COVID-19 Response & Resources: Programs, updates, and actions for arts funders

As the coronavirus continues to spread and its impacts change our daily lives, Grantmakers in the Arts has provided and compiled resources to support arts and culture funders as we navigate recovery and response. From webinars and podcasts to zoom calls and calls to action, responses from GIA, our members, and our fellow PSOs aim to provide guidance during this time.

We at GIA encourage grantmakers to support their grantees by treating their funding flexibly in these difficult and rapidly shifting circumstances. Grantmakers throughout the field are strategizing how best to support their cultural communities, and while we cannot know how this crisis will impact their resources in the future, funders can consider both immediate and long-term strategies. The following resources will be updated regularly.

If you have a resource you'd like to add to this page, please email Steve Cline at steve@giarts.org.

March 2020

On Wednesday, March 11, 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic became a central focus in our lives, GIA launched an Info Hub and Resource Page for our members and the field. Along with calls to action, recommendations for centering race and equity in any relief effort, and a growing list of emergency funds, GIA encourages grantmakers to support their grantees by treating their funding flexibly in these difficult and rapidly shifting circumstances.

On Thursday, March 19, 2020, GIA hosted Emergency Preparedness and Response: COVID19 and the arts ecosystem. This webinar featured DéLana R.A. Dameron (Red Olive Creative Consulting & Black Art Futures Fund), Randy Engstrom (Seattle Office of Arts & Culture), James Hafferman (CERF+), Tanya Gulliver-Garcia (Center for Disaster Philanthropy), Laura Aden Packer (The Howard Gilman Foundation), Mark Rossier (New York Foundation for the Arts), Caitlin Strokosch (National Performance Network), Eddie Torres (Grantmakers in the Arts), San San Wong (Barr Foundation), Christine Yoon (Wallace Foundation & NY Chapter of Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy). They discussed how funders can respond thoughtfully, creatively, with care, and without panic when “acts of God” require communities to shift rapidly.

April 2020

On Wednesday, April 1, 2020, as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic increases and the scale of recovery becomes larger and larger, GIA President & CEO Eddie Torres calls upon the field to “not only react to crisis but also to be sure we treat this as moment to create our desired future” in A Call for Building Deep Resilience in Arts Funding: The future of our field post-coronavirus.

Throughout the month of April, GIA will present a new blog series, Respond, Recover, Reimagine: How Funders are addressing the coronavirus pandemic. Funders share reflections and advice from different areas of the field as they strategize the most effective ways to approach recovery and response efforts. While we cannot know how this crisis will impact the future of the field, in this GIA blog series, funders will explore immediate and long-term strategies. Check back each week as new post will be added regularly.

Join us on Tuesday, April 28, 2020, for part one of a two-part COVID-19 focused podcast series Coronavirus Response: Setting the frame. Grantmakers join GIA to discuss how they are designing their rapid response efforts, what kind of equity lens can be utilized for greatest impact, and how to shift from short-term response to long-term recovery.

May 2020

Join us on Wednesday, May 13, 2020, for part two of our COVID-19 focused podcast series Coronavirus Response: Into the weeds. Grantmakers join GIA to elevate the importance of centering equity and reframing inherited practices among arts and culture funders. Funders will share how this recovery can aim for new relationship, power structures, and ultimately, systems of grantmaking.

June 2020

Join us on Tuesday, June 16, 2020, for our final COVID-19 focused webinar of the series Coronavirus Response: Building a future we want. This webinar will feature discussion from funders and PSO leaders who are calling for and working toward a more liberated future of grantmaking. Together, we will explore what is necessary to re-imagine systems, power, and practice in response to this pandemic and the ongoing crisis of racial inequality.