Craft Emergency Relief Fund Inc

CERF+ SERVES ARTISTS WHO WORK IN CRAFT DISCIPLINES BY PROVIDING A SAFETY NET TO SUPPORT STRONG AND SUSTAINABLE CAREERS. CERF+'S CORE SERVICES ARE EDUCATION PROGRAMS, ADVOCACY, NETWORK BUILDING AND EMERGENCY RELIEF.

EDUCATION & TRAINING "GET READY" GRANTS - CERF+ SUCCESSFULLY CONCLUDED ITS SEVENTH YEAR OF THE "GET READY" GRANT PROGRAM, SUPPORTING CRAFT ARTISTS IN SAFEGUARDING THEIR STUDIOS, PROTECTING THEIR PRACTICES, AND PREPARING FOR EMERGENCIES. FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, CERF+ HELD A CYCLE SPECIFICALLY FOR PUERTO RICAN CRAFT ARTISTS, RESULTING IN 86 ARTISTS ACROSS 40 CITIES RECEIVING 500 GRANTS FOR PRACTICE PROTECTION. AN ADDITIONAL CYCLE AWARDED 77 GRANTS TO CRAFT ARTISTS ACROSS 25 STATES, ONE TERRITORY, AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. IN FISCAL YEAR 2023, A TOTAL OF 163 ARTISTS RECEIVED "GET READY" GRANTS THROUGH THIS PROGRAM AMOUNTING TO 80,803. CERF+ BEGAN TRACKING PROJECTS BY CATEGORY FOR THE FIRST TIME, WITH STUDIO SAFEGUARDS AS THE MOST POPULAR, COMPRISING NEARLY HALF OF ALL GRANT REQUESTS. EMERGENCY/DISASTER READINESS WAS THE SECOND MOST POPULAR CATEGORY. CERF+ HAS CONDUCTED OVER A DOZEN TRAINING SESSIONS, CONFERENCES, AND KEYNOTES, REACHING 585 PARTICIPANTS. TOPICS COVERED INCLUDE EMERGENCY PLANNING AND BUSINESS INSURANCE, ARTS ORGANIZATIONAL PREPAREDNESS, CLIMATE CHANGE AND ARTISTIC PRACTICE, AND ACCESSING EMERGENCY RELIEF FUNDING. IN ADDITION, CERF+ SERVED AS AN EXHIBITOR AT CONFERENCES THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON EDUCATION FOR THE CERAMIC ARTS (NCECA). CERF+ ARTIST'S READINESS PROJECT - (CARP) IN 2023, CERF+ CONCLUDED A MELLON FOUNDATION GRANT'S INITIAL PHASE. THEY CREATED THE CERF+ ARTIST READINESS PROJECT (CARP), SUPPORTING REGIONAL ARTIST ORGANIZATIONS IN DISASTER-PRONE AREAS. TWO PILOT SITES, ARTIST TRUST IN SEATTLE, WA, AND ARTS COUNCIL OF GREATER BATON ROUGE IN BATON ROUGE, LA, IMPLEMENTED CARP. RESULTS INCLUDED ENHANCED ARTIST RESPONDER ROLES, IMPROVED CREDIBILITY, AND ARTISTS' WILLINGNESS TO ADOPT SUSTAINABILITY AND STUDIO PROTECTION MEASURES. THESE SITES WORKED WITH EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TO PROVIDE CRITICAL RESOURCES TO THOUSANDS OF ARTISTS, BOOSTING ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY, AND EXPLORING INCORPORATING EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS IN EXISTING EDUCATION MODELS. CERF+ PARTNERED WITH THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION THROUGH THE CENTER FOR FOLKLIFE AND CULTURAL HERITAGE, AFRICAN AMERICAN CRAFT INITIATIVE (CFCH AACI), AND SMITHSONIAN AFFILIATIONS ON A PROJECT TO EXPAND THE VISIBILITY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CRAFT ARTISTS AND MAKERS THROUGH COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION, PUBLIC PROGRAMMING, AND COMMUNITY BUILDING. IN ADDITION, CERF+ IS WORKING WITH THE NATIONAL PERFORMANCE NETWORK ON A PROJECT TO EXPAND THE MODEL OF PREPAREDNESS TRAINING AND RESOURCES TO BETTER SERVE BLACK ARTISTS. CARP