COVID-19 Resources: Emergency Grants, Small Biz Loans and More

May 11th, 2020
Covid19 photographer artist resources

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Resources, Grants, Funds for Photographers and Artists.

We know times are still tough, and we’re doing everything we can to help you keep the lights on, and your ability to create alive and well. We’ve pulled together resources to help you keep going in one way or another – through emergency grants, legal aid, loans, free classes — and even offer you some inspiration.* 

We’ll update this list periodically. And if you discover a resource that our photographer community could use, please share the details with us at Zenfolio Support.

Business 

SBA Corona Relief Options

Find information for all the various Small Business Administration funding options, including both traditional SBA options plus recently signed CARES Act that established several new temporary programs to address the COVID-19 outbreak. 

US Chamber of Commerce

A complete listing of all the U.S. Chamber of Commerce resources for small business.

 Community

 Free Nikon School Online Classes

Stream every Nikon School Online class for free. Learn from pro photographers on everything from the Fundamentals of Photography to the Art of Making Music Videos.

United Photo Industries’ Community Resources

United Photo Industries is a New York-based non-profit organization that works to promote a wider understanding and increased access to the art of photography.

Inspiration – Nature 

Channel Islands Live Ocean Webcam 

Inspiration – Museums 

Google Arts & Culture

Discover (or re-discover!) over 2,000 museums from 80 countries including the Tate Modern, National Art Center Tokyo, Van Gough Museum and others. 

Guggenheim Museum Virtual Tour

Walk the curving halls of this hallowed institution using Google’s Street View, making for a more realistic experience. 

Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts

This national network has provided help in past disasters.

Relief From Arts Organizations – National

Artist Relief

This coalition of national arts grant makers will distribute $5,000 grants to artists facing dire financial emergencies due to COVID-19.

Arts and Culture Leaders of Color Emergency Fund

An emergency fund up to $200 will be offered for people of color who’re working artists or art administration and patients of COVID-19. 

Behind The Screens Grant

To be eligible you must have been hospitalized due to COVID-19 and are in critical financial need. You must also reside in the United States or Canada and actively worked in the entertainment technology industry for the last five years consecutively. 

Documentary Freelancer Relief Fund

Open to freelancers within the documentary field (see site for specific roles). They’ll distribute funds up to $2,000 to artists who’ve been impacted by COVID-19.  

Journalism Relief Fund

Provides grants up to $2,000 and open to women-identifying journalists in dire straits – journalists who’ve faced financial hardship due to COVID19. Sponsored by the International Women’s Media Foundation. 

National Endowment for the Arts

While not a listing of emergency resources, it does list state arts agencies and regional arts organizations as well as other resources by discipline. During emergencies, state agencies and organizations that normally don’t offer assistance often have special emergency resources available to artists they serve.

 National Geographic Society’s Emergency Fund for Journalists

Provides grants from $1,000 to $8,000 for local coverage of the COVID-19 impact. They’re looking for writers, photographers, videographers, audio journalists, cartographers, filmmakers and data visualization experts.

Relief From Arts Organizations – Regional

Crosshatch Artist Emergency Fund

This emergency fund will award up to $500 to individual artists who live Northwest Lower Michigan (the five-county area of Antrim, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, and Leelanau); earn 33% or more of their income from their art and who have lost income because of COVID-19 cancellations.

 Erie Arts and Culture Emergency Financial Assistance Fund

Creative and cultural professionals of all disciplines living in in the Erie (Pennsylvania) region who’ve experienced a disruption to their income stream can request up to $500 to help with basic living expenses.

 The Safety Net Fund

Provides grants up to $500 per person per month to help support artists in the Bay Area (Northern California) during the COVID-19 crisis. Priority given to artists who typically make their living offline at events and retail establishments that have been cancelled or closed due to COVID-19. This includes performing artists, musicians, visual artists, event products and other types of creators.

