Federal Stimulus Funds Available To Preserve Jobs In The Arts In Los Angeles

The Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) have each received $250,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). In accordance with the NEA guidelines, these funds will provide grants to nonprofit arts organizations in the region to preserve jobs in the arts sector. These public arts agencies were the only two that received funds to re-grant in the State of California.

The Arts Commission and DCA are working together on the receipt and distribution of arts stimulus money to maximize the impact of Federal funds in the region. A streamlined grant application and review process has been designed to ensure rapid deployment of funds. The Arts Commission and DCA are using the same application form, and all proposals will be reviewed by the same review panel.

All applicants must demonstrate the need for job support and eligible jobs must be central to the organizations’ artistic mission. Arts organizations eligible to apply must have received a grant from either agency within the last three fiscal years (FY 2007-08, 2008-09 and/or 2009-10). To be eligible to apply to the Arts Commission, arts organizations must have an operating budget in the area of $500,000 and $1.5 million. To be eligible to apply to DCA, arts/cultural organizations must be headquartered in the City of Los Angeles and have an operating budget between $20,000 and $1.5 million.

In addition, DCA is prioritizing applications from arts organizations that have lost revenue due to the Los Angeles Unified School District’s freezing of its Arts Community Partnership Network and from Arts Service organizations. Combined, the two agencies anticipate awarding approximately 25 grants ranging from $15,000 to $45,000 each.

The brief electronic grant application form and guidelines for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds can be found on the Arts Commission’s Web Site, www.lacountyarts.org or the DCA’s Web Site, www.culturela.org.

The deadline for the applications, which are submitted electronically, is August 17, 2009. Potential applicants are urged to read the guidelines thoroughly. Questions should be addressed to either the Arts Commission at grants@lacounty.gov or the DCA at dca.grants@lacity.org

In addition to the grants to the Arts Commission and DCA, the NEA made the following direct awards to arts organizations in Los Angeles County for job retention: 18th Street Arts Complex, Actor’s Gang Inc., American Museum of Ceramic Art, Armory Center for the Arts, Arts Center College of Design, California Institute for the Arts (Cal Arts), California Lawyers for the Arts, City of San Fernando, Cornerstone Theater Company Inc., Deaf West Theater Company Inc., East-West Players, HUC Skirball Cultural Center, International City Theatre, Khmer Academy, L.A. Theatre Works, Long Beach Opera, Los Angeles Chamber Music Society, Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design, Mount Saint Mary’s College, Museum of Contemporary Art , Los Angeles, Pasadena Arts Council, Pasadena Playhouse State Theatre of California, PEN Center USA West, Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County, Regents of the University of California at Los Angeles, Santa Cecilia Opera and Orchestra Association, Santa Monica Symphony Association, Shakespeare Festival/LA and Southern California Asian American Studies Central. The complete list of arts organizations and arts agencies that received stimulus funding from the NEA is available by clicking here.

Since the organizations listed above are receiving direct NEA awards, they will not be eligible for re-granting funds from the Arts Commission or DCA. The California Arts Council (CAC) also received $502,400 to re-grant to arts organizations for job retention statewide. A list of organizations eligible to apply to the CAC is available by clicking here.