GET READY IN FY22, CERF+ RECEIVED AN ADDITIONAL MULTI-YEAR GRANT FROM THE MELLON FOUNDATION TO DEEPEN THE IMPACT OF THE WORK NOW IN PROGRESS WITH CERF+'S CARP PARTNERS AS WELL AS OTHER TARGET LOCALES WHERE CERF+ HAS BEEN ACTIVELY PRESENT IN DISASTER RECOVERY (LOUISIANA AND PUERTO RICO). THE GOAL OF THE GRANT IS TO AMPLIFY AND EXPAND THE CERF+ "GET READY" GRANT PROGRAM BY PROVIDING FUNDING TO LOUISIANA, WASHINGTON, AND PUERTO RICO ARTISTS TO SUPPORT EMERGENCY RESILIENCE ACTIVITIES THROUGH LOCAL PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS EMERGING ARTIST PROGRAM SUPPORTED BY FUNDING FROM THE WINDGATE FOUNDATION, CERF+ SUCCESSFULLY CONCLUDED ITS INAUGURAL EMERGING ARTISTS READINESS PROGRAM IN PUERTO RICO, THANKS TO WINDGATE FOUNDATION FUNDING. PARTNERING WITH CENTRO DE ECONOMA CREATIVA, WE ADDRESSED THE NEEDS OF ARTISANS LACKING BUSINESS TRAINING, WORKSPACES, AND EQUIPMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES. EIGHTEEN PARTICIPANTS, INCLUDING CRAFT ARTISTS AND PERCUSSION INSTRUMENT MAKERS, RECEIVED GENERAL AND SPECIALIZED TRAINING ALONG WITH MENTORSHIP AND FUNDING TO DEVELOP THEIR WORK PLANS. UPON COMPLETING THE PROGRAM, EACH ARTIST WAS AWARDED A 10,000 GRANT TO IMPLEMENT THEIR PLANS, FOSTERING POSITIVE EXPERIENCES AND GROWTH. WE EXTEND OUR GRATITUDE TO CENTRO DE ECONOMA CREATIVA, THE WINDGATE FOUNDATION, PARTICIPANTS, AND MENTORS FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS. FOR THE SECOND YEAR OF THE PROGRAM, CERF+ HAS PARTNERED WITH THE ASSOCIATION OF TRIBAL ARCHIVES, LIBRARIES, AND MUSEUMS TO WORK WITH A COHORT OF 20 NATIVE CRAFT ARTISTS.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE - CERF+ PROVIDES CRITICAL EMERGENCY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO CRAFT ARTISTS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED A RECENT, CAREER-THREATENING EMERGENCY SUCH AS CLIMATE- RELATED DISASTERS, ILLNESS, INJURIES, STUDIO OR HOME FIRES, AND THEFT. ONCE APPLICATIONS ARE COMPLETED, GRANT DETERMINATIONS ARE MADE WITHIN TWO WEEKS). THIS YEAR, 161 ARTISTS AFFECTED BY CAREER-THREATENING EMERGENCIES RECEIVED DIRECT EMERGENCY RELIEF GRANTS. THESE ARTISTS RECEIVED A TOTAL OF 478,169 IN EMERGENCY AID (430,500 IN GRANTS) AND 49,169 OF GIFTS-IN-KIND (DONATIONS OF EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS, BOOTH WAIVER FEES, ETC.), FOR A GRAND TOTAL OF 478,169. IN FISCAL YEAR 2023, THE MAJORITY OF ARTISTS RECEIVING CERF+ EMERGENCY RELIEF ASSISTANCE FACED CLIMATE-RELATED DISASTERS, WITH 52% OF ALL EMERGENCY RELIEF GRANTS AWARDED IN RESPONSE TO EVENTS SUCH AS HURRICANE FIONA, HAWAII WILDFIRES, CALIFORNIA WINTER STORMS, HURRICANE IAN, PUERTO RICO EARTHQUAKE, AND NORTHEAST FLOODING, MARKING CERF+'S HIGHEST NUMBER OF ARTISTS SUPPORTED IN A SINGLE YEAR THROUGH THIS GRANT PROGRAM. CERF+ ADMINISTERED THE ETSY PROGRAM TO SUPPORT MAKERS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED A FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTER WITHIN THE PAST YEAR. IN FY23, ETSY AND CERF+ AWARDED 17 GRANTS TOTALING 42,500 DOLLARS.

