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.

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 (ON AVERAGE, WITHIN SEVEN DAYS). THIS YEAR, 118 ARTISTS IMPACTED BY CAREER-THREATENING EMERGENCIES RECEIVED DIRECT EMERGENCY RELIEF GRANTS. THESE ARTISTS RECEIVED A TOTAL OF 373,993 IN EMERGENCY AID (354,000 IN GRANTS) AND 19,993 OF GIFTS-IN-KIND (DONATIONS OF EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS, BOOTH WAIVER FEES, ETC.), FOR A GRAND TOTAL OF 376,993. THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF ARTISTS WHO RECEIVED CERF+ EMERGENCY RELIEF ASSISTANCE IN FISCAL YEAR 2022 INCLUDED A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF ARTISTS FACING CLIMATE- RELATED DISASTERS; FORTY PERCENT OF ALL EMERGENCY RELIEF GRANTS WERE AWARDED IN RESPONSE TO THESE DISASTERS, PRIMARILY HURRICANES (HURRICANES IDA, FIONA, MARIA, AND NICHOLAS) AND FLOODING (IN EASTERN KENTUCKY AND THE DETROIT AREA). SIXTEEN PERCENT OF EMERGENCY RELIEF ASSISTANCE WAS GRANTED IN RESPONSE TO ILLNESSES. OUR PERSONALIZED INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING AND REFERRALS HELPED A TOTAL OF 493 ARTISTS DURING THEIR A TIME OF CRISIS. TO PROVIDE COVID RELIEF IN RESPONSE TO THE FINANCIAL EMERGENCIES THAT ARTISTS EXPERIENCED DUE TO THE PANDEMIC, CERF+ CREATED AN EXPEDITED COVID- 19 RELIEF GRANT TO PROVIDE IMMEDIATE RELIEF TO ARTISTS. IN FY22, CERF+ AWARDED ITS FOURTH CYCLE OF COVID-19 RELIEF GRANTS TOTALING 300,000 TO 300 ARTISTS FROM 39 STATES, WASHINGTON D.C, AND 1 U.S. TERRITORY. ALTOGETHER, CERF+'S COVID-19 RELIEF GRANT PROGRAM RECEIVED MORE THAN 7,400 APPLICATIONS AND AWARDED 1,187,000 IN EMERGENCY RELIEF ASSISTANCE TO 1,187 ARTISTS. CERF+ PRIORITIZED BLACK, INDIGENOUS, PEOPLE OF COLOR, AND FOLK/TRADITIONAL ARTISTS FOR THIS PROGRAM. IN ROUND FOUR, 69% OF THE RECIPIENTS WERE BLACK, INDIGENOUS, PEOPLE OF COLOR, AND 11% WERE FOLK/TRADITIONAL ARTISTS. GROWING THE ARTISTS SAFETY NET - CERF+ SERVED 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+ ALSO PARTICIPATED IN RACIAL EQUITY IN CRAFT, A GROUP OF ARTS ADMINISTRATORS FROM ORGANIZATIONS AROUND THE COUNTRY WORKING TO ADVANCE EQUITY IN THE FIELD. IN ADDITION, CERF+ ENGAGED IN A NATIONWIDE COHORT OF ARTS ORGANIZATIONS CONVENED THROUGH THE TREMAINE FOUNDATION TO COORDINATE COVID-19 RESPONSE EFFORTS AND IN THE LIVING TRADITIONS NETWORK, A NATIONWIDE NETWORK OF ORGANIZATIONS AND CULTURE BEARERS FOCUSED ON SHARING AND DEVELOPING RESOURCES TO SUPPORT FOLK & TRADITIONAL ARTISTS.

