Cuyahoga County to Participate in National ‘Arts & Economic Prosperity 6’ Study 

For immediate release: August 31, 2022

Press Contact: Malissa Bodmann
(216) 536-7517
malissa@compellingcommunicationsllc.com

Cuyahoga County to Participate in National ‘Arts & Economic Prosperity 6’ Study 

Data Collection for Most Comprehensive Study of Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts and Culture Industry 

Cleveland, Ohio - Assembly for the Arts is pleased to participate in Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6), the most comprehensive economic impact study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry ever conducted in the United States. Administered by Americans for the Arts, AEP6 will examine the economic impact of the arts and culture in Cuyahoga County and 386 additional communities representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. 

The Arts & Economic Prosperity® series is conducted approximately every five years to gauge the economic impact of spending by nonprofit arts and culture organizations and the event-related spending by their audiences. In 2017, AEP5 documented that the nonprofit arts and culture industry generated $166.3 billion in economic activity (spending by organizations plus the event-related spending by their audiences) which supported 4.6 million jobs and generated $27.5 billion in government revenue. The AEP series demonstrates that an investment in the arts provides both cultural and economic benefits. 

Audience-intercept surveys will be collected from people attending arts events in Cuyahoga County through April 2023—in total, the national sample is anticipated to surpass 250,000 surveys. A survey of nonprofit arts and culture organizations will occur from January through April 2023. The national and local findings will be made public in September 2023. At that time, Assembly for the Arts will receive a customized report on the unique economic impact results for Cuyahoga County including the number of jobs that are supported and the amount of government revenue that is generated by our community’s nonprofit arts industry. 

Americans for the Arts is committed to addressing equity and inclusion as a critical component of the methodology, organizational participation, and collection of data for AEP6 by centering and representing BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, Native American) identifying communities—a segment of the nonprofit arts and culture sector that has been underrepresented in past studies. 

The AEP6 study will establish a benchmark of arts and culture organizations that primarily serve communities of color, and the audiences that attend their events. It will also identify organizations that have a chief executive who identifies as BIPOC/ALAANA. Researchers will use this data to calculate and report on the economic impact of the BIPOC/ALAANA arts sector in each of the participating communities. 

According to Jeremy V. Johnson, president and CEO of Assembly for the Arts, “This a beautiful opportunity to be part of a bold endeavor to clearly demonstrate and quantify with hard data the economic and social benefit the arts and culture industry brings to local communities. Assembly is poised to lead AEP6 and partner with organizations who have long committed to protecting, preserving, and growing equitable and inclusive communities through arts and culture.” 

Nolen V. Bivens, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts, commented, “The arts are economic catalysts—strengthening the economy by creating jobs, generating government revenue, and driving tourism. Community is where the arts make a difference, and while the national impact data are impressive, at its core, AEP6 is a local story. I look forward to seeing its results, which will be key in persuading decision-makers that the arts benefit all people in all communities.” 

Please visit Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6) for more information and a full list of the communities participating in the AEP6 study. 


Assembly for the Arts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a focus on advocacy, cultural policy, racial equity initiatives, research, marketing that elevates the region, and services for nonprofits, artists, and creative businesses. It is governed by a volunteer board with a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. Assembly by design operates in close partnership with Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, a government agency and Assembly for Action, a 501(c)(4) political action nonprofit to serve the entire creative sector. 

www.assemblycle.org 

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Assembly for the Arts opens applications for ARPA funding to artists and creative businesses

Source: Freshwater Cleveland

Published: Wednesday, August 24, 2022

Abstract:

Assembly for the Arts (Assembly), a cultural nonprofit that strengthens and supports those who create, present, experience and appreciate all forms of arts and culture, announced on Monday, Aug. 22 that applications are now open for creative workers and for-profit creative businesses to apply for funding made possible by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) through Cuyahoga County Council and the County executive Armond Budish.

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Cleveland’s Assembly for the Arts opens applications for $1.65 million in COVID-19 relief grants for individuals or businesses

Source: Cleveland.com

Published: August 22, 2022

Abstract:

CLEVELAND, OHIO — The nonprofit Assembly for the Arts announced Monday that it’s accepting applications from artists and for-profit creative businesses seeking grants under a $1.65 million COVID-19 relief program made possible by the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

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Assembly for the Arts Opens Applications for ARPA Funding

 PRESS RELEASE 

August 22, 2022 

Media Contact:
Malissa Bodmann
216-536-7517 

ASSEMBLY FOR THE ARTS OPENS APPLICATIONS FOR ARPA FUNDING 

Artists, for-profit creative businesses are eligible to apply 

CLEVELAND, OHIO — Assembly for the Arts announced today that applications are open for creative workers and for-profit creative businesses to apply for funding made possible by American Rescue Plan Act through Cuyahoga County Council and the County Executive. 

