Update: Round 3 of Funding

For Individuals:

Due to an overwhelming response, applications for individual artists are now closed. We still have over 7,300 artists in the pool who have not received funding. To address this need, in July, the fund will initiate a third round of grants to individual artists drawing from the current application pool. To provide relief to as many individual artists who previously applied as possible, the fund will not accept additional applications from individuals for Round 3.

For Organizations:

To further provide relief to cultural organizations across Illinois in Round 3, a limited number of grants will be awarded in partnership with local community foundations to arts organizations located outside the seven-county Chicago metropolitan region.

New applications for funding are being accepted from organizations in the following counties in Illinois only:

Adams, Boone, Brown, Bureau, Clark, Clay, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Effingham, Hancock, Henderson, Jasper, Knox, LaSalle, Marion, Ogle, Pike, Putnam, Richland, Shelby, Stephenson, Warren, and Winnebago 

We will also be considering existing applications previously submitted to the Arts for Illinois Relief Fund by arts organizations from the community foundation partner service areas.

Grant size will be determined by available funding and based on the organizational budget and the extent of lost revenue and non-recoverable expenses incurred due to COVID-19. Organizations that have previously received a grant from the Arts for Illinois Relief Fund are not eligible.

The application deadline is 11:59 p.m. on Monday, July 13, 2020.

For more information about the fund, our first two rounds of funding, future rounds of funding, and resources for artists, visit our FAQ.

If you have any questions, please direct them to our help center help@artsalliance.org. 

Follow Arts Alliance Illinois on social media or sign up for our newsletter to receive updates about the fund and join the advocacy fight for artists across Illinois.

What We’ve Done So Far

Since its launch on April 1, 2020, the Arts for Illinois Relief Fund has awarded $5,088,000 to 1,460 artists and 233 organizations around the state. For privacy reasons, the list of individual artist grantees is not publicly available. Visit the Arts Work Fund website for a list of organizational grantees.

The Current Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented strain on the arts and cultural community. In a statewide survey by Arts Alliance Illinois assessing the potential financial impact of COVID-related closures on the creative sector, 328 respondents estimated that their organizations will lose nearly $85 million in revenue due to a suspension of public-facing programs or exhibitions just through the end of April. 

These closures impact 24,228 individual events or performances, 3,581 full-time jobs, 13,235  part-time/contract jobs, and nearly 2.5 million audience members or participants, including programs intended for students.

What We're Doing 

The Arts for Illinois Relief Fund provides financial relief to workers and organizations in the creative industries impacted by COVID-19. This includes all artists and artisans, including stage and production members and part-time cultural workers, and large to small arts organizations in all disciplines. Donations to the fund will go directly to artists and arts organizations throughout Illinois. All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Individuals are encouraged to apply for one-time grants of $1,500, which are awarded expediently and based on a lottery system. Arts organizations grants are likewise based on a combination of need and lost revenue from the crisis. 

The fund is a partnership between the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois, the broader philanthropic community, and the residents of Illinois. It can accept donations from individuals, foundations, and public sources. The Arts for Illinois Relief Fund is administered by Arts Alliance Illinois in partnership with 3Arts and Arts Works Fund, long-standing and trusted service organizations and grantmakers.

If you have any questions, please direct them to our help center help@artsalliance.org. 

Lead Partnership Organizations^

Grantmaking Partners^

Leadership Gifts^

Additional Funders^