The Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD)/Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA), with funding allocated to the State of Connecticut through the CARES Act, will provide up to $9 million in grants to help non-profit arts organizations recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID Relief Fund for the Arts is intended to support arts organizations that have had to curtail operations for a period of time due to the COVID-19 pandemic and which have had limited ability to re-open due to pandemic restrictions and have had to pivot their service delivery due to pandemic restrictions.
To be eligible for this funding, an arts organization must fall into one of the following categories and meet all additional eligibility requirements:
- Performing Arts Center – a multi-purpose facility with the primary purpose to serve as a venue for live performances, in-person classes and programming, such as theaters that present live performances
- School of the Arts – an organization that has arts education as its primary mission and offers in-person classes/instruction, such as a community art school, music school, etc.
- Performing Group – a group of artists who perform works of art, such as an orchestra, theater, chorus or dance group. To qualify as a Performing Group, the organization must either:
- Own a venue in which it performs;
- spend more than 20% of its “Pre-COVID” organizational budget on fixed costs. Fixed costs may include rent, utilities, electricity, heat, telephone, internet, insurance, accounting and legal, software and online services, equipment leasing and/or maintenance; OR
- spend more than 20% of its “Pre-COVID” organizational budget for a combination of fixed costs and compensation of artists. Artists may include musicians, actors, dancers, singers and/or stagecraft technicians, for example lighting technician, sound technician, stage hands.
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