The City of Oakland announced that applications will be available on Monday, July 25, for the Creative Economies of Belonging: Jobs, Networks, Catalysts grant program. This one-time program will distribute grants to Oakland-based nonprofit organizations to restore teaching-artist jobs cut during the pandemic. The program guidelines and grant application will be posted at https://bit.ly/3P4dBUg on Monday, July 25, when the application portal opens. Applications will be accepted through 5 p.m. on Thursday, September 22, 2022.
“Thanks to support from the National Endowment for the Arts, these grants will help foster resilience in the wake of COVID’s devastating impact on the creative workforce,” said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. “Arts organizations are on the frontline of building a sense of belonging in our communities, and these awards will help them restore some jobs lost during the pandemic and rebuild the vibrancy of Oakland’s nonprofit arts ecosystem.”
The Creative Economies of Belonging grants provide funding support for teaching artist positions that were furloughed or eliminated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program will award grants of $20,000 to Oakland-based nonprofit organizations to re-hire and rebuild jobs for teaching artists that foster social cohesion and civic belonging.
To assist applicants, two How-To-Apply webinars are scheduled:
- Thursday, August 18, 2022, Noon
- Tuesday, August 23, 2022, 4 p.m.
Register for the webinars at https://bit.ly/3P4dBUg.
The program relies on a competitive panel process to determine award recipients. To be eligible for a grant, the application must be an Oakland-based nonprofit organization that employs teaching artists. Among the criteria being reviewed by the panel is a racial equity category that seeks to direct these grants to Oakland nonprofit organizations within communities impacted by racial disparities. No dollar match is required for the grants. Grant recommendations from the review panel must be approved by the Funding Advisory Committee and the Oakland City Council before contracts are awarded. The City anticipates awarding 22 grants through the Creative Economies of Belonging
program administered by the City’s Cultural Affairs Division.
Funding for the Creative Economies of Belonging program comes from the federal government’s American Rescue Plan Act, awarded to the City of Oakland through a competitive process administered by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Oakland was one of only six California municipalities or arts groups, and among 66 nationally, to receive this NEA support.
About the Cultural Affairs Division
The Cultural Affairs Division is housed in the City’s Economic & Workforce Development Department. The division includes the City’s cultural funding program, which provides approximately $1.5 million in grants to support the arts in Oakland and the public art program, which has more than $1 million in funds currently dedicated for public art installations across Oakland.
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