News for the Field from the National Endowment for the Arts
Partnership Division heading with an outline map of the United States
CARES Act
COVID-19 Updates & Resources
April 9, 2020
Application Deadline: April 22, 2020

Yesterday, the National Endowment for the Arts distributed a news release announcing CARES Act Funding to support arts jobs and help sustain arts organizations.  The National Endowment for the Arts has posted guidelines to swiftly distribute funding to nonprofit arts organizations from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to preserve jobs and help support organizations forced to close operations due to the spread of COVID-19.

Full details on the distribution of the $75 million appropriated to the National Endowment for the Arts through the CARES Act are available online . More than 3,700 organizations that have received National Endowment for the Arts grants in the past four years are eligible to apply for a direct grant.    
 
Please see the Arts Endowment’s website for  program description ,  eligibility requirements ,  application review , and   FAQs .  

NOTE: The Arts Endowment will distribute almost $30 million of the $75 million CARES Act funding to state arts agencies and regional arts organizations to subgrant to organizations not otherwise eligible for the Arts Endowment direct grants. If your organization is not eligible to apply for a direct CARES Act grant from the Arts Endowment, please check with your state, regional, or local arts agency to see if you are eligible to apply for their grant programs.
Local Arts Agencies: Information on CARES Act Funding
Three ways that  local arts agencies  can access the National Endowment for the Arts CARES Act arts funding: 
 
  • Designated local arts agencies that have received Arts Endowment support for a subgranting program during the past four years may request $100,000 or $250,000 for subgranting programs. Please contact the Locals team directly if you have questions on your eligibility to subgrant CARES funds.  
 
  • A local arts agency that has received Arts Endowment support as an applicant through any Arts Endowment grant program in the past four years (FY 2017-2020) is eligible to apply for a grant of $50,000. Local arts agencies should review the full program description, eligibility requirements, application review details, and FAQs. NOTE: Locals Arts Agencies should be sure to select “Local Arts Agencies” as the NEA Discipline for Proposed Project in the application (Tab 3 Project Info/Sub Tab 1: Project Activity) in order to ensure the application is reviewed through the Local Arts Agencies discipline. The quick timeline for this program means that no applications will be transferred post-deadline between disciplines.

  • NOTE: Only local arts agencies that have received a direct award from the National Endowment for the Arts within the past four years are eligible to apply under the Arts Endowment's CARES Act funding guidelines. Direct awards from the Arts Endowment do not include sub-granted federal funds from a state arts agency or a regional arts organization.
 
  • Forty percent of the Arts Endowment’s $75 million in CARES funds will be awarded directly to state and regional arts agencies to distribute through their funding programs. Local arts agencies should check in with their state and regional arts agencies to learn about additional CARES Act-funded grant opportunities. 
Arts Organizations: Information on CARES Act Funding

Organizations (that are not local arts agencies) can access the National Endowment for the Arts CARES Act arts funding in the following ways:  

  • An organization that has received Arts Endowment support as an applicant through any Arts Endowment grant program in the past four years (FY 2017-2020) is eligible to apply for a grant of $50,000. Organizations should review the full program description, eligibility requirements, application review details, and FAQs.
 
  • NOTE: Only organizations that have received a direct award from the National Endowment for the Arts within the past four years are eligible to apply under the Arts Endowment's CARES Act funding guidelines. Direct awards from the Arts Endowment do not include sub-granted federal funds from a state arts agency, a regional arts organization, or a local arts agency.

  • Forty percent of the Arts Endowment’s $75 million in CARES funds will be awarded directly to state and regional arts agencies to distribute through their funding programs. Organizations should check in with their state and regional arts agencies to learn about additional CARES Act-funded grant opportunities.  
National Endowment for the Arts Annual Funding Program Information
In addition to the CARES Act funding, local arts agencies and arts organization can also apply to annual National Endowment for the Arts funding opportunities, including Grants for Arts Projects, Research Awards, and Our Town. 
 
The current remaining FY21 Arts Endowment grant program deadlines in 2020 include: 

Application Deadline: July 9, 2020  
Grants of $10,000 to $100,00 for project support. For Local Arts Agencies, project types can include programming, services to the field, and subgranting.  
 
Application Deadline: April 13, 2020
Grants and cooperative agreements of $10,000 to $150,000 for research projects.

Application Deadline: August 2020 (guidelines to be posted in May 2020)  
Grants of $25,000 to $200,000 for creative placemaking projects. 
Grants Management Guidance for Current Arts Endowment Grantees with 2020 Project Activities
We know things are changing day to day with your organizational programming as a result of COVID-19. If you have questions about how to best manage your National Endowment for the Arts grant, you'll find helpful answers in our updated COVID-19 FAQs, including guidance on what to do if you need to postpone, cancel, or change activities. And if you still have questions after reviewing the FAQs, don't hesitate to check in with Arts Endowment staff.
Chairman's Corner
Tune in to Chairman's Corner , a new weekly podcast. This week, Chairman Mary Anne Carter talks about the guidelines developed by the Arts Endowment for nonprofit arts organizations to help them navigate the application process for emergency funding through the CARES Act.
Contact the Partnership Division
(202) 682-5097
Challenge America and Arts Engagement in American Communities Specialist
Mary Sellers: sellersm@arts.gov
Challenge America and
Local Arts Agencies Specialist
Lara Holman Garritano: garritanol@arts.gov
States and Regional Specialist
Andi Mathis: mathisa@arts.gov
Division Coordinator, Partnership
Jennifer Lindow Eskin: eskinj@arts.gov
Director of State, Regional
and Local Partnerships
Michael Orlove: orlovem@arts.gov
Assistant Grants Management Specialist Partnership Division
Alexzandra Fogle: foglea@arts.gov
STAY CONNECTED