Grants, Loans + Deals
Are you an artist, arts organization, or entrepreneur greatly affected/displaced by COVID-19? Want to know more about grants, loans, and other opportunities to help you navigate the pandemic and loss of business? Here’s our growing list of resources. Updated regularly.
Adobe (Free Software Access)
Adobe will be providing “at home” access to Creative Cloud for students use the software at their higher education and K-12 programs. Access will be granted until May 31st, 2020. Students, teachers, and educators can now request home access to the Creative Cloud Suite on Adobe’s site. Adobe has also prepared courses for the K-12 community to help support distance learning as most schools are closed.
AfricaNxt
#TheWayForward Digital Toolkit by AfricaNxt offers funding tips and other resources to help businesses and individuals in the African diaspora to navigate the now and best prepare for the future.
Amazon
Amazon created a $5 million Neighborhood Small Business Relief Fund to provide cash grants to local small businesses that will be impacted by fewer customers due to COVID-19. The fund is intended to support small businesses with fewer than 50 employees or less than $7 million in annual revenue located near Amazon’s Seattle office weather the outbreak.
Art and Culture Leaders of Color Emergency Fund
This fund is for US-based BIPOC artists and administrators who need relief as a result of COVID-19.
Art Classes by University, You Can Take for Free Online
Artsy provides a list of free online art courses available to the public. Courses range from topics such as art psychology and art history. Many of these courses are offered from well-respected universities.
Artist Relief Project
The Artist Relief Project is an initiative to help artists, musicians, and performers impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. You can either donate using the form on their website or you can apply for financial support through the fund. The fund was set up by Artly World, a 501c3 nonprofit.
Avid (Free Software Access)
Avid will be providing temporary, 90-day licenses for Media Composer, Pro Tools, and Sibelius to students who no longer have access to their institutions. Avid will also provide the software to remote users who are no longer able to access their places of work. The policy will go into effect Monday, March 16th.
Coronavirus Impact Survey (dance community)
Dance/NYC is monitoring the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the dance field. With your input, they create public awareness and guide policy, resources, and program development for dance makers and organizations based in the metropolitan New York City area.
COVID-19 Freelance Artist Resources
This list is specifically designed to serve freelance artists, and those interested in supporting the independent artist community. This includes, but is not limited to, actors, designers, producers, technicians, stage managers, musicians, composers, choreographers, visual artists, filmmakers, craft artists, teaching artists, dancers, writers & playwrights, photographers, etc.
Creative Capital’s COVID-19 Arts Resources List
This list includes primarily grant and funding programs for artists in need during the COVID-19 outbreak. Point of contact available under each individual listed resource.
Facebook Small Business Grants Program
Facebook is offering $100 million in cash grants and ad credits for up to 30,000 small businesses. The grants are offered to businesses in over 30 countries in which Facebook operates. This program can help small business owners keep their workforce, pay rent costs, connect with more customers, and cover operational costs.
Financial relief for artists
With canceled exhibitions, classes, conferences and workshops over the span of a very short time, many artists are feeling the stress of lost income and an uncertain future. Here’s a compiled a list of emergency resources/grants for artists as well an ongoing list of crowdfunding efforts to provide financial relief for artists.
Google Hangouts
Google has rolled out free access to its advanced Hangouts Meet video-conferencing capabilities to all G Suite customers until July 1 so businesses can stay connected with their teams and vendors.
ILYSM 4 Artists: Grants for Artists in Need
ILYSM offers weekly $500 grants to artists who have had their income impacted by COVID-19. Each week they choose a different artist(s) to judge the submissions and pick the winner.
KORG
Korg is offering free access to its Kaossilator apps, which normally cost close to $20. Android artists can grab the software for no charge until March 20th, 2020, while the iOS crowd has until March 31st to get iKaossilator. Either app makes the most sense if you’re more into looping audio and variety than strict technical realism, but that may be all you need to add some spice to a future hit.
MOOG
If you’re a musician (or fan) whose concerts got scrapped over coronavirus concerns, you’ll at least have more tools to produce music when you’re at home. To start, Moog has made its Minimoog Model D iOS synth app available for free. It wasn’t hugely expensive to start, but this could make it easy to recreate the first portable synth and slip some Kraftwerk- or Dr. Dre-inspired sounds into your latest track. Moog didn’t say how long the price change would last, but you might want to act quickly.
NETFLIX relief fund for creatives
Netflix has set up a $100m fund for creatives whose jobs have been affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The company will also offer $15m to not-for-profits that offer emergency relief to out-of-work cast and crew members in countries where they have major productions.
Online Courses, Free from Ivy League Schools
Take university level courses for free! This list features 500 free online courses from Ivy League schools. Classes cover an array of topics from philosophy to economics and many more. Some courses are self-paces, while others have specific start dates.
Open Culture List of Online Art Courses, Music Courses, and More
This list created by Open Culture features tons of things to do during quarantine such as free online courses, eBooks, audio books, movies, art images, guitar courses, coloring pages, and more! Learn things you’ve always wanted to learn!
