Title
National Endowment for the Arts American Rescue Plan Act Grant (Ordinance S-47894)
Description
Request authorization for the City Manager, or his designee, to apply for, accept, and, if awarded, enter into an agreement for up to $500,000 in National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. Further authorize the City Treasurer to accept, and the City Controller to disburse, the funds for purposes of this ordinance. The grant funds would be used by the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture in FY 2021-22 to award one-time grants to Phoenix nonprofit arts and culture organizations to help these entities and their employees endure the economic hardships caused by the force closure of their operations due to the COVID-19 emergency.
Report
Summary
The ARPA recognizes that the nonprofit arts industry is an important sector of America's economy. The NEA will award funds to nonprofit arts organizations across the country to help these entities and their employees endure the economic hardships caused by the force closure of their operations due to the COVID-19 emergency. As part of this important investment, the NEA has designed a plan to expedite distribution of critical funds to the national, regional, state, and local levels to help retain as many jobs as possible, as quickly as possible. These funds are intended to help save jobs in the arts sector and keep the doors open to the thousands of organizations that add value to America's economy and the creative life of our communities.
This NEA program will be carried out through one-time grants to eligible nonprofit organizations, local arts agencies, arts service organizations, state arts agencies, federally recognized tribal communities or tribes, and a wide range or other organizations that can help advance the goals of the NEA and this program.
Due to the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture's experience in local arts grant making and being a steward of NEA funds, the agency has been deemed eligible to sub-grant NEA funds. These funds would be restricted to emergency relief funding and would not supplant the city's current community arts grants program, nor will it jeopardize the department's current neighborhood arts grant from the NEA.
The deadline to apply was Thursday, July 22, 2021. The NEA released grant guidelines on Friday, June 25, 2021. The department is seeking a retroactive approval to apply for these funds, as there wasn't an opportunity to get this request on the Thursday, July 1, 2021 City Council Formal agenda.
Financial Impact
There is no match required for this grant opportunity. There would be no impact to the General Fund.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Inger Erickson and the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture.