List of Organizations that Received Support

New York Arts Recovery Fund Home Page

NEW YORK ARTS RECOVERY FUND DISTRIBUTES

NEW YORK, NY (Monday, August 12, 2002) -- The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) announced today that the New York Arts Recovery Fund, created to respond to the post-September 11 fiscal crisis for individual artists and arts organizations, has fully distributed $4,635,000 to 135 organizations and 352 individuals in New York City.

The grants enable resumption of artistic work in New York City, and were based on proof of measurable financial loss due to the World Trade Center attacks, including loss of income, physical loss/damage to property or health, relocation costs, or other specific economic harm.

Grants to nonprofit arts organizations were made up to $50,000 each; grants to artists/small businesses were made up to $10,000 each. (For a complete list of organizations receiving grants, click here; names of individual recipients are not being released.)

The Arts Recovery Fund began in November 2001 with leadership gifts from The Rockefeller Foundation and the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, and grew dramatically with a $2.65 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which made similar grants to the American Music Center and the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York.

"Because of NYFA’s ongoing support and services to artists and arts organizations, we were aware that the needs of artists would be unique after 9/11," said Theodore S. Berger, Executive Director of NYFA. "In many cases, their tools — canvasses, paints, video cameras, tapes, and other materials — are not considered replaceable by other agencies. Artists also have live/work spaces issues that confound bureaucratic agencies, no matter how well intentioned.

"NYFA also knew of severe financial crises endured by artists after 9/11. Rather than wait until all applications had been received by the April 30 deadline, NYFA reviewed and acted on applications through an ongoing process to disburse funds as quickly as possible. The earliest of these went out in March, and all applications were read immediately upon receipt to assist with financial emergencies," said Mr. Berger.

Margaret Ayers, Chairman of NYFA’s Board of Trustees, praised the speed and spirit among contributors that enabled the Arts Recovery Fund to raise nearly $5.3 million. (Of the $5,268,000 raised, seven percent was used per grantor instructions to provide technical assistance to thousands of members of the arts community through workshops and the publication of guides to relief funding, and five percent was allotted for administration of the fund.)

"NYFA moved to ensure that the money raised was granted as quickly as possible to the people who needed it the most," said Ms. Ayers. "We’re proud that NYFA was successful in channeling emergency support to the arts community, which contributes so much in shaping our city’s unique character.

"When foundations and individuals recognized artists’ needs after 9/11, they turned to NYFA in acknowledgment of our ongoing relationships and communications with this community," she said.

Although the Fund has now completed its mission, NYFA — aware of the continued fragility of small and mid-sized arts groups and the tenuous state in which artists live — is exploring how both grants and professional training can be used to move the arts community from recovery to rebuilding.

The New York Arts Recovery Fund was created in cooperation by American Music Center, A.R.T./New York, Arts & Business Council, Asian American Arts Alliance, Association of Hispanic Arts, Harlem Arts Alliance, New York City Arts Coalition, New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), and the Nonprofit Finance Fund.

Now in its 31st year, New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) gives more money and support to arts organizations and artists of all disciplines than any other comparable organization in the country: nearly $11 million in grants and services annually.

Its Fellowships of $7,000 each go to as many as 160 New York State artists every year from a field of 16 disciplines, covering the visual, performing, media, and literary arts. NYFA also gives grants and services to strengthen small arts organizations and provides artists with career development support through workshops, hotlines, and print and electronic publications.

NYFA's annual budget of nearly $12 million comes from individual, corporate, foundation, and public sources, as well as NYFA's fiscal sponsorship services for artists and emerging organizations.

For complete information about NYFA and its ongoing programs, activities, and services, please see www.nyfa.org or call 212-366-6900.

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