Recovery Fund Launched For Marin County Arts Organizations

MARIN COUNTY, CA — The Marin Cultural Association has launched an Arts & Culture Recovery Fund to support Marin County nonprofit arts organizations hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

With support from a broad coalition of funders, the recovery fund will provide flexible funding through a variety of grants.

Grants will be designed to further one or more of the goals of the Marin Arts & Culture Plan, which was adopted by the Marin County Board of Supervisors in May 2019. The goals include advancing Marin as an arts and culture center, ensuring Marin arts are by and for everyone, and sustaining and growing Marin's arts resources.

"Our local artists and arts organizations are struggling to survive the cancellation of programs and services," said Gabriella Calicchio, director of Cultural Services and executive director of MCA.

"We are incredibly thankful for the initial funding from the CARES Act, the California Arts Council, and the Marin Community Foundation, which allows us to support those organizations left most vulnerable by the pandemic."

Calicchio said the first set of grants will be focused on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) organizations and those supporting BIPOC communities throughout Marin.

The Arts Recovery Fund aims to assist Marin's struggling arts sector, with initial seed funding from the California Arts Council and the Marin Community Foundation totaling $70,000. With an additional $15,000 from CARES Act funding, MCA will also offer a limited number of targeted equity grants, ranging from $500 to $5,000, to arts organizations that reflect and serve Marin's communities of color that have been hardest hit by the pandemic.

Online applications must be submitted on or before 5 p.m. Nov. 11. Grant awards will be announced Dec. 18 following review by a community grants panel.

Visit marincultural.org for more information.

This article originally appeared on the San Rafael Patch