Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) will accelerate payment of $5.1 million in operating support grants to 65 arts and culture organizations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
At their annual meeting on April 15, the CAC Board of Trustees approved a plan to expedite the payment of 2020 grant funds to General Operating Support grantees. Typically, the grants are paid out in three installments; under this approved plan, grantees can request all or part of their remaining grant funds now.
Additionally, the Trustees approved changes to the current Project Support grant agreements, which will eliminate the requirement to have matching funds; allow for reimbursements for projects that incurred expenses but had to be canceled; and provide grantees the opportunity to move their project to a date in 2021.
“We are committed to working within our existing budget and grant programs to be as flexible as possible, and we remain committed to providing multi-year operating support funding,” said Jill M. Paulsen, executive director of Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. “By accelerating the payouts of our unrestricted grants, we hope to help organizations keep staff employed and remain as strong as possible so that they can continue to serve our community in the future. In tough times, art has the power to comfort and lift spirits. We need arts and culture now more than ever.”
In addition to funding groups through existing grant commitments, CAC is promoting organizations that have taken their programming online/virtual. Listings are available at ClevelandArtsEvents.com.
The agency also moved forward $125,000 in capacity building grants and $190,000 in Support for Artists grants to support activities later in 2020 and in 2021. The capacity building support is for Cuyahoga County arts organizations that primarily serve under-represented or historically marginalized communities. Support for Artists grants provide fellowships, project-based funding, access to physical spaces, professional development, and more.
More information about grant programs can be found here.
Published on ClevelandClassical.com April 20, 2020.
Click here for a printable copy of this article
