Arts Orange County partners with local funders to launch OC Arts and Culture Resilience Fund

Orange County’s nonprofit arts council, Arts Orange County (ArtsOC), has partnered with Charitable Ventures and the Orange County Community Foundation (OCCF) to launch the OC Arts and Culture Resilience Fund. The Fund will support creative artists and local nonprofit arts and culture organizations that offer essential community enrichment and education – and are facing significant challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A recent ArtsOC survey found that local arts organizations have lost an estimated $16M in revenue and donations since stay-at-home orders began in March. 62 percent of arts organizations view the financial impact of the pandemic as severe or extremely severe, while 52 percent report that they are depleting cash reserves to meet their obligations.

“This is a collective, purposeful action to support the Orange County arts community, which has experienced the most severe job losses of any segment of the economy in California,” said Richard Stein, president and CEO of ArtsOC. “Our creative sector directly employs more than 50,000 musicians, actors, dancers, filmmakers, and teaching artists, and countless others who support them behind the scenes. Their ingenuity and spirit give us comfort, enlightenment, and joy in the best of times; now it’s our turn to bring much-needed support to these selfless artists,” Stein continued.

The OC Arts and Culture Resilience Fund was launched with seed funding of $150,000 towards a goal of $500,000. The Fund will provide two types of response:

--Bridge grants to arts organizations so that they can retain essential staff and offer online programming and instruction.

--Financial assistance to individual creative artists.

“We are proud to advocate for the critical importance of the arts in our community,” said Shelley Hoss, president and CEO, OCCF. “Now, more than ever, we need the artists and nonprofit arts and culture organizations that enrich and educate our community. They are essential to the resilience and long-term health and economic well-being of Orange County.”

Creative artists and nonprofit arts organizations are invited to apply for bridge loans and grants, and community members are encouraged to donate at https://charitableventuresoc.org/resilience-fund-arts/.