The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act)

Maine.gov/Recovery - State of Maine's Efforts

Recovery.gov - Federal Recovery Site

Practical Assistance - Economic Challenges Facing Artists and Arts Organizations

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) was signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. It is an unprecedented effort to jumpstart our economy, create or save millions of jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st century.

The Recovery Act recognizes that the non-profit arts industry is an important sector of the economy. The National Endowment for the Arts, Maine Arts Commission and New England Foundation for the Arts are uniquely positioned to fund arts projects and activities that preserve jobs in the nonprofit arts sector threatened by declines in philanthropic and other support during the current economic downturn.

To clarify the funding opportunities that are available through the Recovery Act, the Maine Arts Commission is providing the following guide.

Maine Arts Commission Chair, John Rohman and Maine Arts Commission Director, Donna McNeil witness Governor Baldacci signing the official acceptance of Recovery Act money from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Maine Arts Recovery Program

Maine organizations that have suffered critical staffing cuts or can provide proof that an important existing position is in jeopardy, or have compelling reasons why the retention of a creative worker is vital to the health of the organization, may apply for this grant. This includes the employment or commissioning of creative workers to make work in support of an organization’s mission only when the initiative can show that it is in long-term planning stages. No funds will be made available for the creation of new or previously unscheduled work.

The deadline for the Maine Arts Recovery program is September 11, 2009, and the maximum grant award is $10,000.

View the full details on the Maine Arts Recovery program.

National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) designed a plan to expedite distribution of critical funds for the national, regional, state, and local levels for projects that focus on the preservation of jobs in the arts.

This program was carried out through one-time grants to eligible nonprofit organizations including arts organizations, local arts agencies, statewide assemblies of local arts agencies, arts service organizations, units of state or local government, and a wide range of other organizations that can help advance the goals of the NEA and this program. Grants were made either to organizations for their own job preservation projects, or to designated local arts agencies, eligible to subgrant, for subgranting programs to eligible nonprofit organizations.

Six recipients of funding from the NEA American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Direct Grant program are from Maine. You can find details of these awards using the following link.

View details on the National Endowment for the Arts ARRA Direct Grant funding.

New England Foundation for the Arts

Pending approval by the National Endowment for the Arts, NEFA's stimulus funding for preserving arts jobs will be directed toward arts presenting organizations for: salary support, contractual workers, and fees to artists of tours and projects in danger of being cancelled.

View the full details on the New England Foundation for the Arts Recovery Grant.

The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) - Additional Information

NASAA developed a web page full of additional information and resources of arts opportunities in the Economic Stimulus Package. The site includes a number of expanded funding opportunities that could be available to assist artists and arts organizations.

View the list of resources and opportunites on NASAA's website.

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