Arts Work Fund Emergency Relief Fund

Emergency Relief

From the beginning, it was clear that COVID-19 would have a devastating impact on the arts and cultural sectors and that Arts Work Fund needed to pivot to provide unrestricted, immediate support to arts organizations as they grappled with the fallout. In short order, a robust collaborative was formed between Arts Work Fund, 3Arts, Arts Alliance Illinois, the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois, the local philanthropic community, and individual donors. Called the Arts for Illinois Relief Fund, Arts Alliance Illinois administered the fund, 3Arts leveraged its expertise to make grants available to artists, and the Arts Work Fund focused on grants to nonprofit arts organizations.

An amazing team of 21 volunteer grant reviewers from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and local foundation program officers collectively reviewed 687 applications in weekly batches from April 1, 2020, to June 30, 2020. Just under $3 million in unrestricted grants were ultimately awarded to 233 arts organizations across the state of Illinois during this period. About 50% of all grant dollars supported arts organizations led by, for, and about people of color, people with disabilities, LGBTQ people, and women.

View the Arts Organizations That Received Grants

We are grateful to the foundations that quickly provided the support and lent their time and expertise to launch this effort. They are Albert Pick, Jr. Fund, The Chicago Community Trust, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust, Elizabeth Morse Genius Trust, Exelon, Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Leslie Hindman, Joyce Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Paul M Angell Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation. Prince Charitable Trusts, The Richard Driehaus Foundation, Terra Foundation for American Art, Walder Foundation, and two anonymous foundations and many individual donors.


Arts Work Fund – Arts For Illinois Relief Fund
Report on COVID-19 Relief Grants to Arts Organizations

Round 1 & 2 (April 1 - June 1, 2020)

111 Grants
$ 468,234 Distributed

Summary Overview

Summary Overview

All Applications All Grants Chicago Specifc
# % # % $ # % $
Applications receiving a full review 612 89%
Applications funded 233 38% $2,898,000 186 80% $2,384,000
Applications reviewed and declined 332 54%
Applications rolled into Round 3 47 8% Round 3 – for arts organizations outside the seven-county Chicago region only

Summary Detail of Applicants Receiving Full Review

By Artistic Discipline

All Applications All Grants Chicago Specifc
# % # % $ # % $
Dance 48 8% 29 12% $366,000 28 15% $358,000
Digital / Media Art 23 4% 13 6% $132,000 12 6% $116,000
Folk / Traditional Arts 7 1% 4 2% $50,000 3 2% $38,000
Interdisciplinary 200 33% 54 23% $726,000 41 22% $590,000
Literary 9 1% 2 1% $36,000 2 1% $36,000
Museums - Art 24 4% 6 3% $98,000 3 2% $44,000
Museums - Culturally Specific 8 1% 5 2% $84,000 5 3% $84,000
Music 106 17% 39 17% $460,000 26 14% $340,000
Opera 5 1% 4 2% $36,000 3 2% $28,000
Theater 133 22% 56 24% $676,000 48 26% $584,000
Visual Arts / Design 49 8% 21 9% $234,000 15 8% $166,000

By Diversity & Equity (summary)

All Applications All Grants Chicago Specifc
# % # % $ # % $
By, for, about people of color* 116 19% 95 41% $1,172,000 88 38% $1,096,000
By, for, about people with disabilities 3 0% 7 3% $68,000 6 3% $60,000
By, for, about LGBTQ people 4 1% 3 1% $40,000 2 1% $28,000
By, for, about women** 5 1% 5 2% $40,000 5 2% $40,000
Other (Outsider, Veterans, Incarcerated)*** 2 0% 2 1% $42,000 2 1% $42,000
**(women/ formerly incarcerated) Still Point Theatre Collective.
N/A* ***Intuit, Creativets, Storycatchers, Free Write, Nat Museum of Veteran Art.

*By, for, about people of color (in detail)

All Applications All Grants Chicago Specifc
# % # % $ # % $
African American or Black 46 40% 38 40% $500,000 36 41% $488,000
American Indian or Alaskan Native 3 3% 2 2% $28,000 1 1% $12,000
Arab or Middle Eastern 3 3% 2 2% $32,000 2 2% $32,000
Asian or Asian American / Pacific Islander 11 9% 10 11% $116,000 8 9% $88,000
Latinx 23 20% 22 23% $254,000 20 23% $234,000
Multi-racial 30 26% 21 22% $242,000 21 24% $242,000

By Organization Budget Size

All Applications All Grants
# % # % $
Under $30,000 N/A* 0% 30 13% $120,000
$30,000 - $100,000 210 34% 45 19% $360,000
$100,001 - $500,000 235 38% 102 44% $1,220,000
$500,001 - $800,000 54 9% 17 7% $272,000
$800,001 - $1.5 million 53 9% 24 10% $476,000
Above $1.5 million 60 10% 15 6% $450,000

By Geography

All Applications All Grants
# % # % $
City of Chicago 407 67% 186 80% $2,356,000
7-county metro (not City of Chicago) 135 19% 28 12% $294,000
Outside 7-county Chicago metro 69 14% 19 8% $248,000

