Title
Arts and Culture Coronavirus Relief Program
Description
This report provides information and recommendations for a City of Phoenix Arts and Culture Coronavirus Relief Program, to deploy $2 million, as part of the City's $293 million Coronavirus Relief Fund's $75 million Community Investments allocation, to support nonprofit arts and culture organizations and individual artists that face financial hardships resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
THIS ITEM IS FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION.
Report
Summary
The federal government allocated $293 million to the City of Phoenix in the Coronavirus Relief Fund component of Section 5001 of the CARES Act. During its May 6, 2020 meeting, the City Council approved allocating those funds among three areas of emphasis, including $75 million for Community Investments, which further allocated $10 million for the arts and culture sector (Attachment A).
According to the latest Arts and Economic Prosperity Study conducted by Americans for the Arts, the nonprofit arts and culture sector is an essential industry in the City of Phoenix, one that generates $401.8 million in total economic activity. This spending, $164.6 million by nonprofit arts and cultural organizations and an additional $237.2 million in event-related spending by their audiences supports 12,815 full-time equivalent jobs, generates $285.5 million in household income to residents, and delivers $44.5 million in local and state government revenue. The economic impact study sends a strong signal that when arts are supported, not only is the quality of life for residents enhanced but so is the City of Phoenix's economic well-being.
Americans for the Arts recently reported that as of May 5, 2020, the national nonprofit arts and culture sector had $4.98 billion in financial losses. With that, $197 million in admissions have been lost due to canceled or postponed events. The majority of arts and culture nonprofits have reduced their workforce by furloughing or laying off staff and cutting contracts with artists, designers, and trades people. Phoenix artists and cultural institutions are facing an extraordinary loss of income and revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most nonprofit arts organizations, galleries, or venues are closed, and 66% of nonprofit arts organizations had to implement a reduction in staffing with furloughs and layoffs. These organizations are forecasting a loss between $10,000 and over $1 million each through the summer, according to research from the Arizona Citizens for the Arts.
Organizational Funding
The Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture proposes to provide one-time emergency relief grants between $5,000 and $50,000 to arts and cultural organizations. These awards would not require a cash match from the recipients. To expedite disbursement of these relief grants, the department would use its annual community arts grants process now already underway. Applications for that program closed this April. Seventy-five organizations applied for funding, representing all artistic disciplines, budget sizes, and City Council districts. In May, applications will be reviewed by panels made up of local artists and arts professionals, community laypersons, and out-of-state experts to ensure a thorough and unbiased review. Panel recommendations are forwarded to the Phoenix Arts and Culture Commission to review and recommend for funding, ensuring these organizations are good stewards of public funding.
Grantees recommended for FY 2020-21 support would be immediately eligible to apply for emergency relief funding and receive a simple, supplemental application to complete. Applicants would need to submit documentation of the cancelled programs and the financial impact on the organizations.
The deadline to apply for emergency relief funds would have a short turnaround, and to expedite the process, the Office of Arts and Culture would convene a panel of the Phoenix Arts and Culture Commission to review the information submitted to make funding recommendations and disbursements quickly.
Artist Funding
Recently, a statewide COVID-19 emergency relief grant program for individual artists and arts professionals was launched by the Arizona Commission on the Arts, Arizona Community Foundation, Artlink, and the Arts Foundation of Tucson and Southern Arizona, in addition to participation from the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture. The fund provides grants of up to $1,500 to be applied to gigs/jobs/contracts that have been outright canceled or terminated since March 1, 2020. The application portal closed after being open for only one day. More than 500 applications were submitted in under eight hours, and another 1,000-plus artists signed up to be on the waiting list to see if the application would reopen. Two-hundred and thirty artists were selected to receive grants. A number of these artists were from Phoenix, representing all City Council districts, and all artistic disciplines.
The Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture proposes funding all eligible Phoenix artists from the submitted applicant pool, and if needed, open the application to those who left their contact information in the subsequent form. This funding would allow for more artists to be selected and receive emergency relief support. Grants would be paid out by the Arizona Community Foundation through the Emergency Relief for Artists Collaborative Fund managed by the Arizona Commission on the Arts.
Technical Assistance
The Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture would also propose to use a small portion of the funds to contract consultants and facilitators to conduct workshops, webinars, and resources that would help nonprofit arts and culture organizations and individual artists navigate their financial futures moving forward into the new normal. These professional development opportunities would be open to all, not just those funded organizations and individuals.
Staff recommends Council discussion and approval of a plan to implement a Phoenix Arts and Culture Coronavirus Relief Program.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Karen Peters and the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture.