WESTAF Arts Resilience Fund

WESTAF Arts Resilience Fund

Status: This was a one-time emergency relief fund distributed in summer 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Funder: Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) in partnership with The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and five sister United States Regional Arts Organizations

Total Fund: Part of a $10 million total US Regional Arts Resilience Fund; WESTAF distributed $1.7 million across its 13-state region

Geographic Scope: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawai'i, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming

Focus Areas: Relief and recovery grants for small- and mid-sized arts and culture organizations of all artistic disciplines in rural and urban areas

Eligible Organizations:

Arts organizations regarded by peers as having statewide, regional, or national impact

Priority given to:

- Historically under-resourced organizations
- Organizations serving under-resourced populations, communities, and art forms
- Organizations led by and/or predominantly serving individuals from historically marginalized communities identifying as:
- Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC)
- Low-income
- LGBTQIA+
- Rural, remote, and under-resourced

About the Fund: According to WESTAF COVID-19 impact survey:

54% of western region arts nonprofits sustained total or severe revenue losses

47% of arts nonprofits surveyed had reserves of less than three months

16% had no cash reserves at all

Contact:

Name: Leah Horn

Phone: 303.629.1166

Email: leah.horn@westaf.org

Address: 1536 Wynkoop St., Suite 522, Denver, Colorado 80202

Organization: Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) - a nonprofit arts service organization dedicated to strengthening the financial, organizational, and policy infrastructure of the arts in the West