Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA) is now accepting applications from eligible arts and culture organizations for grants totaling $1.1 million to offer economic relief for the hardships caused by COVID-19. M-AAA received this funding from the National Endowment for the Arts as part of the agency’s allocation of $135 million from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) passed by Congress earlier this year. This funding represents a significant commitment to the arts and a recognition of the value of the arts and culture sector to the nation’s economy and recovery.
Applications are due no later than Monday, November 1, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. CDT. Awards will be made across M-AAA’s six-state region of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas, with at least one grant awarded per state. This program will disburse grants of $10,000, $20,000, and $40,000 each to no less than forty grantees. M-AAA’s ARP grants intend to support day-to-day business expenses and operating costs (not specific to programming activities), and M-AAA plans to focus on organizations with annual budgets of $500,000 or less.
“The release of these American Rescue Plan funds marks an important step in the economic recovery of the creative sector,” said NEA Acting Chair Ann Eilers. “The knowledge of Mid-America Arts Alliance about the arts and culture landscape in its region makes it an ideal steward of federal dollars. The Arts Endowment is grateful for the continued leadership of Mid-America Arts Alliance as the arts sector rebuilds in a way that works better for all arts organizations.”
