$0 Public Emergency COVID-19 Relief Grants reach Nonprofit Arts + Creative Organizations

More than $5.56 million in local public emergency grants tracked by The Arts Alliance since excluded arts nonprofits including: two managed by Ann Arbor Spark distributing CARES Act funds: the Michigan Small Business Relief Program Grant and the Michigan Small Business Restart Grants; the Washtenaw Small Business Emergency Relief Fund; and the Washtenaw United Way COVID-19 Community Relief Fund for Nonprofits (that specifically excluded arts organizations.)

The State of Michigan allocated millions of its CARES Act funding to eligible small businesses (and nonprofits) negatively impacted by COVID-19 and needing working capital to support payroll expenses, rent, mortgage payments, utility expenses or other similar expenses.

"...given our sector’s economic impact, the exclusion of emergency COVID-19 funding for arts nonprofits is so befuddling." said Deb Polich of The Arts Alliance "I’ve heard some colleagues intimate that ‘it’s demoralizing after so many years of serving this community.’ Our community claims it values arts and culture. We invest community resources in other things we value: parks, libraries, transportation and education. Why then not arts and culture? Especially in a time like this when this sector is so vital to our economic recovery.”

The Arts Alliance points to Washtenaw’s arts and creative businesses as adding greatly to the region’s quality of life and place, driving the regional economy and attracting visitors to the area. A recent DataArts report calculates an economic impact of $127.4 million based on just 32% of the county’s arts nonprofits who have 2.5 million attendees, more than 5,100 employees and expend $55.3 million annually ($30 million of that in wages.)

During the period, $318,750 from other sources did reach 30 arts nonprofits (of 191 eligible) including $90,000 from the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, $4,750 from private sources, plus $80,000 from public regional sources and $143,500 through the National Endowment for the Arts CAREs act grants.

Two private sources provided $11,943 in direct support to 31 individual artists, creative and gig workers: Creative Washtenaw Aid ($10,943) and CAFÉ for the Arts ($1,000.)

Local public emergency relief funding of $225,000 and private support of $5,500 reached 52 Washtenaw County for-profit arts + creative businesses.

The Arts Alliance reports that it receives requests for support and assistance almost every day as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to negatively creative businesses closed or attempting to operate at greatly reduced capacity and artists and creative workers out of work. Contributions may be made to Creative Washtenaw Aid here.

Governor Allows Film, Performance and Event Venues to Reopen Oct. 9

Venues consider safety and business viability of opening doors

Since March 13, creative venues have been waiting to reopen. Now with Governor Gretchen Whitmer's Executive Order 2020-183 formally allowing it, they have much more to consider before deciding to unlock their doors. The list is long but most questions can be grouped as follows.

Health and safety of audience, talent and personnel.

From the moment COVID-19 was confirmed in Washtenaw County, the arts + creative sector has acted responsibly, placing priority on the health and safety of their audience, talent and personnel. Since closing in March, arts + creative businesses have been preparing to reopen by following and even going beyond the requirements and recommended guidelines and safety measures for equipment, testing and physical distancing. This preparation includes meeting with each other to discuss best practices to offer local patrons similar experiences in area venues.

Can you afford to open at 20% of capacity?

Like every business, creative venues must consider the financial realities of reopening. The Governor's order restricts capacity at indoor venues to 20% of fixed seating capacity or 20 people per 1,000 square feet. In Washtenaw County, the Michigan Theater is the largest non-university venue measured by square foot and its historic auditorium with 1,600 seats has the highest capacity. The Michigan Theater would be limited to an audience of 320 people The Purple Rose Theatre could serve 33 people and The Ark could serve 80. Each venue must decide if revenue projections make it affordable to pay the costs of operating, personnel and programming.

How quickly will programs be ready to promote and present?

Washtenaw County is the home to a variety of creative and cultural venues: theaters, museums, film houses, music halls, galleries, heritage, science and nature centers and more. Rapidly filling these venues with artistic content depends on the primary programming. Those with static collections such as museums, heritage, science and nature centers are arguably at the ready. Film houses can exhibit films and music venues could schedule performers fairly quickly. Producing and presenting venues, those that either produce their own productions or hire touring performances require a much longer lead time - sometimes several weeks and others several months. No matter the time to prepare, promotion will also take time.

Is the audience ready to return?

As reported previously by The Arts Alliance, WolfBrown launched The Audience Outlook Monitor, an international collaboration between top researchers, funders, service organizations, and hundreds of cultural organizations who want to make informed decisions about how and when to re-start programming based on rigorous research data. During his September 23 briefing on the latest data, Alan Brown reported that in Chicago where venues have been open, 77% of the respondents had not attended any arts or cultural programs. Of the 23% who had, 12% had visited a museum, 3% a film house, 7% a live performance, 4% a fair or festival and 3% a lecture.

Closer to home and perhaps more confounding is that according to WolfBrown's report the "percentage of Detroit respondents (including Ann Arbor) who are ready to go out 'as soon as legally allowed' has grown from 19% to 25%, while the percentage who are waiting for a vaccination has grown from 22% to 29%."

