Photo courtesy of the Boys and Girls Club of Venice.

As part of Los Angeles County’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) relief and recovery programs, the LA County Department of Arts and Culture launches the innovative Creative Recovery LA initiative this week. This unique grant program will deliver an unprecedented investment in LA County arts to support COVID-19 recovery. Over $26 million in one-time funding will be awarded to nonprofit arts and cultural organizations to sustain—and grow—the arts and creative economy, one of the most economically significant sectors in the County, and one of the hardest-hit by the pandemic.

LA County-based 501(c)3 nonprofit and Model A fiscally sponsored organizations that are arts focused, or have a demonstrated history of arts programming, may be eligible to apply for up to five grant opportunities that address key field needs—all through a single, streamlined application process, open from January 18 to February 15, 2023.

The five opportunities are:

• Arts Relief and Recovery Grant
• Creative Works and Jobs for Artists Grant
• Reopening Culture, Tourism and Marketing Grant
• Creative Career Pathways for Youth Grant
• Arts for Justice-Involved Youth Grant

"The County is working hard to address inequities and transform underserved communities that have been hard hit during the pandemic, and one of most important tools in this charge is the American Rescue Plan Act funding," said Janice Hahn, Board of Supervisors Chair. "The Department of Arts and Culture’s Creative Recovery LA initiative will bring ARPA funds to our creative sector and bring them equitably. What I am excited about is this—when we invest in arts and culture, we are also strengthening LA County’s crucial creative economy and our communities’ health and wellbeing."

"Arts are vital to our County’s recovery—our economy, civic engagement, creative jobs, and vibrant communities. But hundreds of LA County organizations that provide arts and cultural services were hit hard by COVID-19, and continue to face challenges as they resume programming and operations. The pandemic also disproportionately impacted communities of color and those who already faced barriers, historic disinvestment, and systemic inequity," said Kristin Sakoda, Director of the LA County Department of Arts and Culture. "By investing in the arts today, Creative Recovery LA will build a more equitable recovery, ensure a sustainable arts and creative sector for the Los Angeles region, and strengthen the capacity of the cultural field as we look ahead to the 2028 Olympics and the long term."

Background on American Rescue Plan
The federal American Rescue Plan provides funding across the nation, including $1.9 billion in funding to LA County to build an equitable economic recovery from the devastating economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. You can view the approved programs, performance measures, and projected outcomes at LA County’s Dashboard.

Background on Creative Recovery LA
As part of the County’s ARPA funded recovery programs, the Department of Arts and Culture developed Creative Recovery LA to address pandemic impacts on the arts and creative economy, while leveraging the unique capacity of arts and culture to catalyze our region’s economic recovery, civic connectivity, and community wellbeing. Creative Recovery LA is an initiative of the LA County Department of Arts and Culture, administered in partnership with Community Partners, and funded by the LA County Board of Supervisors through ARPA.

Creative Recovery LA’s Equity Lens
To support communities and organizations hardest hit by COVID-19, funding will be prioritized for organizations with headquarters or primary program location in or within one mile of Highest Need and High Need census tracts according to LA County’s COVID-19 Vulnerability and Recovery Index. Award amounts will range based on the number of applications received, priority geographic location, the applicant’s organizational or programming budget size as relevant, and available funding. Applicant organizations do not need to be current or prior grantees of the Department of Arts and Culture. To support applicants, the Department of Arts and Culture is conducting virtual and in-person application workshops in January and early February throughout the County.

About Community Partners
At Community Partners we envision an equitable, thriving, and inclusive civil society. Our mission is to accelerate ideas into action to advance the public good. For 30 years, hundreds of individuals, groups, foundations, and other institutions have worked with Community Partners to create new nonprofit projects, establish coalitions, and manage major philanthropic initiatives to benefit communities. Today, Community Partners supports close to 200 of those creative solutions. These efforts offer a panoramic view of the social innovation taking place across the region, and beyond. Our projects focus on a variety of strategies, such as using the arts self-expression among youth, leading anti-racist community organizing, addressing food justice, and building queer-affirming movements. To learn more, visit CommunityPartners.org.