply to each other, energizes the economy, and sustains the vibrant cultural landscape that makes Vermont a great place to live. Since 1965, the Council has been the state's primary provider of funding, advocacy, and information for the arts in Vermont. Learn more at vermontartscouncil.org
About Vermont Humanities
A statewide nonprofit organization founded in 1974, Vermont Humanities seeks to engage all Vermonters in the world of ideas, foster a culture of thoughtfulness, and inspire a lifelong love of reading and learning. Learn more at www.vermonthumanities.org
###
