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Since launching the Coronavirus Emergency Relief Fund (ERF) on March 12, we have, as of May 27, supported 1,474 artists, culture bearers, and creative workers in Minnesota with over $715,000 in direct relief. We are beyond grateful to the thousands of individual donors, artists, and organizations who have helped us get emergency funds to people who need them.

In April, we announced our goal to run this Coronavirus specific version of our Emergency Relief Fund through July 1, 2020, and raise and distribute $1 million to over 2,000 creative workers in Minnesota. We are thrilled to announce that we are getting close to meeting this goal. As we fast approach this milestone, we seek to wind down the current iteration of ERF while continuing to center equity and ensure that the remaining funds go to those who need it most.

With this in mind, for these final weeks of ERF before July 1, we are restricting new applications for Coronavirus ERF funding to artists, culture bearers, and creative workers who meet both of the following two requirements:

-Artists who identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), and/or Native, artists from Greater MN, LGBTQIA+ artists, and artists from the disability community including those who are immuno-compromised

-Artists who have not been able to access unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. This includes creative workers who are not eligible for unemployment or who have not been able to access unemployment benefits for any reason. It also includes “mixed income” workers (both W-2s and 1099s) who are only eligible for regular unemployment and not PUA benefits and for whom UI is not meeting their basic needs.

If you are an artist, culture bearer, or creative worker who meets the requirements, please apply here.

If you are able to support the Fund, please do so here.

As our community moves from emergency response to recovery, Springboard will continue to offer expanded services to help artists meet this moment’s evolving needs, including a comprehensive resources page, online workshops, and one-on-one technical assistance. The Emergency Relief Fund will continue as an ongoing resource to artists facing sudden emergencies, including health issues, unemployment, or personal loss.

We will also be offering commissions for artists to create small, rapid projects that uplift community during this crisis which will live in both the virtual and physical realm. We currently have open calls in partnership with People’s Center focusing on artists from or connected to the West Bank neighborhood of Minneapolis, and our Community Emergency Relief Fund in collaboration with Emergency Arts is open for artists creating artistic responses to the crisis of Covid and other community emergencies. Please stay in touch with us as we continue to develop opportunities for artists during this time.

Image credit: “Healing Hands,” an installation by artist Ifrah Mansour at People’s Center Clinics & Services, Summer 2017. Photo by Bruce Silcox.