Assembly for the Arts and Cuyahoga Arts & Culture worked collaboratively to secure support from Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish and County Council President Pernel Jones, Jr. County Council approved $3.3 million, which was evenly split between Assembly and CAC ($1.65 Million to each). 

Assembly will award funding ranging up to $2,500 per artist and up to $45,000 for businesses, depending on annual revenue. Professional creative artists aged 18 and older who live in Cuyahoga County and have lost income due to the COVID-19 pandemic may be eligible for these ARPA funds. For-profit creative arts business headquartered in Cuyahoga County that have lost revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic may be eligible for these ARPA funds. Visit https://assemblycle.org/arpa/ for eligibility guidelines and application. 

“The arts and culture sector was the hardest hit of all industries during the pandemic,” said Jeremy Johnson, President and CEO of Assembly for the Arts. “We know this ARPA funding will help artists and small creative businesses get back on their feet to reignite the diverse cultural jobs and services that are the backbone of a $1.9B creative regional economy.” 

Assembly will hold a series of information sessions on the application process for artists and for-profit creative businesses. Visit https://assemblycle.org/arpa/ for more information. 


About Assembly for the Arts: Assembly for the Arts is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that serves as a unifying voice for greater Cleveland’s creative sector. Assembly strengthens and supports those who create, present, experience and appreciate all forms of arts and culture. The organization is attentive to the needs and impact of BIPOC artists, nonprofits, and small creative businesses. Assembly seeks to expand the pie of financial, technical, and capacity support for the arts and cultural sector; and increase equity for BIPOC and historically disadvantaged communities within the sector. For more information, visit AssemblyCLE.org. 


Apply now: ARPA funds available for Cleveland artists and businesses

Source: ideastream

Published: August 22, 2022

Abstract:
Cleveland-based Assembly for the Arts has opened applications for American Rescue Plan Act funds. The money comes from a pool of $3.3 million granted last month by Cuyahoga County Council to arts groups. Assembly for the Arts Community Relations Manager Meg Matko said they will hold workshops about the application process beginning next week.

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Guidelines - ARPA for Arts

Cuyahoga ARPA for Arts Program | Funding for Individual Artists and Creative Businesses

Cuyahoga County has dedicated $3.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to support Cuyahoga County’s arts and culture sector, which has experienced devastating loss of revenue and jobs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

$1.65 million will be distributed to arts and culture nonprofits through Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. $1.65 million will be distributed to for-profit creative businesses and individual artists through Assembly for the Arts. The funding will provide critical recovery support to Cuyahoga County’s arts and culture communities.

Program Overview

Assembly for the Arts is managing the distribution of $1.65 million in funds earmarked to support Cuyahoga County’s for-profit creative businesses and artists/cultural workers. These funds will be allocated as follows:

For-Profit Creative Business $750,750
Artists $750,750
Administrative costs $148,500

Please note: All costs must comply with any Guidance, Frequently Asked Questions and Answers issued by the federal government or State of Ohio, which includes without limitation, U.S. Treasury, Office of Inspector General, the Ohio Auditor of State, and the Ohio Office of Budget and Management.

Applicants may apply to either the Artist or Business program. Applicants may not apply to or receive funds from both programs.

If you are unsure which program you should apply to, please see eligibility guidelines for definitions and requirements for both programs below.

* Due to limited funds, not all eligible applicants are guaranteed to receive a Cuyahoga ARPA allocation.


Individual Artists

Funding is available for independent, creative professionals that derive income from their art and are:

LOCAL: Reside in Cuyahoga County

PROFESSIONALLY CREATIVE:  Have been deriving income from creating, performing, teaching or assisting in the development of work in the disciplines of Craft, Dance, Design, Film, Media, Music, Theater & Performance, Traditional Arts, Visual Art or Writing, prior to March 1, 2020.

Applicants must provide evidence of creative work through sample images and/or electronic files or online information [e.g. websites, social media pages, etc.] indicating, work that has been created within the last five (5) years [e.g. websites, social media pages, etc.]

