Funding Made Possible by Cuyahoga County and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
CLEVELAND (September 14, 2022) – Cuyahoga Arts & Culture has awarded $1.65 million, provided by Cuyahoga County, to 149 arts and cultural nonprofits to provide continued relief from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier this year, Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish and Council President Pernel Jones, Jr. announced $3.3 million in funding made possible by the American Rescue Plan Act to Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and Assembly for the Arts to help bolster the creative economy, a sector hit hard by the ongoing pandemic.
CAC’s Executive Director Jill M. Paulsen said the funding is critical and comes at a time when many groups continue to grapple with revenue loss and reduced audience capacities.
“We are grateful to the County Executive and County Council for their continued support of our full creative economy,” said Jill M. Paulsen, Executive Director of Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. “The nonprofits CAC supports continue to work hard to provide safe and meaningful arts and cultural experiences for residents. We know this relief funding will help groups bring their work to life in communities across the County.”
The flexible funds recognize the ongoing impact of the pandemic on the creative economy and range from $2,000 to $75,000 based on organizations’ size or previous CAC grant award.
Together, CAC and Assembly for the Arts have secured $7.8 million in recovery funding for the creative economy through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds provided by Cuyahoga County since 2020.
For-profit creative businesses and artists can apply by September 30 to receive relief funding from Assembly for the Arts.
View a list of the grants here.
Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) is one of the largest local public funders for arts and culture in the nation, helping hundreds of organizations in Cuyahoga County connect millions of people to cultural experiences each year. Since 2006, CAC has invested more than $218 million in 445 organizations both large and small, making our community a more vibrant place to live, work and play. For more information, visit cacgrants.org.
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CAC Staff