Freelance Artist Resources

Digital Senior BFA and MFA shows which are canceled

American Guild of Musical Artists Relief Fund

Artist Relief Fund

Getty Covid Releif Fund

Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant
Intended to provide interim financial assistance to qualified artists whose needs are the result of an unforeseen, catastrophic incident, and who lack the resources to meet that situation. The maximum amount of this grant is $15,000; an award of $5,000 is typical.

CERF+ (Craft Emergency Relief Fund) and CERF+ Artist’s Safety Net
CERF+ provides rapid relief and career recovery loans through their own grants (for artists working in craft disciplines) as well as a list of emergency resources for artists in other disciplines. Additionally, CERF+ just launched the COVID-19 Response Fund to support artists working in craft disciplines. “This fund is essential to our rapid and effective response to those artists who are suffering severe health impacts from the coronavirus, ensuring that CERF+ has the funds necessary to respond to this unprecedented crisis,” said CERF in an email release. If you are able, please donate to the CERF+ COVID-19 Response Fund.

Artists’ Charitable Fund
Colorado-based Artists’ Charitable Fund assists American visual fine artists (painters and sculptors) living anywhere in the United States by paying a portion of their medical/dental/eye-care bills. For example, the Fund has purchased a wheelchair, paid for eye surgery, provided funding for an artificial leg, paid partial medical expenses of several artists who have cancer, as well as other needs for medical assistance. You can find out more about the fund as well as donate here.

Artists’ Fellowship, Inc.
The Artists’ Fellowship provides emergency aid to professional fine artists and their families in times of sickness, natural disaster, bereavement or unexpected extreme hardship.
The organization defines eligibility to “Professional” is defined as those visual artists who make their livelihood through sales as reported on a Schedule C with a U.S. Federal tax return. An active exhibition history is also an important part of documenting “professional.” You can find the application here.

Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant
Emergency Grants offers immediate assistance to artists that have sudden, unanticipated opportunities to present their work to the public when there is insufficient time to seek other sources of funding. Artists should be living and working anywhere in the United States, though projects can occur in the U.S. and abroad.
Each month FCA receives an average of 95 Emergency Grant applications and makes approximately 12-15 grants. Grants range in amount from $500 to $2,500, and the average grant is now $1,600.
These grants do not cover life-related emergencies such as food, rent, medical bills, childcare, and other basic necessities, reimbursement for expenses that you have already incurred, or projects with no scheduled exhibition or performance dates, so look closely at the requirements and limitations.

Haven Foundation
The Haven Foundation provides financial assistance up to $10,000 to artists who have a health crisis; grants are one-year, and the financial amount provided is to the discretion of the Foundation. Grants can be renewed up to four more years, with a supplemental application. Read the guidelines for application here.

Rauschenberg Emergency Grants
The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) and the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation partnered to offer a new medical emergency aid program for artists. The one-time Rauschenberg Emergency Grants will provide visual and media artists and choreographers with up to $5,000 to cover a number of unforeseen medical expenses. There is no deadline; applications will be accepted and reviewed by the panel on a monthly basis beginning in late May/early June 2020.

National Coalition for Arts’ Preparedness & Emergency Response (NCAPER)
NCAPER is a voluntary task force of national, regional, state, and local arts organizations, public agencies, and foundations, NCAPER helps ensure that artists, arts/cultural organizations, cultural funders, and arts businesses have the capacity and ability to respond effectively to disasters and emergencies affecting the arts and culture sector.

Sustainable Arts Foundation
Awards supporting artists and writers with families with up to $6,000.

Equal Sound Corona Relief Fund
If you are a musician who has lost income due to a canceled gig as a result of the Coronavirus / Covid-19 outbreak, this new grant provides monetary support to musicians who have lost income due to a canceled gig as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

SBA Disaster Loans

Economic development small business resources