This grant is reportable income. If you are receiving unemployment benefits, please be sure to report this income to remain compliant with state unemployment laws.

We ask if you have applied for unemployment benefits to better understand the current landscape, much like we as for demographic information. 

Whether you have applied for unemployment or not and whether you are receiving those benefits or not, does not affect your application for relief funding. This funding continues to be primarily based upon the greatest need.

You may be eligible for Pandemic Unemployment benefits even if you have traditionally not been eligible for standard unemployment benefits. All contract workers, self-employed, gig workers, freelancers, etc. should review the current guidelines to decide if you should apply: Learn more here at Unemployment Resources at Indyarts.org.

It is required that applicants provide some kind of verifiable evidence. Usually your resume will provide enough information, but if it doesn’t tell the complete story, consider sharing a website, past projects, events, jobs, etc. These items must show at least 40% of your income comes from your own art practice. This does not include commercial "fee for service" jobs, which can account for 60% of your resume/income.

We will need to verify that applicants do not have health insurance or access to sick days. For arts organizations, such evidence would include sharing your personnel policy or a letter from the CEO. If your current need involves healthcare, you may have medical bills to share.

No, your canceled project could be anywhere. National tours, residencies, etc. We do however need evidence of the project being canceled.

Right now, almost everyone has some sort of need, but some among us are clearly in greater need, and the funding available is limited. We will assess the greatest need based on the case presented by the applicant. As a general rule, if you have funds to cover your basic needs for the next two months, you would not be a good candidate for this fund. Greatest need here, is immediate need of food, housing, or medical care, not art supplies, studio rent, or project equipment. All requests should be documented.  

Yes, any staff members from a qualifying nonprofit arts & cultural organization may apply if their hours have been cut or they have been laid off. Qualifying small & medium sized organizations will have a minimum annual operating budget of $20,000 and a maximum annual operating budget of $500,000. 

Yes, we know that many teaching artists have been impacted by the emergency and those creatives are also eligible to apply to this fund. However, you must have documentation about the contractual engagement with the schools/venues you taught and evidence of their current status.

Yes, visual artists with canceled exhibitions/shows are eligible to apply. However, documentation must include evidence that artist has consistently sold a certain amount of artwork at these types of exhibitions/venues in the past. Two examples of such evidence could include receipts with explanation or a letter from a gallery or event organizer who could provide documentation for those sales. A cancelled or postponed exhibition or art fair will not be enough without further financial documentation.

Yes, an engagement without a written contract can be considered for funding, but there must be some form of paper/electronic trail to support that verbal agreement. We suggest you provide emails or letters that describe how far the conversations had gone, and any receipts for materials purchased for that engagement. Although, we always encourage all artists to get a signed contract before beginning work on a project, we realize that doesn’t always happen.

Yes, you may apply once per 30 day period as long as funding is available.

Everyone will be notified within one week of their request. If you do not receive notification within one week, the review panel may need further information from you. You may email indyarts@indyarts.org to inquire after one week.

Payment will be made via a paper check mailed to your home address. The full process will take 5 - 10 business days. You will be asked to respond quickly with a W9 form for tax purposes. 

You can submit an alternative to the traditional resume as part of your support materials.  Our goal is to receive proof of your work history. Therefore, you could provide a bio as long as it included  dates to mark your career as an artist or staff member. It could also include a website and/or social media that provides background on your work in the arts & cultural sector. We are sure that these are not the only ways to show your work history, so please provide whatever will allow the panel to understand the work you have been doing, how long, and to what extent.

You should submit professional recordings in an audio file or on a website like SoundCloud, Band Camp, etc. You should also submit videos of live performances that show the quality of your work.

Each employee must submit their own application. Organizations cannot apply on behalf of their employees. The role of the organization is to provide the documentation to support the case for relief from lost wages. Specifically, you should explain the reason for the cancellations and/or reduced-hours, and the difference between the income you provided before the COVID19 emergency and what you are providing today. 

Yes, if your cancellations were for your art projects you would be eligible. If your cancellations are of "work for hire" like weddings and event photography, that is outside of the scope and spirit of this funding as defined by our funders. Those cancellations are not eligible. As a small business owner you should look at Indy Chamber's Rapid Resource Hub for resources.

Yes, we understand all events have been cancelled or postponed, but we need to confirm that you as an artist or contract worker had a defined role/paid role as part of an arts & culture program. That's why we need proof related to you and your role, not just a mass email from the organization or promoter that the event is cancelled.

Cancelled arts & culture events are eligible, but other "work for hire" events are not. We also need paperwork to backup our giving efforts. We need proof for the IRS, our funders, our annual audit, etc. as a 501 c3 nonprofit organization.

You should always have a written agreement, but if you do not, you may send in a screen shot of your website calendar listing the events, social media listings, etc. Then a text message or email from the organizer stating it has been cancelled will suffice to document the cancellation. Screen shots work well for all of these.