Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and in collaboration with the five other U.S. Regional Arts Organizations - Arts Midwest, Mid-America Arts Alliance, New England Foundation for the Arts, South Arts, and Western States Arts Federation - has announced the Mid Atlantic Arts Regional Resilience Fund, part of The United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund, in response to the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mid Atlantic Arts Regional Resilience Fund grants will support mid-Atlantic nonprofit arts and cultural organizations with pre-COVID19 budgets of $250,000 - $10 million as they build resilience and look to the future with programming, planning and reimagining their work. In exceptional cases, organizations with operating budgets of less than $250,000 that are highly impactful and otherwise meet program intent may be considered. The program is designed for organizations with visionary leadership and whose work is critical to the region, primarily supporting those making a statewide, regional and/or national impact.
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation acknowledges that long-standing systems and practices within the arts sector have upheld significant barriers to equitable access and investment for historically marginalized communities in the U.S. In alignment with MAAF’s strategic vision to implement equitable practices through intentional and sustained focus and accountability, the fund will prioritize organizations led by and/or predominantly serving individuals including, but not limited to those that identify as: Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Persons of Color, LGBTQIA+, Persons with Disabilities, communities whose primary language is not English, and/or rural and remote communities.
A total of 25-50 non-matching grants will be made to support grantees at more impactful amounts. Awards will range from $30,000 - $75,000, with the possibility of some exceptional awards of up to $100,000. Due to the number of grants available and the intentional focus on supporting organizations, communities, and populations that have faced marginalization and historically have had inequitable access to financial resources, application is by invitation only. Invitations to organizations will be extended following a nomination process.
Nominations, including self-nominations, can be submitted by anyone through a public, online form. Additionally, in an effort to receive nominations from throughout the mid-Atlantic region across all art forms, the program will seek nominations of organizations from an external Nomination Advisory Committee reflective of the racial, gender, geographic and aesthetic diversity in the region. The Nomination Advisory Committee includes artists, arts leaders and community members deeply invested in the arts. Their names will be made public when the grants are announced. These individuals will advise MAAF on which organizations best meet criteria for the program.
Image: Rene Marie Experiment in Truth performs at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild with support from Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation's Jazz Touring Network program. Credit: Murphy Moschetta Photo.