HAVE LOST INCOME: Lost income, or performance exhibition opportunities due to cancellations and closures after March 1, 2020

GIG WORKERS: Derive income from their creative practice through contract or gig work. Artists must not earn revenue through a registered creative business applying for the ARPA business program

ADULTS: Are at least 18 years old

LEGAL RESIDENTS: Can provide a SSN or tax ID number

  • Limited to one application per artist. Duplicate applications will not be accepted
  • Artists are ineligible if they:
    • Serve in an executive role at a nonprofit applying for ARPA funds through Cuyahoga Arts & Culture
    • Own or manage a creative business applying for ARPA funding through Assembly for the Arts
    • Are employees, board members, directors, or officers of Assembly for the Arts, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) or the Arts and Culture Action Committee (ACAC)

Funding determinations will be made based on the number of eligible applicants and will not exceed $2500.

All applications will be reviewed for funding determination after the September 30, 2022 deadline. Fund allocations will be determined based on a set of criteria including reported percentage income losses between 2019 through 2021 and a points value system that will be based on the following:

  • Census Tract Data
  • Federal Poverty Guidelines
  • Social Determinants / Risk Factors

Census tract data will be collected through reverse residential address search using a verified census tool. Household size and income will be self-reported by applicants and used to determine where each applicant falls within the Federal Poverty Guidelines for 2022 in Ohio.

Social determinants and additional risk factors will be assessed using a series of questions related to financial, medical, food, housing, family and transportation security. *Questions and factors below in Appendix A

Priority will be given to those most impacted by pandemic closures including low-income families, high percentage of income losses due to business closures and individuals who are at greater risk due to having been historically marginalized. Informed by the Grantmakers in the Arts’ “Racial Equity: Statement of Purpose,” these communities include: African and African American; Latino/a; Asian and Asian American; Arab; Native American; Pacific Islander; lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer; transgender and gender variant people; people with disabilities; and women.

Demographic information will not be included in the application and will not be used in making final funding determinations. Assembly will collect this data from those who receive funds through the program and will be used for reporting and program assessment.

  1. I am worried or concerned that in the next two months I may not have stable housing that I own, rent or stay in as a part of a household.
  2. Within the past 12 months, I was worried that my food would run out before I got money to buy more.
  3. I have not been able to travel to work or acquire household or medical essentials because of
    distance and/or because I lack access to transportation.
  4. In the past 12 months I have had the electric, gas, oil, or water company threaten to shut off or actually shut off services in my home.
  5. Problems getting child care make it difficult for me to work or study.
  6. I do not currently have a job.
  7. I often or sometimes worry that I don’t have enough money to pay my bills.
  8. I have experienced discrimination due to my race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age and/or disability
  9. My neighborhood has a high rate of violence, unsafe air or water, and/or other health and safety risks.
  10. I have been unable to seek medical care due to a lack of health insurance.

Addressing the issues of:

  • Loss of full-time, part-time or contract-based work due to COVID-19
  • Lack of financial safety net
  • Unmanageable debt
  • High risk or chronic health conditions
  • Lack of health insurance
  • Living with a disability (physical, invisible, other)
  • Financial responsibility for dependents
  • Single parent status
  • Refugee status
  • Lack of access to reliable transportation
  • Unstable housing / lack of housing security
  • Of a group that experiences health disparities
  • Offering creative practice for free due to school and business closures
  • Additional costs directly resulting from COVID-19

These funds are to support individuals who are facing economic hardships due to COVID-19 pandemic. Having previously received CARES funding or other Coronavirus federal relief programs does not exclude artists from applying. However, Cuyahoga ARPA for Arts funds may not be used for costs you have incurred as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic or related directives or executive orders that have been PREVIOUSLY COVERED by the federal government via prior CARES Act funding or other federal relief programs. Reporting expenses for Cuyahoga ARPA that have been previously covered by other federal relief funding (will or may) result in returning your allocation to the federal government.

These funds may be used for:

  • current and new living expenses
  • childcare expenses
  • rent, equipment and art materials
  • other necessary items to maintain your artistic practice and future economic stability through that creative practice.

These funds may not be used for:

  • Expenses already covered by previous federal relief funding programs
  • Legal settlements
  • Workforce bonuses
  • Severance pay
  • Reimbursements
  • Political campaigns or candidates
  • Illegal activity

Funded artists will have the option to have their name released publicly as part of the ARPA for Arts funding program and will be required to report to Assembly for the Arts on how funds were spent.


