Deadline: 23-Oct-20
The City of Oakland has launched the Oakland CARES Fund for Artists and Arts Nonprofits [CARES Arts Fund]. This is a reimbursement-based fund to mitigate COVID-19 related financial impacts suffered by individual artists and small nonprofit arts and culture organizations.
The CARES Arts Fund is made possible by federal funding from the United States CARES Act, which was allocated by the State of California to the City of Oakland. CCI, a trusted intermediary focused on the economic security of people in the arts, is administering the CARES Arts Fund.
The Oakland CARES Fund for Artists and Arts Nonprofits is a response to the financial impact on professional artists and nonprofit arts organizations caused by the COVID-19 economic shutdown. The CARES Arts Fund will distribute support to reflect the cultural and geographic diversity of the city of Oakland—including those in historically underserved communities that are especially vulnerable financially due to this economic crisis.
Funding Information
- Awards to individuals may be up to $3,000 and awards to organizations will range up to $20,000.
Funding Categories
The Oakland CARES Fund for Artists and Arts Nonprofits makes available a total of $1,425,000 to artists and arts organizations. The Fund offers two categories of support:
- Individual Artists: Those who make their primary income as freelancers or employees in the arts sector. This includes fine artists, including literary, visual, and performing artists; musicians; teaching artists; culture bearers; artist members of collective-based or cooperative creative social enterprises; and specialized artist workers (e.g., lighting or sound designers, fabricators, and the like).
- Arts Organizations: Organizations that are 501(c)3 arts nonprofits; fiscally sponsored arts organizations; and 501(c)3 incorporated cultural land trusts. Arts and/or culture activities and services must be the primary function of the organization. Eligible organizations must have a yearly budget under $2.5 million based on the most recently completed fiscal year that ended before March 1, 2020.
About the Proposal
Applicants will need to:
- Describe and provide a financial accounting (itemized by dates, expense activities, amounts) of the economic injury you as an individual artist, or your arts organization, has suffered due to COVID-19 and the related economic shutdown, including the kinds of expenses that cannot be paid due to loss of arts-business related income and/or financial expenses incurred due to the pandemic (both individuals and organizations);
- Provide proof of residency (individuals) or 501(c)3 status (organizations only);
- Provide a location in Oakland that demonstrates primarily serving historically vulnerable communities (organizations only);
- Provide proof of artistic employment by providing a website url that verifies your arts-related source of income (individuals only);
- Provide proof of budget size (organizations only).
Eligibility Requirements
Individuals
- Must be an artist (as defined above); and must provide documentation that demonstrates applicant’s professional role in arts and culture.
- Must be a current, full-time resident of Oakland.
- Demonstrate Proof: Must upload ONE proof of current residency. Proof is demonstrated by including a legible photo of a current state driver’s license or ID; or most-recent utility bill, health insurance statement, bank statement, or other similar type of document. The name and address must match that used in the application form.
- Must make the majority (50%+) of individual income from the arts sector–any combination of sales of art, freelance work, and/or employment.
- Must provide a detailed explanation of financial losses or incurred expenses due to COVID-19. While documentation of these losses or expenses will not be required initially, it may be required in the future. (Refer to examples of eligible expenses above).
- TIP: Before you begin your application, they suggest you make a list of eligible expenses (Date, Expense Activity [e.g., rent, car payment, hospital bill, Zoom subscription], and Amount) for which you are seeking reimbursement.
- Must not have received funding from any other City of Oakland CARES-funded grants program.
- Can only apply once.
Organizations
- Must demonstrate proof of 501(c)3 nonprofit status by providing one of the following:
- 501(c)3 Tax Determination letter;
- Form 1023 Application for 501(c)3 status; or
- 990 Federal Tax Return from FY’18, FY’19, or most recent fiscal year that ends before March 1, 2020–whichever is most recently completed.
- If fiscally sponsored (fiscal sponsor can be non-local), organization must be based in and primarily serving Oakland. A sponsorship agreement letter on letterhead, including verification from the fiscal sponsor that 75% or more of the sponsored organization’s activities benefit Oakland, with an Oakland address of the primary location in which organizational activities are performed, is required.
- Must be located in and primarily benefit the residents in Oakland. There are no residency requirements for employees.
- Must have a business address within the City (P.O. Box does not qualify).
- Must identify an address, if not the business address, where the nonprofit, or fiscally sponsored entity, locates the majority of its public-facing services. (Examples include using the address of the rental venue most commonly used, an address on the street where the organization produces its annual street fair, the address of a cultural center most used for providing programming that reaches diverse audiences, or your primary business address if that is where the organization provides services).
- Must have an annual operating budget not exceeding $2.5 million. (Funding amounts will be based on the actual budget size of the most recently completed fiscal year using the following tiers: For budgets up to $999,999, grants will be up to $10,000; for budgets of $1million – $1,499,999, grants will be up to $15,000; and for budgets of $1.5-$2.5 million, grants will be up to $20,000). Organizational applicants must provide proof of budget size by providing an income and expense statement for the most recently completed fiscal year that ended prior to March 1, 2020. (Entities that are fiscally sponsored must provide their own budget and not that of the fiscal sponsor).
- Organizations that received support through the Paycheck Protection Program, a National Endowment for the Arts (CARES) award, or an award from any other City of Oakland CARES funded grant program are eligible to apply. However, applicants that received $20,000 or less from the Paycheck Protection Program and have not received these other sources of support will be given priority consideration.
- Can only apply once.
For more information, visit https://www.cciarts.org/Oakland_CARES_Fund.html