Questions about the Southern Arts Relief & Recovery Fund? Find answers here.
- What is the Southern Arts Relief and Recovery Fund?
Led by South Arts in partnership with a range of organizations across the region, the Southern Arts Relief & Recovery Fund supports artists in need affected by Hurricane Helene and/or Milton.
- What is South Arts?
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, South Arts is one of six nonprofit United States Regional Arts Organizations empowering artists, organizations, and communities, and increasing access to arts and culture.
In partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the State Arts Agencies of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee — with additional funding from other public and private donors such as the Doris Duke Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and Mellon Foundation — South Arts supports artists and organizations through a rich and responsive portfolio of grants, fellowships, and programs.
- Who can apply?
Individual artists, 18 years or older who reside in a FEMA designated County in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, and were impacted by Hurricane Helene and/or Milton. This fund does not support organizations.
- What are the FEMA designated counties for Helene and Milton?
Florida
Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Franklin, Gilchrist, Glades, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miccosukee Indian Reservation, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, Wakulla
Georgia
Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Butts, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Columbia, Cook, Dodge, Echols, Effingham, Elbert, Emanuel, Evans, Fulton, Glascock, Glynn, Hancock, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Lanier, Laurens, Liberty, Lincoln, Long, Lowndes, McDuffie, McIntosh, Montgomery, Newton, Pierce, Rabun, Richmond, Screven, Taliaferro, Tattnall, Telfair, Thomas, Tift, Toombs, Treutlen, Ware, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wheeler
South Carolina
Abbeville, Aiken, Allendale, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Catawba Indian Reservation, Cherokee, Chester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Greenville, Greenwood, Hampton, Jasper, Kershaw, Laurens, Lexington, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Orangeburg, Pickens, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Union, York
Tennessee
Carter, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Hawkins, Johnson, Unicoi, Washington
Virginia
Bedford, Bland, Carroll, Galax, Giles, Grayson, Lee, Montgomery, Pittsylvania, Pulaski, Radford, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise, Wythe
- I live in NC, where do I apply?
South Arts has partnered with Arts AVL to fund artists in North Carolina. To apply, visit the Arts AVL website.
- Who do you consider professional artists?
A professional artist is actively engaged in their artistic practice to generate any portion of their income; has specialized training or education; is recognized as a professional by their peers; and demonstrates dedicated to their artistic practice. They may also have a history of public presentation or publication.
- How is residency determined?
Applicants must upload proof of residency (e.g., a copy of their driver's license, voter registration, vehicle registration, tax statement, or mortgage statement). Submitting more than one document with matching addresses makes the strongest case for residency.
- Can artists living at the same address apply?
Yes; however, proof of legal residence at that address is required.
- How are grantees selected?
Applications that are eligible and meet the review criteria will be selected through an internal process. Selection will take into consideration the necessity to prioritize relief funds across the diversity of need, artistic disciplines, disability, ethnicity, gender, and geography to ensure broad, inclusive support.
- How much money will I receive?
Artists will receive $500 in disaster relief stipends.
- How will I get paid?
Once awarded, you will sign your contract, submit a W-9, and an EFT form. All funds will be paid via direct deposit.
- How can I spend the money?
There are no restrictions on how the relief stipends can be spent.
- What are the reporting requirements?
Reports nor receipts are required.
- What if I need more help and access to other resources?
While there are many local and state organizations offering financial assistance and resources to assist with recovery, here are three resources that lead to additional information.
- CERF+ The Artists Safety: Emergency assistance for craft artists, cerfplus.org
- FEMA Disaster Assistance: Apply for disaster relief, disasterassistance.gov
- National Coalition for Arts Preparedness & Emergency Response. Resources and information, ncaper.org
- Still have questions?
Schedule a consultation with Program Director Lisa Smalls.