NYFA Source | Hurricane Harvey Resources Round-Up

Artists in Texas and Louisiana, find information to aid in recovery here.

Natural disasters are almost always overwhelming, and Hurricane Harvey has been no exception. We hope, though, that artists and their communities will take comfort in the fact that support is available from many sources.

The National Coalition for Arts’ Preparedness and Emergency Response defined the arts response system as a “social safety net to complement the services of general relief providers.” In the spirit of that definition, we’re providing arts and culture specific resources for financial assistance and other services below. 

Multiple Sources of Support

Additional information on Current Disaster Resources, Emergency Grants, Legal Resources, Public Assistance, and more can be found on NYFA Source, an online arts database with over 12,000 resources and opportunities for artists in all disciplines. Artists can also call the NYFA Source Hotline at (800) 232-2789, from Monday – Friday, 3:00 – 5:00 PM EST or email [email protected].

Additionally, see these Emergency Resources compiled by Fresh Arts in Houston. Texas artists and arts organizations affected by Hurricane Harvey have also been asked to check in with the Texas Commission on the Arts via email or by phone at (512) 936-6572 to help the Commission assess the impact of Hurricane Harvey on the arts field in Texas.

Government Assistance

A hurricane or other natural disaster can often cause loss of income from your individual practice or business, in addition to loss of property. Individuals in the 39 Texas counties affected by Hurricane Harvey should apply for Disaster Unemployment Assistance by October 31, 2017. Loans and other assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are available for affected counties in Louisiana and Texas. For Public Assistance Grants, the filing deadline to return applications for property damage is October 24, 2017. The deadline to return economic injury applications is May 25, 2018.

Additionally, a new FEMA Disaster Recovery Center opened in Corpus Christi in early October. FEMA’s Other Needs Assistance Program also provides grants to repair or pay for tools and supplies. Need advice on these application processes? Read CERF+’s Tips for Working with FEMA + SBA.

Get Involved

If you would like to donate to artists and arts organizations in Texas and Louisiana, visit Creative Relief Louisiana, the Mid-America Arts Alliance fund for Texas, or the newly formed Harvey Arts Recovery Fund; learn more about the latter’s support for individual artists below.

Arts and Culture Specific Resources

Check this post in the coming weeks for updates and added resources as the recovery process continues. *Updated on October 12, 2017.

• Actors Fund of America Emergency Assistance: For all performing artists and those working in entertainment. Eligible individuals can apply online for assistance, or contact the Los Angeles office for Harvey Assistance at (323) 933-9244, ext. 455 or [email protected]. 
• Alliance of Artists Communities Emergency Funds for Individual Artists: The fund disburses mini-grants of up to $1,000 to artists who have already been accepted and scheduled for a residency, but who would not otherwise be able to participate due to a sudden change in circumstances. The Alliance also serves artists affected by natural disasters by mobilizing its network of residency programs to offer residencies to eligible artists. This process is activated as-needed, and will be announced by the Alliance online, through CERF+, and throughout its network.
• Artists’ Charitable Fund: Artists who need financial assistance because of medical, fire, or other disaster should email Fund Coordinator Judy Archibald at [email protected] or call her at (970) 577-0509.
• Artists’ Fellowship, Inc. Financial Assistance: Provides emergency aid to professional fine artists and their families in times of sickness, natural disaster, bereavement, or unexpected extreme hardship.
• Authors League Fund: Provides assistance to professional writers and dramatists who find themselves in financial need because of medical or health-related problems, temporary loss of income, or other misfortune.
• Book Industry Charitable Foundation Financial Assistance Program: Assists with specific unforeseen emergency financial needs of a bookstore employee and their immediate family members living in the same household.
• Carnegie Fund for Authors: Awards grants to published authors who are in need of emergency financial assistance. 
• CERF+ Responds to Tropical Storm Harvey: Tips for safety and studio protection, and emergency financial relief for eligible artists who work in craft disciplines.
• Change, Inc: Provides one-time grants up to $1000 to artists of any discipline who are facing financial emergencies due to theft, eviction, disaster, health issues, etc. Applicants must provide evidence of established professional status; get full application information by calling (212) 473-3742.
• Dramatists Guild Fund Kesselring Emergency Grant: Awards one-time emergency grants to individual playwrights, lyricists, and composers in need of temporary financial assistance due to unexpected illness or extreme hardship.
• Glasstire Artist Referrals: Artists affected by Hurricane Harvey who need help due to damaged art, supplies, studio space, or any other factors can contact Glasstire at [email protected] with the subject line “Harvey Affected Artist.” Glasstire will then work to connect affected artists with organizations that can help. 
• Harvey Arts Recovery Fund: Non-profit organizations dedicated to serving the Greater Houston arts and cultural sector have joined together to launch the Harvey Arts Recovery Fund, which will provide aid to individual artists, as well as arts organizations. 
• Hero Initiative Grants: Provides assistance for eligible comic book writers, pencilers, inkers, colorists, or letterers on a work-for-hire basis.
• Jazz Foundation of America Jazz Musicians Housing and Emergency Assistance Program: Provides a wide range of social services for jazz musicians.
  
• Jerry’s Artarama of Houston Artist Supply Donation: Artists can email [email protected] with a short bio, picture of work, link to website, and a brief synopsis of what they’ve lost related to their art making (studio furniture, paints, etc).
• Joan Mitchell Foundation Emergency Grant: Emergency support to artists working in the mediums of painting, sculpture, and/or drawing after natural or manmade disasters.
• Motion Picture and Television Fund: Provides temporary emergency financial assistance to qualified industry members experiencing financial hardship due to illness, disability, unemployment, or other reasons. 
• MusiCares® Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund: Musicians and music professionals can request disaster relief by contacting the South Regional MusiCares office at 615.327.0050 or toll-free at (877) 626-2748, or by submitting an application.
• Musicians Foundation Support: Gives grants for medical and allied living expenses in emergencies. All professional musicians, regardless of their genre or instrument, are eligible to apply.
• PEN Writers’ Emergency Fund: Provides emergency funding for professional—published or produced—writers in acute, emergency financial crisis. 
• Pioneers Assistance Fund (PAF): Serves members of the motion picture entertainment industry (exhibition, distribution, and trade services) who are encountering an illness, injury, or life-changing event. All assistance is intended to provide support during a recovery or adjustment period and lay the foundation for a lifetime of ongoing success.
• Rhythm & Blues Foundation Financial Assistance: Provides financial and medical assistance to Rhythm & Blues artists of the 1940s through the 1970´s, as well as a support system to help identify other sources of assistance.
• The Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Foundation Emergency Grant: Provides 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 Haven Foundation: Gives financial assistance to provide temporary support needed to safeguard and sustain the careers of established freelance artists, writers, and other members of the arts and art production communities who have suffered disabilities or experienced a career-threatening illness, accident, natural disaster or personal catastrophe.

To find more resources and opportunities, use NYFA Source, a free searchable database of 12,000+ awards, residencies, and services. 

– Mirielle Clifford, Program Officer, Online Resources

Image: Amy Cheng (Fellow in Painting ‘90, ‘96), Thereafter the Boatman