OUTREACH, MARKETING & ADVOCACY CERF+ MAINTAINS AN ACTIVE LIST OF OVER 44,911 INDIVIDUALS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND ARTS BUSINESSES THAT RECEIVE EMAIL ALERTS BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER A DISASTER. CERF+ ALSO SENDS E-NEWSLETTERS ON A BI-WEEKLY BASIS TO ENSURE THAT ARTISTS RECEIVE UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION, INCLUDING GRANT OPPORTUNITIES, EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES, AND FEDERAL AND STATE ASSISTANCE PACKAGES. OUR INCREASED SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT RESULTED IN 8,142+ INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS (+1605), 7,800+ FACEBOOK FOLLOWERS, AND 1,063 TWITTER FOLLOWERS (+20). CERF+ CONTINUES TO PLAY AN ACTIVE ROLE AS A STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER OF NATIONAL COALITION FOR ARTS' PREPAREDNESS AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE (NCAPER). OVER THE PAST YEAR, NCAPER HAS SHIFTED FOCUS BACK TO RESPONSE SUPPORTING GROUPS DURING DISASTER EVENTS LIKE THE MAUI WILDFIRE, NORTHEAST FLOODING AND SIMILAR. WE SERVE ON THE STEERING COMMITTEE OF THE VERMONT ARTS & CULTURE DISASTER AND RESILIENCE NETWORK, AN INITIATIVE LED BY ARTS AND CULTURE ORGANIZATIONS FROM ACROSS THE STATE COMMITTED TO DEEPENING EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESILIENCE WITHIN THE ARTS AND CULTURE SECTOR. CERF+ PARTICIPATES IN MANY NATIONWIDE COHORTS OF ARTS SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS THE LIVING TRADITIONS NETWORK, A NATIONWIDE NETWORK OF ORGANIZATIONS AND CULTURE BEARERS FOCUSED ON SHARING AND DEVELOPING RESOURCES TO SUPPORT FOLK & TRADITIONAL ARTISTS. AND THE HERITAGE EMERGENCY NATIONAL TASK FORCE (HENTF), SPONSORED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION AND FEMA, CONTINUES TO INCREASE RECOGNITION FOR OUR SPECIALIZED EXPERTISE IN ARTISTS DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND RECOVERY. THESE RELATIONSHIPS ARE VITAL TO INFORM AND BE INFORMED AROUND LEADING TRENDS AND EVOLVING PRACTICES RELATED TO SUPPORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS. CERF+ WEBSITE AND ONLINE CONTENT WE CONTINUE TO UPDATE OUR WEBSITE WITH NEW CONTENT ON A REGULAR BASIS. AFTER EACH MAJOR DISASTER IN AN AREA THAT AFFECTED A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF CRAFT ARTISTS, CERF+ CREATED A WEBSITE BANNER THAT LINKS TO AN UPDATED DISASTER RELIEF PAGE WITH DISASTER RESPONSE & RECOVERY RESOURCES. OUR WEBSITE HAS BEEN THE GO-TO DESTINATION FOR ARTISTS SEEKING EMERGENCY RESOURCES. CERF+ GREATLY EXPANDED ITS OTHER RESOURCES PAGE TO INCLUDE INFORMATION ABOUT GRANTS AND TRAININGS THAT OTHER ORGANIZATIONS OFFER TO ARTISTS AS WELL. WE ALSO MAINTAIN A "DISASTER RESOURCE HUB," WHICH PROVIDES ALERTS, INFORMATION, AND RESOURCES ON SPECIFIC DISASTER EVENTS. OTHER ADDITIONS TO THE SITE INCLUDE NEW CRAFT ARTIST INTERVIEWS AND STORIES AS WELL AS NEW CONTENT RELATED TO OUR "GET READY" GRANT PROGRAM CREATED BY RECIPIENTS OF THOSE GRANTS. WE ALSO UPDATED THE EMERGENCY RELIEF INFORMATION PAGES TO INCLUDE SPANISH TRANSLATION. OUR WEBSITE IS NOW INCLUDED ON MANY STATE, REGIONAL, AND NATIONAL ARTS AGENCIES- AND ORGANIZATIONS' WEBSITES AND BLOGS WITH DISASTER-SPECIFIC INFORMATION. FINALLY, WE CONTINUED WRITING BLOG ARTICLES, WHICH FEATURE CRAFT ARTISTS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND OTHER TOPICS RELEVANT TO OUR AUDIENCE.