Geography in Detail – By Chicago Neighborhood

# of Grants Awarded % of Grants Awarded
Albany Park 1 1%
Andersonville 2 1%
Avalon Park 1 1%
Avondale 2 1%
Belmont Cragin 1 1%
Belmont Gardens 1 0%
Bridgeport 4 2%
Bronzeville 3 2%
Bucktown 1 1%
Budlong Woods 1 1%
Buena Park 4 2%
Calumet Heights 1 1%
Edgewater 10 5%
Englewood 3 2%
Fulton River District 1 1%
Garfield Park 1 1%
Gold Coast 4 2%
Graceland West 2 1%
Greater Grand Crossing 1 1%
Hermosa 4 2%
Horner Park 1 1%
Humboldt Park 2 1%
Hyde Park 10 5%
Irving Park 1 1%
Jackson Heights 1 1%
Jefferson Park 1 1%
Lakeview 5 3%
Lakeview East 2 1%
Lincoln Park 5 3%
Lincoln Square 1 1%
Little Italy 1 1%
Little Village 1 1%
Logan Square 3 2%
Loop 17 9%
Lower West Side 1 1%
Margate Park 1 1%
Mayfair 1 1%
McKinley Park 2 1%
Near North Side 3 2%
Near South Side 3 2%
Near West Side 5 3%
North Center 4 2%
O’Hare 1 1%
Old Irving 3 2%
Old Town 3 2%
Peterson Park 1 1%
Pilsen 7 4%
Princeton Park 1 1%
Pulaski Park 1 1%
Pullman 1 1%
Ranch Triangle 1 1%
Ravenswood 3 2%
Ravenswood Gardens 1 1%
Ravenswood Manor 1 1%
River North 3 2%
River West 4 2%
Rogers Park 8 4%
Roscoe Village 2 1%
South Loop 3 2%
South Shore 3 2%
Ukrainian Village 4 2%
Uptown 5 3%
West Edgewater 1 1%
West Loop 2 1%
West Town 2 1%
Wicker Park 5 3%
Woodlawn 1 1%

Geography in Detail – By Chicago Ward

# of Grants Awarded % of Grants Awarded
Ward 1 8 4%
Ward 2 10 5%
Ward 3 6 3%
Ward 4 9 5%
Ward 5 8 4%
Ward 6 2 1%
Ward 7 3 2%
Ward 8 1 1%
Ward 9 1 1%
Ward 11 8 4%
Ward 12 1 1%
Ward 11 1 1%
Ward 12 1 1%
Ward 15 1 1%
Ward 20 1 1%
Ward 21 1 1%
Ward 22 1 1%
Ward 24 2 1%
Ward 25 3 2%
Ward 26 4 2%
Ward 27 11 6%
Ward 28 1 1%
Ward 30 1 1%
Ward 31 3 2%
Ward 32 9 5%
Ward 33 4 2%
Ward 35 4 2%
Ward 36 1 1%
Ward 38 1 1%
Ward 39 5 3%
Ward 40 6 3%
Ward 41 1 1%
Ward 42 17 9%
Ward 43 7 4%
Ward 45 3 2%
Ward 46 8 4%
Ward 47 11 6%
Ward 48 14 8%
Ward 49 7 4%

Geography in Detail - Counties

All Applications All Grants
# % # %
Adams 6 3% 1 0%
Bureau 1 0% 1 0%
Carrol 2 1% 0 0%
Champaign 2 1% 2 1%
Cook (not Chicago) 110 47% 16 7%
DeKalb 4 2% 1 0%
Dixon 1 0% 0 0%
DuPage 25 11% 5 0%
Effingham 2 1% 0 0%
Jo Davies 1 0% 1 0%
Jackson 2 1% 0 0%
Jefferson 1 0% 0 0%
Kane 16 7% 2 1%
Kankakee 1 0% 0 0%
Kendall 3 1% 0 0%
Knox 4 2% 3 1%
Lake 16 7% 0 0%
LaSalle 2 1% 1 0%
Lee 1 0% 1 0%
Macoupin 2 1% 2 1%
Mac 1 0% 0
Madison 3 1% 1 0%
Marion 2 1% 0 0%
McHenry 10 4% 0 0%
McLean 8 3% 2 1%
Monmouth 1 0% 0 0%
Montgomery 1 0% 0 0%
Morgan 2 1% 1 0%
Outside IL 1 0% 0 0%
Peoria 7 3% 2 1%
Rock Island 6 3% 0 0%
Rockford 5 2% 0 0%
Sangamon 9 4% 0 0%
Schuyler 1 0% 1 0%
St Clair 3 1% 0 0%
Stephenson 1 0% 1 0%
Tazewell 4 2% 0 0%
Vermilion 3 1% 0 0%
Warren 1 0% 0 0%
Whiteside 2 1% 1 0%
Will 2 1% 1 0%
Winnebago 6 3% 0 0%
Woodford 1 0% 0 0%


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