Bottom line

ReVIVE All Zones

Call for Proposals

Mellon Foundation, Coronavirus Relief Fund Raises Nearly $20 Million for Artists

Coronavirus Economic Response Update: Bipartisan COVID Proposal Receives Mixed Reaction

The U.S. House and Senate are briefly back in session in Washington before breaking again for the final campaign sprint. Having not reached an agreement in August on further COVID-19 relief package, The March to Common Ground proposal, a comprehensive COVID-19 response framework, is estimated to cost around $1.52 trillion is now in play. Read more about it and get other updates in this newsletter shared by Americans for the Arts.

Arts + Creative Advocates

Remember to Complete Your 2020 Census

Your voice matters now more than ever. The new deadline date of the Census 2020 count is September 30. The census provides critical data that lawmakers, business owners, teachers, and many others use to provide daily services, products, and support for our community. Every year, billions of dollars in federal funding go to hospitals, fire departments, schools, roads, and other resources based on census data.

There are three ways to respond to the 2020 Census from the comfort of your own home - online, by phone or by returning the paper questionnaire. Visit 2020census.gov to learn more & fill out your census online! You also have the option of completing the questionnaire by phone.

Join the Arts Action Fund to advance the arts and arts education in your community and across the country.

It's FREE and takes just a minute. Add your name and be counted so Congress know there are millions of arts and creative workers, businesses and citizens who insist that arts and creativity are critical to our country. Join here for updates and calls to action.

Annual membership is free and your online benefits include:

- Membership to vote on the legislative policy platforms

- Breaking news and legislative alerts from the E-Advocacy center

- Quarterly updates through Arts Action eNews

- Exclusive access to the member's only Arts Action Fund PAC

Check out these additional AFTA COVID-19 Resources

The Economic Impact of Coronavirus on the Arts and Culture Sector - Dash Board

CAREs Act Table of Funding Opportunities for the Arts and Artists

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resource and Response Center with constantly updated information for:

– For creative organizations & businesses

– For artists and creative workers

– For arts + creative education, including school openings and closings

– Field tools and research

– Equity and mental health- Reopening and resources

The COVID-19 Audience Outlook Monitor Survey

WolfBrown developed a worldwide tracking study of audience attitudes about attendance at arts and cultural programs during and after the COVID-19 Crisis. Find timely and essential data to the sector’s decision-making about when and how to resume programming here Audience Outlook Monitor.

MNA Online - Paid Leave Update

Employers and employees are facing difficult choices now that schools are coming back in session, notably concerns in the area of determining when paid leave is required/available under the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA). The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued updated guidance with answers to questions about how the FFCRA applies to parents whose children are engaged in remote learning this fall (see questions 98-100 in the DOL guidance).

Here’s a recap:

• In schools operating on a hybrid system alternating days or weeks of in-person and remote learning, parents are eligible for FFCRA leave on days when their children are engaged in remote learning, since schools are deemed “closed” on those days.

• Parents are not eligible for FFCRA leave if they choose a remote learning option for their children when schools are offering the option of hybrid or in-person learning since schools are not “closed.” The guidance suggests, however, that these parents may be eligible for FMLA on the days when their children would otherwise be learning remotely in a hybrid system.

• In school systems that are temporarily using only remote learning but may switch to a hybrid or in-person system later in the school year, parents are eligible for FFCRA leave during the period when all learning is taking place remotely.

WEMU 89.1 FM - Local news coverage plus local arts + creative coverage including Art & Soul with Lisa Barry, Cinema Chat with the Michigan Theater's Russ Collins and creative:impact with The Arts Alliance's own Deb Polich.

Bridge Magazine - Michigan's nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that provides passionate and rooted Michigan readers with honest, fact-driven journalism on the state’s diverse people, politics and economy.

All About Ann Arbor - offers local news, feature stories, restaurant news, sports news, latest events in town and more for Ann Arbor residents.

Concentrate Magazine - tells the narrative of Washtenaw County’s narrative people and businesses, new development, cool places to live, and the best places to work and play. The weekly online magazine is published Wednesdays.

All About Ann Arbor - offers local news, feature stories, restaurant news, sports news, latest events in town and more for Ann Arbor residents.

The Arts Alliance is the arts + creative industry authority in Washtenaw County. A regional agency, its mission is to advocate for and support Creative Washtenaw and ensure that the greater Ann Arbor, Michigan, region remains a great place to create, live, work, learn, play and visit.

The intrinsic and aesthetic values of the arts and creativity are determining factors of success for the members of The Arts Alliance: Creative people from students to industry experts leading the sector locally, nationally and internationally. They are professionals and amateurs who have creative practices, own creative businesses, hold creative jobs in profit, nonprofit and government entities; and offer creative products, services and programs throughout the Washtenaw community.

The Arts Alliance serves Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Dexter, Manchester, Milan, Saline, Whitmore Lake and Ypsilanti plus the 21 townships in the county.  It is committed to, forever evolving and learning about diversity, equity and inclusion.

The Arts Alliance is supported by its members, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.

For more information, please go to http://www.a3arts.org or contact info@a3arts.org or 734-213-2733.