EDUCATION & TRAINING "GET READY" GRANTS - CERF+ CONDUCTED ITS FIFTH YEAR OF OUR "GET READY" GRANT PROGRAM TO SUPPORT PREPAREDNESS AND RESILIENCE EFFORTS TO HELP ARTISTS WORKING IN CRAFT DISCIPLINES SAFEGUARD THEIR STUDIOS, PROTECT THEIR LIVELIHOODS, AND PREPARE FOR EMERGENCIES. IN RESPONSE TO THE CONTINUING CHANGES THAT ARTISTS ARE MAKING TO THEIR CAREERS AS A RESULT OF COVID-19, "GET READY" GRANTS ALSO SUPPORT ARTISTS IN ACQUIRING NEW CAREER SKILLS AND BUSINESS ASSETS REQUIRED IN THE CURRENT AND POST-PANDEMIC CREATIVE ECONOMY. ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-FOUR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS RECEIVED GRANTS OF UP TO 500 (TOTALING 65,801) TOWARD THE PURCHASE OF GOODS OR SERVICES. PROJECTS INCLUDED PURCHASING AND INSTALLING DUST COLLECTION AND VENTILATION SYSTEMS, IMPROVING DOCUMENTATION SYSTEMS AND SOFTWARE, HIRING ONLINE ARCHIVING SUPPORT, UPGRADING STUDIO INFRASTRUCTURE, EMPLOYING PROFESSIONALS TO SUPPORT WEBSITE DESIGN, BUILDING DISPLAYS FOR SELLING WORK, TAKING CLASSES TO BUILD E-COMMERCE SKILLS, AND HIRING CHILD CARE TO BE ABLE TO GET BACK INTO THE STUDIO. AS PART OF THE GRANT, ARTISTS SHARE WHAT THEY LEARNED THROUGH VIDEOS, BLOGS, WORKSHOPS, AND SOCIAL MEDIA TO INSPIRE OTHER ARTISTS TO UNDERTAKE THEIR OWN READINESS AND RESILIENCE PROJECTS. CERF+ ARTIST'S READINESS PROJECT (CARP) - IN 2022, CERF+ CONCLUDED THE FIRST PART OF A MULTI-YEAR GRANT FROM THE MELLON FOUNDATION. DURING THE FIRST PART OF THE GRANT, CERF+ RESEARCHED AND DEVELOPED A PILOT PROJECT MODEL TO CREATE AND SUPPORT A NETWORK OF REGIONALLY-BASED ARTIST-SERVING ORGANIZATIONS LOCATED IN DISASTER AND EMERGENCY-PRONE AREAS IN ORDER TO PROMOTE AND PROVIDE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS EDUCATION AND RESOURCES TO ARTISTS. THIS LED TO THE FORMATION OF THE CERF+ ARTIST READINESS PROJECT (CARP). DURING FY22, CERF+ WORKED WITH TWO PILOT SITE PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS TO IMPLEMENT CARP. THE ORGANIZATIONS -ARTIST TRUST IN SEATTLE, WA, AND THE ARTS COUNCIL OF GREATER BATON ROUGE IN BATON ROUGE, LA-FINALIZED THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THEIR 18- MONTH WORK PLANS. CERF+ WORKED WITH A CONSULTANT TO CONDUCT AN ASSESSMENT OF THE PROJECTS AND PRODUCE A REPORT OF THE OUTCOMES OF EACH PILOT SITE. OVERALL, THE PROJECT HEIGHTENED THE PILOT SITES PARTNERS' ROLE AS ARTIST RESPONDERS, IMPROVED THEIR CREDIBILITY, AND OFFERED NEW INSIGHT. AS A RESULT, THEY OBSERVED AN INCREASE IN ARTISTS' RECEPTIVITY TO LEARNING/ADOPTING NEW APPROACHES TO CAREER SUSTAINABILITY AND STUDIO PROTECTION. THE SITES ARE FORMING RELATIONSHIPS AND CONVENING WITH EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SECTOR REPRESENTATIVES TO INCORPORATE PERSPECTIVES OF ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS, GATHERING AND DISSEMINATING CRITICAL EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, RESOURCES, AND TOOLS SPECIFIC TO THE PANDEMIC AND OTHER EMERGENCIES TO THOUSANDS OF ARTISTS, BUILDING THEIR OWN ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY AND UNDERSTANDING TO PROVIDE ARTIST PREPAREDNESS RESOURCES THAT WILL ENDURE WELL BEYOND THESE SPECIFIC EMERGENCIES AND DETERMINING WHICH EXISTING EDUCATION AND TRAINING MODELS CAN INCLUDE AND DELIVER EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS CONTENT WITHIN THEIR PROGRAMS. 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.

