NOV. 9 DEADLINE –
The North Carolina General Assembly designated $9.4 million federal CARES Act funds for arts councils and arts organizations to mitigate business disruptions caused by COVID-19. The North Carolina Arts Council will distribute these funds on a per-capita basis to all North Carolina counties with a population of less than one million people. In many counties, local arts councils will receive the funds and then sub-grant a portion of the county allotment to eligible recipients.
Jackson County received an allocation of $50,250.06 which will be distributed by the Jackson County Arts Council. See the details below to learn about eligibility requirements and for instructions on how to apply.
DESCRIPTION & ELIGIBILITY:
The purpose of the funds is to offset business disruption and/or expenses incurred due to COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and December 30, 2020.
ORGANIZATIONS THAT MEET THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY TO RECEIVE CARES FOR ARTS FUNDING:
- Be a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization located in Jackson County, North Carolina
-Or-
- Be an organization that has arts and culture in the agency’s mission statement; or must have arts and cultural programming as a core activity (25% or more of budget most recently approved before September 1, 2020)
- Must demonstrate the costs of business interruption caused by COVID-19 and/or increased expenses incurred by pandemic-related activities.
These funds were allocated by the NC General Assembly using Coronavirus Relief Funds, which are subject to federal rules and guidelines that limit allowable expenditures and timeframe for using the funds. When building your claim of eligible expenses, the following expenses that were or will be incurred between March 1 and December 30, 2020 can be considered:
- paid salaries and benefits (including contractors),
- ongoing operating expenses such as rent, utilities, or insurance,
- costs associated with canceling programs, such as contractual payments to venues, vendors, etc.
- costs of pivoting to remote/virtual programs and services,
- and costs of mitigating the spread of COVID-19, such as cleaning, PPE, physical barriers, etc.
For the purpose of this grant program, revenue losses are not considered for mitigation. North Carolina CARES for Arts funding cannot reimburse any expenses already paid for by other federal relief funds such as PPP loans, the NC Jobs Retention Grant program, locally-run stimulus or relief programs using federal funds, direct grants from the NEA, and stimulus grants issued by the North Carolina Arts Council.
Documents such as receipts, bill/invoices, monthly financial statements, and payroll ledgers will be considered as evidence of expenses. If projecting expenses that will happen in October, November, December, you will provide a word document that reasonably justifies those expenses, and invoices and receipts must be available for projected expenses when they actualize.
DEADLINE FOR ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS: NOVEMBER 9, 2020
Applications must be received by the Jackson County Arts Council no later than 5pm November 9, 2020. We request you contact the Jackson County Arts Council prior to submission to let us know you are interested or going to apply for funding ASAP. For questions or more information, contact Lena Woods at 828-507-9820 or email info@jacksoncountyarts.org
ABOUT THE NORTH CAROLINA ARTS COUNCIL
The North Carolina Arts Council builds on our state’s longstanding love of the arts, leading the way to a more vibrant future. The Arts Council is an economic catalyst, fueling a thriving nonprofit creative sector that generates $2.12 billion in annual direct economic activity. The Arts Council also sustains diverse arts expression and traditions while investing in innovative approaches to art-making. The North Carolina Arts Council has proven to be a champion for youth by cultivating tomorrow’s creative citizens through arts education. www.NCArts.org