Creative Small Businesses

Funding is available for businesses that are:

LOCAL: Headquartered in Cuyahoga County

IN BUSINESS: Currently in business and have been fully operational prior to March 1, 2020

SMALL: Employ 50 or fewer Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) employees

HAVE LOST REVENUE: Can demonstrate at least a 45% decline in revenue between 2019 and 2021

LEGAL: Registered as a corporation, limited liability company or partnership

EMPLOYERS: Must employ Full Time Employees (FTEs), not contractors only

ARTS SUPPORTIVE: Must support artists through your business model

  • Eligible businesses must be able to indicate that a portion of their overall business revenue is consistently dedicated to the support of other creatives and artists. This includes, but is not limited to, things like hiring artists, supporting artists and creatives in the community through programming, paying artists for their work to support your business, offering goods and services that benefit artists or enable them to present their work.

CREATIVE: Must meet a shared definition of Creative Business:

  • A for-profit entity which contributes to the Cuyahoga County arts and culture economy through the sale of goods or services that fall within the categories of Craft, Dance, Design, Film, Media, Music, Theater & Performance, Traditional/Folk Arts, Visual Art or Writing.

If you have a question about whether or not your business qualifies as a creative business, please contact Assembly at arpa@assemblycle.org

Having previously received federal CARES Act funding in 2020 does not preclude businesses from applying. However, priority will be given to those businesses who have not previously received CARES Act funding in Cuyahoga County.

  • Limited to one application per business/TIN-EIN number.
  • Businesses are ineligible if they are
    • Publicly-traded
    • Multinational
    • Currently in receivership or bankruptcy
    • The business owner serves in an executive role at a nonprofit applying for ARPA funds through Cuyahoga Arts & Culture
    • The business owner is applying for ARPA funds as an Artist through Assembly for the Arts
    • Business owner is an employee, board member, director, or officer of Assembly for the Arts, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) or Assembly for Action

Eligible businesses will receive up to the maximum funding amount for their budget size:

Annual Revenue Max Funding Amount
 $1,000,000+ $45,000
 $500,000 to $999,999 $25,000
$100,000 to $499,999 $10,000
less than $100,000 $5,000

 

Fund allocations will be determined based on a set of criteria including reported percentage revenue losses between 2019 through 2021. Businesses are required to indicate a 45% decline in revenue based on reported gross revenue from calendar years 2019 through 2021. Businesses are additionally required to report their incurred 2021 expenses. Expense totals will not be used in determining grant size but will be used to validate budget size.

Should the number of businesses applying for ARPA funds exceed the amount of available dollars, funding determinations will be made using a points value system, based on the following:

  • Census tract data
  • Marginalized group factors
  • Previous receipt of CARES funding from Arts Cleveland

These funds are to support small creative for-profit businesses facing economic hardships due to COVID-19 pandemic. Having previously received CARES funding or other Coronavirus federal relief programs does not exclude businesses from applying. However, Cuyahoga ARPA for Arts funds may not be used for costs you have incurred as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic or related directives or executive orders that have been PREVIOUSLY COVERED by the federal government via prior CARES Act funding or other federal relief programs. Reporting expenses for Cuyahoga ARPA that have been previously covered by other federal relief funding may result in returning your allocation to the federal government.

This funding may be used for:

  • Rent and/or mortgage assistance
  • Staff Retention
  • Emergency planning/staff training
  • Additional security/safety personnel
  • PPE Items
  • COVID-19 venue upgrades, including purchase of other new equipment or software for safety protocols
  • Insurance premiums
  • Licenses, fees, real estate and other local taxes
  • Utilities
  • Existing loans
  • Recouping deferred expenses due to cancelled events including artist deposits, ticket refunds, etc.
  • Special projects
  • Support for artists and creators

Funding may not be used for:

  • Unrelated real estate
  • Costs previously covered by federal pandemic relief programs
  • Legal settlements
  • Workforce bonuses
  • Severance pay reimbursements
  • Political campaigns or candidates
  • Illegal activity


Cuyahoga County art communities get big boost from COVID-19 relief funds

Source: Spectrum News1

Date: August 15, 2022

Abstract:

CLEVELEND — While Cuyahoga County Council is still working on how to spend the remaining COVID-19 relief funds allocated to the county, some members of the community are already reaping the benefits of the stimulus money.

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Shows may be back, but indie music venues continue to struggle

Source: Crain’s Cleveland Business

Date: August 12, 2022

Abstract:

For independent concert clubs — linchpins of what helped Cleveland garner its identity as “The Rock ‘n’ Roll Capital of the World” — the spring of 2021 was expected to be a turning point after an economy-wracking health crisis.

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