The funding for this program comes from the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF). RISCA will award CRF funds to nonprofit arts and culture organizations in Rhode Island to help these entities and their employees endure the continued economic hardships caused by the forced closure of their operations due to the spread of COVID-19. These funds are intended to help save jobs in the arts sector and keep the doors open to the hundreds of organizations that add value to Rhode Island’s economy and the creative life of our communities.
Through this funding opportunity RISCA anticipates making grants of $6,000 or less to support non-profit arts and culture organizations. The grant can cover revenue losses and extra COVID-costs incurred between March 1, 2020 and December 30, 2020.
If after reading through these grant guidelines you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact both Todd Trebour, Organizations Program Director, at todd.trebour@arts.ri.gov, and Maggie Anderson, Arts in Education Director, at maggie.anderson@arts.ri.gov.
Organizations will apply online through RISCA’s online grant portal at: https://www.grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=artsri.
Deadline.
The deadline to submit this application is 8pm on Tuesday, December 15th.
Eligibility.
In order for an organization to apply to this program, they must not be qualified to apply in either the CRF Grant for Investments in Arts and Culture Organizations, or the CRF Grant for RI Expansion Arts and Culturally-Specific Organizations programs. In addition, applicants must:
- Be a nonprofit organization. Your organization must be incorporated in, headquartered, and conducting business in the State of Rhode Island, with 501(c)(3) tax exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service, registered with the Rhode Island Secretary of State, governed by a revolving board of directors, trustees or advisory board drawn from the community at large and shown to be actively involved in the governance of the organization (for confirmation that your nonprofit organization is incorporated in the State of Rhode Island, visit the Secretary of State’s online database).
The organization must have a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN), a DUNS number, and have received federal tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). LLCs and fiscally sponsored organizations are NOT eligible for this program.
- Have arts and culture explicitly stated as a central part of your non-profit organization’s mission. RISCA defines arts and cultural organizations as not-for-profit based groups that have a primary mission of providing regular cultural programs or services, which may include producing or presenting a series or regular program of performances, educational programming, exhibitions, media presentations, festivals, readings, or literary publications. Producing involves the direct creation, production, performance or exhibition of arts; presenting involves organizing, selecting or curating and contracting a series, season or festival of performances or events created by other artists and producing groups.
- Attest to a revenue loss from 2019 to 2020 and/or account for all eligible incurred expenses directly related to COVID response.
- Attestation of a total revenue loss for the period of March 1, 2020 to December 30, 2020.
- Attestation of total amount of eligible expenses. Eligible expenses are costs that:
- are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19).
- were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020 (the date of enactment of the CARES Act) for the State or government.
- were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020, and ends on December 30, 2020.
- Have a DUNS Number. If your organization doesn’t have a DUNS number, don’t panic! Any entity receiving federally sourced funds must have a DUNS number – it is free to request one. You will still be able to submit an application, but you will need to contact Todd Trebour, Organizations Program Director, at trebour@arts.ri.gov for further instructions. For now, continue on with the application! Click here to learn what a DUNS number is.
Application Timeline.
Because of the incredibly tight timeline, the application will be simple, and RISCA staff are available to help you with your application. Be sure to thoroughly read the guidelines and any FAQ’s linked in these guidelines before contacting RISCA staff.
- Wednesday, December 7: Applications open.
- Tuesday, December 15 at 8 pm: Application deadline.
- Friday, December 18: Award Notifications made.
- Monday, December 21 at 9 am: Deadline to sign grant award agreements.
- Week of December 21: Payments made.
Grant Awards.
Applicants can receive up to $6,000. Because the source for these grant funds is CRF, there are specific rules RISCA must follow in determining grant awards.
CRF funds cannot be used for expenses that have been or will be reimbursed under any federal program or any other state-funded CRF program. The application for this program is structured to determine if your organization is eligible for a grant based on revenue loss and/or COVID-costs. We will also need to account for the money your organization has received to cover similar losses or costs under the following programs:
- Federal PPP and EIDL programs
- The CARES Act grants, either directly from the National Endowment for the Arts and the NEH, or via RISCA or RICH.
- Remote Work Grant program.
- RI Expansion Arts Program Emergency Relief Fund Round 1 or Round 2.
- State funded programs, including:
- RestoreRI program grants.
- Hotel, Arts & Tourism (HArT) ESR or Direct Support grants.
- RI Commerce Business Adaptation grants.
- Take it Outside grants.
- RI Taxation RI on Pause Business Relief grants.
- Any other state or federal funds to offset lost revenue due to Coronavirus.
You will be asked the total amount received from these programs. You will also be asked to attest that the losses and costs claimed for this grant are different than those covered by the above programs.
You can see the full FAQ on CRF from the U.S. Treasury here.
Final Report.
RISCA staff will be in touch with grantees about final report requirements, but a final report will be required.
Links.