OUTREACH, MARKETING & ADVOCACY CERF+ MAINTAINS AN ACTIVE LIST OF OVER 34,000 INDIVIDUALS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND ARTS BUSINESSES THAT RECEIVE EMAIL ALERTS BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER A DISASTER. CERF+ ALSO SENDS E-NEWSLETTERS ON A WEEKLY OR 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 6,537+ INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS (+1803), 7,835+ FACEBOOK FOLLOWERS (+148), AND 1,043 TWITTER FOLLOWERS (+10). CERF+ WEBSITE - WE CONTINUE TO UPDATE OUR WEBSITE WITH NEW CONTENT ON A REGULAR BASIS. AFTER EACH FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTER IN AN AREA THAT IMPACTED A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF 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. DUE TO THE PANDEMIC, CERF+ GREATLY EXPANDED ITS OTHER RESOURCES PAGE TO INCLUDE INFORMATION ABOUT GRANTS AND TRAININGS THAT OTHER ORGANIZATIONS OFFER TO ARTISTS AS WELL AS PANDEMIC SAFETY INFORMATION. WE ALSO MAINTAIN A "DISASTER PORTAL," WHICH PROVIDES ALERTS, INFORMATION, AND RESOURCES ON SPECIFIC DISASTERS. OTHER ADDITIONS TO THE SITE INCLUDE NEW 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 STARTED A NEW BLOG, WHICH FEATURES CRAFT ARTISTS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND OTHER TOPICS RELEVANT TO OUR AUDIENCE. THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IS A DISASTER THAT, IN CERF+'S HISTORY, IS UNIQUE NOT ONLY IN THE NATURE OF THE DISASTER BUT ALSO IN THE FACT THAT THIS SINGLE DISASTER AFFECTED VIRTUALLY EVERYONE IN THE WORLD. THE ARTS ECONOMY SUFFERED SIGNIFICANTLY; IN PARTICULAR, THE ECONOMIC INSTABILITY, AND ENSUING INCOME LOSS PROFOUNDLY AFFECTED INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS. AS GOVERNMENT AID PROGRAMS BEGAN TO SUNSET, CERF+ ASSESSED THE MERITS OF THESE RELIEF PROGRAMS AND WHERE THEY FELL SHORT. ADDITIONALLY, CERF+ ASCERTAINED HOW THOSE PROGRAMS COULD IMPACT WORKER SUPPORT AND DISASTER RELIEF IN THE FUTURE. IN FEBRUARY OF 2022, CERF+ SUBMITTED WRITTEN TESTIMONY TO A U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SMALL BUSINESS COMMITTEE HEARING ON POWER, PERIL, AND PROMISE OF THE CREATIVE ECONOMY. THE TESTIMONY 1) OUTLINED THE NATURE OF ARTS BUSINESSES (OVERWHELMINGLY NONEMPLOYER AND SMALL EMPLOYER), EXPLAINING WHERE AND WHY THESE BUSINESSES FELL THROUGH THE CRACKS IN EXISTING FEDERAL AND STATE COVID RELIEF PROGRAMS, AND 2) MADE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE ACTIONS AND PROGRAMS TO BUILD A BETTER SAFETY NET FOR INDEPENDENT WORKERS. CERF+ CONTINUED ITS ADVOCACY WORK, PARTICIPATING IN PROGRAMS FOR FELLOW ARTS ADVOCATES AND MEETING WITH CONGRESSIONAL AND OTHER GOVERNMENT STAFFERS TO KEEP THEM INFORMED ABOUT THE NATURE OF CREATIVE BUSINESSES, THEIR PROMISE, AND THE CHALLENGES THEY FACE. 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 LARGELY FOCUSED ON ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND ARTISTS DURING THE PANDEMIC THROUGH TRAINING, INFORMATION DISSEMINATION, AND RESOURCE SHARING. CERF+'S INVOLVEMENT IN THE HERITAGE EMERGENCY NATIONAL TASK FORCE (HENTF), SPONSORED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION AND FEMA, HAS INCREASED RECOGNITION FOR OUR SPECIALIZED EXPERTISE IN ARTISTS DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND RECOVERY.