How to support Denver’s arts and culture jobs

As the year comes to a close, the pandemic continues to hit Denver’s arts and creative sector especially hard. In the early fall, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation and The Denver Foundation awarded nearly $1.2 million to 41 organizations thanks to the COVID-19 Arts & Culture Relief Fund. Now, the Foundations are gearing up for a second round of emergency funding.

“The arts are a critical component of the Denver metro community–bringing us joy, belonging, vibrancy. As a sector, they also employ and generate thousands of jobs in our community, and the truth is, they are experiencing a deep economic crisis due to COVID-19,” says Bonifls-Stanton Foundation President & CEO, Gary Steuer. “Right now, many of these groups are barely hanging on, while at the same time, working hard to continue to bring the arts into our lives when we need it the most. We must do everything we can to help these organizations survive in the months to come.”

A recent SCFD Impact Survey helps paint the devastating loss to the sector from April 2020 – September 2020. Of 244 organizations surveyed, 80 percent of them have experienced moderately to extremely severe financial impacts – and 75 percent of respondents were only moderately confident or not confident at all they would survive. The survey concluded that 542 positions were completely eliminated and 3,435 workers were furloughed or laid off.

The COVID-19 Arts & Culture Relief Fund is made possible with donations and public support. The public can make donations through February 19, 2021 on The Denver Foundation’s website. The Fund’s work is only possible due to the generous support of countless donors, large and small. Gifts have ranged from $1 million to $25. The more funds available, the more of an impact this fund can have in saving Colorado’s cultural sector.

“The COVID-19 Arts & Culture Relief Fund is an example of what can happen when foundations, funders, and community leaders come together to address a pressing issue,” says Javier Alberto Soto, President & CEO of The Denver Foundation. “We invite our foundation peers, philanthropists of all kinds, and people who just love the arts to join us as we help this vital sector withstand the pandemic.”

Arts organizations are invited to apply from January 6 – January 27, 2021 through The Denver Foundation’s website here: denverfoundation.org/COVID-19-Arts-Culture-Relief-Fund.

Grant awards from the COVID-19 Arts & Culture Relief Fund will range between $5,000 to $50,000 per organization, with the goal of injecting much-needed revenue to keep organizations afloat during the public health crisis.