The Springfield Area Arts Council is promoting a new grant opportunity for artists and the arts throughout Illinois.
The money, $50 million, is meant to replace income lost to the state’s creative community during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is called the Illinois Creative Recovery Grant Program (ICR) or Back to Business Arts (B2B Arts). Funding comes from federal sources through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and is administered by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.
The Springfield Area Arts Council is reaching out to artists and arts-related businesses and organizations across central Illinois while other administrators have been tapped to make contacts in other parts of the state. The goal is to contact all possible grant recipients as well as to offer advice in preparing applications. The outreach coordinator in Springfield is Ayla McDonald who can be reached at 217-753-3519 or director@springfieldartsco.org
“We are eager to help get this money into deserving pockets,” said Sheila Walk, executive director of the Arts Council.
Grants ranging from $5,000 to $250,000 will be available to any eligible individuals, businesses, and non-profit organizations in the creative sector that were registered with the state prior to March 2020. Funding is guaranteed for all eligible applicants who submit proper documentation, regardless of application date, before the deadline. The ICR grant application portal opens on April 5, and applications will be accepted until 11:59 P.M. on May 10. To apply, visit www.illinois.gov/b2b.
According to a report by the statewide Arts Alliance Illinois, the pandemic cost 100,000 Illinois creative workers their jobs while the state’s creative industries lost $5.3 billion, often disproportionately in communities of color. Federal coordinator of the ICR program Marisa Calderon stated, “The impacts of the pandemic are far from over. These grants will help to shore up small businesses, preserve what they have worked so hard to build, and save jobs in our communities.”
Local outreach coordinator McDonald added, “As long as they meet the grant’s eligibility requirements, all registered creators and most entities supporting any form of art, from wig-making to song-writing, will receive funding if they apply for it. This pandemic-impact funding opportunity is a long-awaited nod to art and those who keep it alive.”
Application assistance is available at artsalliance.org/
