Arts Relief and Recovery Grants

ARTS AND CULTURE

County Spending Category
2.2 Arts and the Creative Economy
Federal Expenditure Category
Assistance to Impacted Nonprofit Organizations (Impacted or Disproportionately Impacted
Project Launch Date
06/30/2023
Anticipated End Date
06/30/2023

Project Contacts

Indicators & Metrics to Date

  • Create consolidated program guidelines and application
    1
  • Number of application workshops held
    14
  • Attendance at technical assistance workshops and opportunities
    682
  • Total applications received
    729
  • Application portal opens
    1
  • Application window open a minimum of four weeks
    1
  • Percent of grantees who plan to use funds to implement COVID-19 prevention measures
    35.9
  • Percent of grantees who plan to use funds to hire or retain staff or contractors
    78.1
  • Percent of funds to grantees located/based/providing services in highest/high need census tracts
    82.8

Target Populations

  • Other: Nonprofit arts organizations, nonprofit social service/social justice organizations, tribal groups based/ located / providing program services in or within one mile of high and highest need census tracts.

Project Description

As part of the County’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) relief and recovery programs, the LA County Arts Relief and Recovery Grants also known as the LA County Creative Recovery Initiative (Creative Recovery LA) delivers funding to the nonprofit arts and cultural sector to address the impacts of the pandemic on the arts and the creative economy, one of the most economically significant and hardest-hit sectors, while leveraging the unique capacity of arts and culture to catalyze our region’s economic recovery, civic connectivity, and community wellbeing. Arts nonprofits play a role in the health, well-being, and positive outcomes for our communities and are needed especially for communities hardest hit by COVID-19 and/or already underserved. Arts organizations in the county have been disproportionately negatively impacted by COVID-19 closures and continue to face challenges to resume programming and operations. This project will distribute relief and recovery grants to support nonprofit arts organizations, as well as social service and social justice organizations that engage the arts, and local tribal groups that support cultural practice and preservation, who are serving Los Angeles County residents disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Activities will also include technical assistance for application support. Nonprofit arts organizations are in need of relief and recovery funding due to the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 closures on arts organizations and the LA County creative sector. The arts sector was among the first hit with programming and event cancellations as well as venue closures and will be among the last of all businesses to return to full operations. Supporting this sector’s recovery will help to preserve our creative economy, the cultural identity and vitality of the region, and the well-being of our residents and communities where they live. Creative Recovery LA combines five Board-approved ARPA projects to streamline applicant organizations’ access to multiple funding categories under one grant gateway. AMENDMENT SUMMARY The Board of Supervisors approved an additional allocation of $3M to this program as part of LA County’s ARPA Tranche 2 spending plan. This additional funding will allow the program to award larger grants to applicants, providing more robust support for an equitable recovery of the nonprofit arts sector.

Goals & Objectives

Goal Description 400 Nonprofit organizations providing arts and culture services that have been affected by the pandemic will be able to continue and/or expand their services and provide them to their communities through Dec 2024.

Objective Description By June 30, 2023, the consolidated and streamlined arts recovery program will distribute over 400 grants to nonprofit arts and culture organizations in or located in or providing services within one mile of highest and high need census tracts (as indicated by the County COVID-19 Vulnerability and Recovery Index) to support recovery from the pandemic.

Activity Description Contract with a third-party administrator that will administer grant outreach, online grant application, review and adjudication, contract with eligible awarded grantees, and collect data from the organizations in the application process to report on metrics and indicators pertaining to Department goals and outcomes.

Activity Description The program will provide a single application gateway for organizations to access five funding categories, streamlining the application process for organizations eligible for different funding opportunities.
Indicators
# Type Name Baseline Target
2 Performance Attendance at technical assistance workshops and opportunities
4 Performance Create consolidated program guidelines and application

Activity Description The program will conduct outreach efforts by leveraging existing extensive networks of current culturally responsive partners such as philanthropic and municipal partners, grantees such as nonprofit arts organizations, social service, and social justice organizations with arts programming, arts service organizations, as well as including the program in County/CEO Communications ARP opportunities, Board offices, LA County/Arts Commission. Through the use of media, the program will share information about the program and encourage applications, provide language support as needed, hold workshops and office hours, collaborate with the Native American Indian Commission (NAIC) to encourage local tribal groups to apply for funding based on their arts and culture activities and role in cultural preservation. In addition, Arts and Culture will also conduct outreach efforts to approximately 500 non-profit partners who have recently received funding from the LA County Department of Arts and Culture.
Indicators
# Type Name Baseline Target
2 Performance Number of application workshops held
3 Performance Attendance at technical assistance workshops and opportunities
4 Performance Total applications received

Activity Description Create and manage a program timeline that provides applicants with sufficient time to prepare application documents and open application window January 18 through February 15, 2023.
Indicators
# Type Name Baseline Target
2 Performance Application portal opens
3 Performance Application window open a minimum of four weeks

Outcome Description 400 Nonprofit organizations providing arts services that have been hardest hit by COVID-19 (as defined by LA County’s COVID Vulnerability and Recovery Index) will receive relief funding to help them: Hire or retain staff, contractors, and/or artists; Implement COVID-19 mitigation and infection prevention measures; Support the operations and programs of grantees; Provide funding that will be used to serve local communities in their recovery. The grants will allow the nonprofits to also be able to continue to provide their services to communities and allow the nonprofits to be financially sustained, including those located in and serving historically marginalized (e.g. low-income, communities of color, etc.) and communities hardest hit by the pandemic.
Indicators
# Type Name Baseline Target
6 Program Outcome Percent of grantees who plan to use funds to implement COVID-19 prevention measures
7 Program Outcome Percent of grantees who plan to use funds to hire or retain staff or contractors
8 Program Outcome Percent of grantees who plan to use funds to hire or retain artists
9 Program Outcome Percent of grantees who plan to use funds to market and promote programs to constituents or public
10 Program Outcome Percent of funds to grantees located/based/providing services in highest/high need census tracts