Respond, Recover, Reimagine: How funders are addressing the coronavirus pandemic

Reflecting on: What strategies exist to support, regrant to, and advocate for cultural organizations (without formal audits)?

The current crisis has necessitated that we — as with many of our colleagues around the country — reassess our “normal” way of conducting philanthropic business because these are not “normal” times. The crisis we are facing is of an existential nature — the very survival of our cultural organizations and artists is at stake.

Reflecting on: What strategies exist to support, regrant to, and advocate for cultural organizations (without formal audits)?

If you asked me where I would be on April 13, 2020, I would have described a fun-filled adventure staycationing with my familia in D.C. over Spring Break. Instead, I am sitting in my “command center” — the spare room in my basement — helping the arts navigate through the worst crisis in a generation. This is not what I had planned, or what any of us had planned. Yet, this is where we are — where a lot of us are — and we must figure out how to make it all work.

Jan Newcomb and Tom Clareson

Reflecting on: How can funders plan for organizational triage and what models can be referenced?

The National Coalition for Arts’ Preparedness and Emergency Response (NCAPER) and Performing Arts Readiness (PAR) — two services organizations supported by grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation — work to provide education, information, and links to funding resources for organizations in the arts community after all types of emergencies and disasters. Currently, both organizations are looking at a variety of issues in response to and recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

The last month has undoubtedly been nerve-wracking for all of us, as we worry about the health of those we care about, and the broader economic ramifications of COVID-19. Foundations that support the arts have watched grantees close their doors indefinitely, cut programs, and possibly lay off staff. Meanwhile, the importance of the arts has only been underscored in this moment of social distancing – evidenced by the breadth of content consumed online: from virtual museum tours, to opera in HD, and live-streamed conversations with creative visionaries.