 Relief From Arts Organizations – State

 Artist Fellowship

This grant primarily serves artists in New York. Due to overwhelming requests for aid, this grant maker is temporarily limiting relief and assistance applications to those qualified applicants who’re dealing with IMMEDIATE MEDICAL EMERGENCIES and their aftermath. This restriction will be revisited periodically as conditions change.

 Arts for Illinois Relief Fund

Provides financial relief to workers and organizations in the creative industries impacted by COVID-19 in the form of one-time grants up to $1,500. This includes all artists and artisans, including stage and production members and part-time cultural workers, and large to small arts organizations in all disciplines.

 Max’s Kansas City Project

Provides grants up to $1,000 to professionals in the creatives arts who live in New York and work in art industry. Funding is based on a sliding scale according to each individual’s specific case.

 North Carolina Artist Relief Fund

Provides grants to creative individuals in North Carolina who’ve been financially impacted by gig cancellations due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Money will be awarded based on need and grated based on the availability of funds.

 Springboard Personal Emergency Relief Fund

Artists and creative workers of all disciplines affected in Minnesota can request $500 to support them in this moment. The Coronavirus Emergency Relief Fund will run through July 1, 2020.

 Tamarack Emergency Relief Fund

Offers grants and loans of up to $6,000 for West Virginia-based artist businesses on a rolling basis to help those affected by a significant disaster such as COVID-19. Priority will be given by an external committee to those most severely affected by career threatening occasions that could result in the closure of business.

 Relief From Arts Organizations – City

 Artists’ Benevolence Fund

This fund awards grants up to $1,000 a month to any working artist from Laguna Beach, California who has suffered a catastrophic event leaving them unable to work.

 Boston Artist Relief Fund

This fund will award $500 grants to individual artists living in Boston whose creative practices and incomes are being adversely impacted by COVID19. Applications open May 12, 2020 and close May 15, 2020.

 Cambridge Artist Relief Fund

Provides one-time relief to arts organizations and artists who live work, create, and/or perform in Cambridge (Massachusetts). Grants up to $1,000 will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis for as long as the fund can sustain requests.

 Durham Artist Relief Fund

This fund provides grants for artists and arts presenters in Durham (North Carolina) who’ve  been financially impacted by COVID-19. Priority given to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) artists, transgender and nonbinary artists, and disabled artists.

 Greater Columbus Arts Council Emergency Relief Grants

These grants are open to professional working artists living in Franklin County (Ohio) who’ve had a loss of income due to COVID-19. Eligible artists can apply for up to $1,000, with priority given to those in need of shelter, food, and other essentials.

 Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council Emergency Fund

This fund is designed to assist artists of all disciplines living in the Greater Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) area whose creative practices and incomes are being adversely impacted by coronavirus or other emergencies. Eligible artists can apply for up to $500 in assistance.

 Greensboro Artist Relief Fund

Provides grants for professional artists who live in the greater Greensboro (North Carolina) area and need of support due to COVID-19.

 Indy Arts & Culture COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund

This fund provides instant $500 grants to artists who have been impacted by the current public health crisis. To be eligible, individuals must live in Marion County (Indianapolis, Indiana) or one the seven surrounding counties.

 New Orleans Business Alliance Fund

Provides $500 grants to meet the needs of gig economy workers who’ve been directly impacted by COVID-19. To be eligible, individuals must live in Orleans Parish (New Orleans, Louisiana), prove income is generated via “gig work” and demonstrate loss of income as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 Spokane Artists & Creative Fund

Provides grants up to $500 to assist individual creatives living in the Spokane (Washington) area who rely on income from gigs, performances, teaching opportunities, workshops and classes to cover basic expenses like housing, food and medical care.

 Relief from State Agencies

Freelancer’s Guide to Pandemic Employment Assistance

 A state-by-state guide to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) a new program that offers extended unemployment aid to individuals who’ve traditionally been ineligible to or unemployment insurance benefits, including freelancers, self-employed workers, and independent contractors.

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