Maine Cultural Nonprofits Awarded New England Arts Resilience Funds

Third Round of Funding Includes Support from the American Rescue PlanThird Round of Funding Includes Support from the American Rescue Plan

(Boston, MA) The New England Foundation for the Arts is pleased to announce 73 awards ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 to arts and cultural nonprofits across the region totaling $840,000 through the New England Arts Resilience Fund, part of the national United States Arts Resilience Fund. These awards support organizations with recovery and planning capital for a post-pandemic future and were made possible with support from the American Rescue Plan through the National Endowment for the Arts.

According to Americans for the Arts’ October 2021 update on the impact of the pandemic on the sector, job losses at nonprofit arts organizations nationally are three times worse than nonprofit average. While there has been improvement in employment in the sector, jobs have yet to recover and are likely to take six months or more. Eleven percent of the organizations are not confident of their survival.

“These awards are possible thanks to the American Rescue Plan and the National Endowment for the Arts. Federal investment in the arts and culture sector reaches every congressional district; given the research on the economic and social benefits of the arts, this support is crucial and an essential aspect of community health,” said NEFA executive director Cathy Edwards. “NEFA is pleased to partner with the National Endowment for the Arts to deliver this critical support; we thank Acting Chair Ann Eilers for her leadership, and we are excited to support the nomination of Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson as Chair.”

Since the program’s inception, the New England Arts Resilience Fund has awarded nearly $2.8 million to a sector deeply impacted by the pandemic.

“New England Arts Resilience Fund awards are enabling these primarily small to mid-size community organizations - from Stonington, Maine, to Bridgeport, Connecticut - to cover essential expenses, including day to day operations expenses, health and safety supplies, and salary support,” said Adrienne Petrillo, Senior Program Director, New England Presenting & Touring. “They are essential to their communities’ vitality.”

Maine recipients include:

• Abbe Museum, Bar Harbor, ME: $15,000
• Art At Work, Portland, ME: $5,000
• Bates Dance Festival, Lewiston, ME: $10,000
• Indigo Arts Alliance, Portland, ME: $20,000
• LA Arts, Lewiston, ME: $10,000
• Opera House Arts, Stonington, ME: $10,000
• SPACE, Portland, ME: $10,000

An initiative of the six U.S. Regional Arts Organizations (Arts Midwest, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Mid-America Arts Alliance, New England Foundation for the Arts, South Arts, and Western States Arts Federation), the Fund is made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. It was created in 2020 in response to the impact of COVID-19 on the nation’s arts infrastructure and supports organizations with recovery and planning capital for a post-pandemic future. The program was funded nationally through a $10 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and amplified in New England with major funding from the federal CARES Act, and most recently for this round of funding, the American Rescue Plan. 

Third Round of Funding Includes Support from the American Rescue Plan