NAPA, Calif. (April 28, 2020) — In response to the growing crisis facing Napa County Artists and Art Teachers struggling to survive. Arts Council Napa Valley (ACNV) has established a Disaster Recovery Fund. It will provide crucial aid paid directly to artists and organizations grappling with an unprecedented loss of income.
ACNV will begin accepting applications to assist those who have experienced economic loss in Napa County due to the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic on May 4, 2020. A total of $40,000 in funds will be distributed to those located in Napa County who qualify. A $30,000 Emergency Artist Fund will be opened to all individuals— and small nonprofits with an annual (budget of $100,000 or less) working in any arts discipline. These Economic Loss Funds are available to assist with financial losses due to the pandemic, such as canceled programming, missed fundraising events, lost contracts or gigs, employee impact, and lost wages. A $10,000 Emergency Education Fund will be opened to all county schools that have experienced economic loss due to cancellation of performances, shows, or fundraisers. The funding is provided by ACNV with generous support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Arts Education Alliance Fund and the Napa Valley Arts Council Emergency Response Fund.
“The fabric holding our cultural community together is unraveling. With productions shuttered and events canceled, the revenue is simply not there for those who depend on it for their survival,” said ACNV Board President Colleen Schulman.
Despite concerns over shrinking resources to its own organization, the ACNV Board voted unanimously to make the funds immediately available to the creative sector. “As an impacted nonprofit, the funding we have available is modest.” Schulman added, “We invite the public to consider supporting these emergency programs by contributing to ACNV on Giving Tuesday, May 5. Your donation will directly support these programs.”
Giving Tuesday is a Statewide Call to Action to support nonprofit organizations in the services they offer their communities. Every dollar donated through the official GivingTuesdayNow platform will be added to the local Emergency Artist Disaster Recovery Fund. The GivingTuesdayNow giving platform will also be matching a percentage of donations from both a statewide and countrywide pool. Please consider making a generous donation. The ACNV Board hopes to double its fund to double its impact. “In times like this, you turn to the arts for solace and comfort. We need to ensure Napa County’s artists, musicians, performers, theaters, and museums will still be here when this is over,” Schulman said.
To find out more about how to donate, visit: now.firespring.com/nonprofits/arts-council-napa-valley
or donate directly on our website at: artscouncilnapavalley.org/donations/.
To apply for these grant programs, find additional arts recovery resources or make a contribution to the ACNV Disaster Recovery Fund, visit our COVID-19 Resource Center at artscouncilnapavalley.org, email info@artscouncilnv.org, or call (707) 257-2117 ext. 1.
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About the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is a nonpartisan, private charitable foundation that advances ideas and supports institutions to promote a better world. For more than 50 years, the foundation has supported efforts to advance education for all, preserve the environment, improve lives and livelihoods in developing countries, promote the health and economic well-being of women, support vibrant performing arts, strengthen Bay Area communities, and make the philanthropy sector more effective.
The foundation’s Performing Arts Program makes grants to sustain artistic expression and encourage public engagement in the arts in the San Francisco Bay Area, to give California students equal access to an education rich in the arts, and to provide necessary resources to help organizations and artists be effective in their work.
The Hewlett Foundation has supported the arts since its founding more than 50 years ago. Today, it is the largest private funder of the performing arts in the San Francisco Bay Area, making roughly $20 million in grants to more than 220 nonprofit arts organizations in 11 Bay Area counties each year.
About Arts Council Napa Valley
As the official local arts agency in Napa County, Arts Council Napa Valley connects, advocates, and leads the arts community countywide. Since 1981 the Arts Council has served to benefit all residents with a more sustainable, accessible, and quality local arts scene. Since the adoption of the Napa County Cultural Plan in 2009, it has organized policy initiatives like the City of Napa Percent for Art Ordinance. The Arts Council also offers programs and support, like the Napa Valley Creative Directory, ACNV Community Fund, and VAPA Student of the Month program to empower the industry through education, information, and resources.