Emergency Support Resources for Artists & Arts Organizations
Special thanks to Arts AVL for compiling these resources.
Help the Arts in WNC! Give to the NC Arts Disaster Relief Fund
We encourage everyone to give to the NC Arts Disaster Relief Fund that is being run through the North Carolina Arts Foundation to provide funding and assistance to artists and arts organizations affected by Hurricane Helene.
NOTE: The grant application and disbursement process is currently being designed. If you would like to receive details about applying for assistance as soon as they become available, please fill out this INFORMATION REQUEST FORM.
When you donate enter the word “RELIEF” in the description for your gift.
WNC Creatives Needs Assessment Form
If you are a WNC Artist and/or Arts Organizations: WE NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU! Please let us know about your immediate and upcoming needs by filling out the WNC Creatives Needs Assessment Form, so we can better support you.
FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency
FEMA continues to strategically move resources to support life-saving and life-sustaining response needs including shipping meals, water, generators, tarps to the areas impacted by Hurricane Helene. Those who have experienced damage or need assistance should apply for FEMA Disaster Assistance as soon as possible.
NCAPER Disaster Resources for Individuals and Arts and Cultural Organizations
Recent changes to FEMA and HENTF have made it easier to deliver aid to communities and individuals and may make aid more accessible to artists, entrepreneurs, self-employed individuals, as well as cultural institutions and arts organizations.
NCAPER Rapid Damage Assessment Forms: If you were impacted or know artists and cultural institutions impacted for a disaster, please fill out one of the following rapid damage assessment forms.
- Cultural Institutions: Rapid Damage Assessment Form
- Arts Organizations: Rapid Damage Assessment Form
- Individual Artists and Performing Groups: Rapid Damage Assessment Form
With support from the Heritage Emergency National Task Force (HENTF) and in collaboration with the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation (FAIC), these new online assessment forms will help identify where assistance is sought, provide assistance where needed, understand critical needs, and inform recovery efforts moving forward. Learn more about these changes.
SBA Disaster Assistance
SBA disaster assistance for homeowners, renters, nonprofits, and businesses of all sizes affected by Hurricane Helene.
- Home Disaster Loans: Loans to homeowners or renters to repair or replace disaster-damaged real estate and personal property, including automobiles.
- Business Physical Disaster Loans: Loans to businesses to repair or replace disaster-damaged property owned by the business, including real estate, inventories, supplies, machinery and equipment. Businesses of any size are eligible. Private, non-profit organizations such as charities, churches, private universities, etc., are also eligible.
- Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL): Working capital loans to help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes meet their ordinary and necessary financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster. These loans are intended to assist through the disaster recovery period.
CERF+ Craft Artists Emergency Relief Grant
CERF+ offers $3,000 Emergency Relief Grants to craft artists who experienced a recent and substantially disruptive emergency or disaster.
To qualify for an Emergency Relief Grant, applicants need to be craft artists who are 18 years of age or older. They must have been living and working in the U.S. or U.S. Territories for the past two years. Additionally, they should not have received an Emergency Relief Grant in the previous year or exceeded the maximum lifetime limit of 4 grants.
To apply, visit our website and complete the online application with supporting documentation. Incomplete applications will not be considered. For questions, contact programs@cerfplus.org or (802) 229-2306.
National Heritage Responders
The National Heritage Responders, a team of trained conservators and collections care professionals administered by the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation, are available 24/7 to provide advice and guidance.
Cultural institutions, arts organizations, and artists and performing groups can call the National Heritage Responders hotline: (202) 661-8068.
Members of the public and individual artists who have questions about saving family heirlooms and personal collections can email the National Heritage Responders at NHRpublichelpline@culturalheritage.org.
HENTF’s Save Your Family Treasures guidance is available at fema.gov/assistance/save-family-treasures. Here you can find the downloadable FEMA fact sheets “After the Flood: Advice for Salvaging Damaged Family Treasures” and “Salvaging Water-Damaged Family Valuables and Heirlooms,” available in multiple languages.
MusiCares Disaster Relief Grant
MusiCares offers an Emergency Financial Assistance Program providing financial grants for music people in crisis.
Mountain Area Cultural Resources Emergency Network (MACREN)
MACREN provides disaster assistance to cultural institutions in the Asheville, North Carolina region. For assistance contact Jeff Futch by email or at 828-274-6789.
Pro Bono Legal Services from Implement Legal
Implement Legal was born in Asheville, NC, and many of our beloved clients, friends, and family live in Western NC.
At the firm, we understand Helene as both a humanitarian crisis and a cultural heritage disaster. Hundreds of artists in the region have lost their life’s work. Their homes and studios are destroyed. Arts institutions are similarly impacted.
We are offering pro bono legal services to artists and arts institutions impacted by the disaster. If you need help, please fill out the form below.