Cuyahoga County ARPA

Cuyahoga County has proposed an allocation of $3.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to help bolster the creative economy, County Executive Armond Budish and County Council President Pernel Jones, Jr. recently announced.

The relief funding was secured through a collaborative effort of Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) and Assembly for the Arts. Following approval by County Council, funds will be evenly divided between CAC and Assembly for the Arts. CAC will develop guidelines for distribution to eligible CAC nonprofit grant recipients that have a primary mission of arts and culture. Assembly will similarly develop guidelines for distribution to arts-related small businesses and creative workers.

In 2019, the City of Cleveland had 15,849 jobs by creative industries alone and generated $2.9b in sales within our local economy. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated our community – taking away the ability of many artists, arts organizations, and creative businesses to survive. The unprecedented financial damage rose to $146 million and impacted 5,000 jobs in Cleveland-area cultural nonprofits alone.

This sector’s recovery is essential to the recovery of Cleveland as a whole. Every day, our sector makes positive differences in:

• Education
• Public Safety
• Health Care
• Mental Health
• Community Revitalization
• Regional Tourism
• Retail + Hospitality
• Resident Well-being

As people around the globe start to recover from the pandemic, local creatives in your neighborhood are still struggling, but we have a plan.