Santa Barbara County provides COVID-19 relief grant to arts, culture non-profits
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. -- Santa Barbara County programs will be providing aid to nonprofit arts and culture programs impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Santa Barbara County Arts Commission, Santa Barbara Foundation and Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation are collaborating on a COVID-19 Relief Grant Program for the arts and culture programs in the County.
Together they will disbursed $75,000 in two cycles to support the programs.
The funding for the COVID-19 Relief Program is funded through the Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation lease agreement where 50 cents from every ticket sold goes into a fund for arts and culture grants.
The Foundation also contributed $25,000 to help increase the impact of the program. This is intended to help arts and culture organizations with general operating expenses including staffing.
The grant is managed by the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission and administered by the County Office of Arts and Culture.
The President and CEO of the Santa Barbara Foundation gave the following statement on the relief fund:
“Arts and culture are the heart of our community. This collaboration aims to provide relief and support to arts and cultural organizations as they navigate through this pandemic. We are thrilled to partner with the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission to offer this program.”
Jackie Carrera, President and CEO of the Santa Barbara Foundation
The Relief Fund requires that nonprofit organizations must have an annual operating budget under $1 million.
Santa Barbara County holds the largest relative number of arts and culture nonprofits per capita in California.
In 2016, the County partnered with the City of Santa Barbara to conduct an economic impact study. The 93 arts and culture nonprofit participants generated almost $200 million, supporting 5,857 full-time equivalent jobs and directly contributing $4.6 million in local government revenue.
The County Office of Arts and Culture will host an online grant workshop for applicants on May 13.
They are accepting applications til May 24.
To submit an application, click here.
