NYFA Source | Hurricane Irma Resources Round-Up

Artists in Florida and other areas affected by Hurricane Irma: find the support you need.

In times of recovery, arts and cultural practitioners play essential roles in their communities. That is one of the many reasons we strive to ensure artists are aware of the resources available to them, as they move forward in their own personal recovery. We’ve compiled emergency grants and other forms of assistance below.

A Wealth of Available Resources

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].

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. Affected individuals should apply for Disaster Unemployment Assistance by October 16, 2017. Loans and other assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are available for affected counties. Need advice on these application processes? Read CERF+’s Tips for Working with FEMA + SBA.

Organizations affected by Irma should complete this Preliminary Impact Assessment with the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. Businesses may find this Irma Recovery Toolkit from the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce helpful.

Lend a Helping Hand

As you decide how to contribute to Hurricane Irma recovery efforts in the Caribbean, Florida, and elsewhere, we recommend taking a look at these Guidelines for Giving from the Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI). Just as the response to Hurricane Harvey was proof of the resilience of the arts and culture community, so too are organizations in Florida banding together to provide relief. These efforts include United Arts of Central Florida, with its Irma Arts Fund, and the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay’s Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund, and the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys’ Emergency Relief Fund.

Arts and Culture Specific Resources

Check this post in the coming days and weeks for updates and added resources as the recovery process continues. *Updated October 2, 2017

• Actors Fund of America Emergency Assistance: For all performing artists and those working in entertainment. Eligible individuals can apply online for assistance, and individuals affected by Hurricane Irma can also contact the New York City office, at (212) 221-7300, ext. 119 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.
• ArtCenter/South Florida Visual Artist Irma Relief Fund: ArtCenter/South Florida, Art Basel, and its parent group MCH have partnered on a relief fund for visual artists from Miami-Dade and the Florida Keys. Applications are being accepted for up to $500 in relief from the storm, now through Dec. 8, and requests will be fulfilled on a first-come, first-served basis to cover damage to artist workspaces, artworks, materials or lost income. 
• 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+ Emergency Financial Relief: Provides financial assistance for eligible artists who work in craft disciplines, and tips for safety and studio protection for artists of all 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.
• Florida Keys Council of the Arts Hurricane Emergency Relief Fund: Funds from the Florida Keys Council of the Arts will provide short-term support to Florida Keys full time artists and arts organizations.
• Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (FAIC): The free Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel Mobile App is designed for anyone in need of practical advice for saving collections or items in the first 48 hours after a disaster. Additionally, the National Heritage Responders Hotline can be reached 24/7 at (202) 661-8068 for conservation advice and referrals.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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: Takuji Hamanaka (Fellow in Printmaking/Drawing/Book Arts ‘17), Water Flowers (detail), 2016