Northwest Arkansas Council to give $500,000 to regional nonprofits affected by COVID-19

The regional arts organization at the Northwest Arkansas Council announced Wednesday (May 20) that 23 area arts and culture nonprofits will receive grants from its bridge fund program supporting organizations impacted by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

The program is supported by a $500,000 grant from the Walton Family Foundation and provides money to support transitional and long-term planning for arts and culture organizations affected by the health crisis.

“Grant recipients have a unique opportunity to reimagine their future, rejuvenate their work and rethink their audiences’ needs,” said Allyson Esposito, the executive director for the regional arts organization. “Many of the grantee organizations serve the region’s most vulnerable communities, and it’s critical to support them as they stabilize and plan for the future.”

More than 45 organizations applied for the funding. A volunteer panel of community arts leaders made recommendations on which organizations should receive funding. The decisions were based on the extent of lost immediate revenue and non-recoverable expenses as a result of COVID-19, the strength and feasibility of each organization’s plan to adapt to the pandemic and the organization’s budget size.

Grants range from $10,000 to $50,000, and the following organizations will receive the money: Ability Tree, Arkansas Arts & Fashion Forum, Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese, Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra, Art Feeds, Art Ventures, Community Creative Center, Fayetteville Roots, Latin Art Organization of Arkansas, Marshallese Educational Initiative, Museum of Native American History, Music Moves, PIXEL: A School for Media Arts, NWA Ballet Theatre, Open Mouth Reading Series, Ra-Ve Cultural Foundation, Teen Action and Support Center, The Art Experience Inc., The House of Songs, Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, TheatreSquared LatinX Theatre Project, Tricycle Theatre for Youth and Trillium Salon Series.

The money will be used for transition planning and support activities such as developing new business models, paradigms, staffing models, programs and strategies; planning new activities for revenue generation; building capacity, tools and infrastructure to move programs online; and re-imaging creative production.

Link here for more details on each organization.