PA support fund
Set PAs help you all day, everyday. They have no union, no healthcare and frankly, make nowhere near enough money for what they do. While losing work is hard on all of us, if you can imagine having even a little bit to spare, now is the time. I plan to give individuals cash help in amounts of $100-$1000 dollars on a first come, first serve basis. I will update this space with the list of folks helped and the amounts, with their permission.
Printing for the People Program
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, YTMRRW Inc. will be providing photographers and artists within the five NYC boroughs with professional inkjet printing services for free. Service begins April 6, 2020 while supplies las.
Rauschenberg Foundation (The Rauschenberg Emergency Grants)
Emergency medical grants for artists who need help paying for healthcare, in partnership with NYFA. The grants will provide “visual artists, media artists, and choreographers up to $5,000 worth of assistance for medical emergencies. Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents.” This service will be rolled out late May-Early June. These are one-time grants that can cover hospital bills, prescription drugs, and emergency dental work. Apply now.
SAG-AFTRA resources
The SAG-AFTRA Foundation is supporting its members during the coronavirus scare, which is causing many actors to go out of work due to suspended productions. The foundation tweeted about their new COVID-19 Disaster Fund, which is available to all SAG-AFTRA members. In partnership with the Motion Picture Players Welfare Fund, the COVID-19 Disaster Fund will cover “members who are in an emergency financial crisis related to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) to cover basic expenses such as rent, mortgage, medical bills and other essential needs.”
SBA Disaster Assistance for Small Businesses
SBA (Small Business Administration) offers low interest loans to small businesses impacted by COVID-19. For more information, follow the link to their website posting. Call 1-800-659-2955 (TTY: 1-800-877-8339) or e-mail disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.
Shea Moisture Fund for Black Business Owners
Shea Moisture recently announced their $1 million dollar fund “to support women of color entrepreneurs and small minority businesses.” The fund is meant to help out black-owned businesses heavily effected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The fund includes cash grants and an e-learning lab for women of color entrepreneurs, combining funding with eduction and coaching. Applications open April 8, 2020.
Shoppe Black
SHOPPE BLACK is a Philadelphia, PA based company founded by husband and wife team, Tony O. Lawson and Shantrelle P. Lewis. They create and curate content related to Black business ownership and Black culture in the global diaspora. Since 2015, they have profiled thousands of businesses and interviewed hundreds of entrepreneurs and professionals from New York to Nigeria, all in the name of celebrating Black Business excellence and encouraging our community to invest in itself and to #SHOPPEBLACK. They are currently expanding our business to include a global business directory and a business agency that will provide Black owned businesses and professionals with much needed services and resources such as access to capital, branding, digital marketing and customer experience training.
Singers & Songwriter COVID-19 Relief
Singers, songwriters, and other self-Employed music workers are eligible for relief in the Federal Stimulus Bill. Find out more.
Small Businesses Affected by Coronavirus (COVID-19) in British Columbia
This list includes information regarding business travel restrictions, crisis planning, and general business related resources. This organization mainly caters to small business owners in Canada. If you have questions, email askus@smallbusinessbc.ca.
Step-by-Step Drawing Tutorials
Artist Taji Joseph creates step-by-step drawing tutorials for faces, body parts, and objects such as fruits. These simple visual instructions show you how
to draw and shade with pencil. Great for beginners or artists who want to further their skills!
The Curators Call for Artists
NYC and Paris based gallery, The Curators, has opened a call for artists as well as a call for quarantine based artwork. Their call for artists can lead to the opportunity to sell your work in an online auction through The Curators website.
Tip Your Bartenders
As the hospitality industry faces an uncertain future, PUNCH is dedicated to supporting the bar teams who inspire us on a daily basis and allow our publication to exist. As a way of giving back, we’re launching “Tip Your Bartender,” a social initiative connecting you directly to your favorite bartenders across the country via Instagram. Pull up a stool at our virtual bar as the nation’s top drink-makers offer up recipes live from our Instagram feed during our daily happy hour (5 p.m. EST). Tipping is encouraged, and goes directly to the featured bar team via Venmo.
UK aid for Self-Employed
Details from the UK government on aid to be distributed over the coming weeks.
US Chamber of Commerce Coronavirus Response Toolkit
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce created this list based on the CDC’s Coronavirus recommendations for businesses state-wide. This article features shareable graphics that people can post on social media and send to colleagues.
US Chamber of Commerce Resource List for Small Businesses
U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s list of response tips, disaster assistance loans from the SBA, state-wide initiatives to help small businesses, assistance from banks and credit card companies, and federal small business assistance.
US Tax Relief for Freelancers
The IRS has stepped up to help people facing the challenges of COVID-19 with a number of measures, including easing payment guidelines and postponing compliance actions for an initial period of April 1 to July 15, 2020. This is in addition to the extension of the tax filing deadline to July 15, 2020.
