Connecticut Announces $9M Grant Program To Support Arts Community

CONNECTICUT — The state will be providing up to $9 million in grants to certain nonprofit Connecticut arts organizations to help them recover more quickly from the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Ned Lamont announced this week.

Qualifying organizations will receive a base grant of $5,000.

For organizations that have raised funds between March 10 and Nov. 1, 2020, the program will offer a supplemental match of 50 percent of contributed income during that period. The maximum award for any organization is $750,000.

"Connecticut's arts community provides an incredible amount of good for our state and supports thousands of jobs," Lamont said Monday. "The ongoing, global COVID-19 pandemic has impacted so many aspects of our lives, and many of our state’s nonprofit arts organizations are struggling to recover from its impact."

The program will draw upon federal CARES Act funding from the state's Coronavirus Relief Fund. The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development's Office of the Arts will administer the COVID Relief Fund for the Arts program with the goal of supporting:

• Arts nonprofits for whom grants will make a difference in terms of survival or rehiring; and
• Arts nonprofits that have had to curtail operations for a period of time due to the pandemic and which have had limited ability to reopen due to pandemic restrictions and/or have had to pivot their service delivery due to pandemic restrictions.

"This program will provide some support so that these groups can continue providing the services in our state that so many depend on," Lamont said.

Arts organizations eligible for funding include:

• Performing Arts Centers: Multi-purpose facilities for arts programming, including theaters that present live performances and/or live classes;
• Performing Groups: Groups of artists who perform works of art (e.g., an orchestra, theater, or dance group). To qualify, the organization must either own the venue in which it performs and/or spend more than 20 percent of its annual operating budget on rental of space used to perform; and
• Schools of the Arts: Organizations that have arts education as its primary educational mission (e.g. community art schools).

The Connecticut Office of the Arts will be accepting applications between through Nov. 3, and all contracts must be executed by Dec. 30. Additional information on eligibility requirements and the application process can be found on DECD's website.