Artist Relief
Artist Relief was a volunteer coalition of seven national arts grantmakers that provided $5,000 unrestricted emergency COVID-19 relief grants to 4,682 practicing artists across the United States from April 2020 to June 2021; the initiative is now closed.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- Headquarters—
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Artist Relief does
Artist Relief was an emergency initiative and volunteer coalition of seven national arts grantmakers — Academy of American Poets, Artadia, Creative Capital, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, MAP Fund, YoungArts, and United States Artists — that provided $5,000 unrestricted financial relief grants to practicing artists in the United States who were severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative launched on April 8, 2020 with a $5 million seed gift from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, matched by $5 million from a coalition of approximately 24 foundations, and operated 13 funding cycles over 15 months from April 2020 through June 2021.
The initiative raised $25 million in total from foundations, family funds, and individual donors, and disbursed approximately $23.4 million in grants to 4,682 artists out of roughly 170,000 applications (a ~2.5% funding rate). Grants were unrestricted, carried no reporting requirements, and were available to practicing artists living in all 50 states, Tribal Nations, and U.S. territories. Applications were processed through the Submittable platform and funds were disbursed via United States Artists using Tipalti payment processing.
Artist Relief was not a formally incorporated legal entity; it operated as a volunteer coalition under United States Artists as its 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor based in Chicago. The organization supplemented direct grantmaking with informational resources including a monthly video series ("The State of Us"), a weekly Artist Wellness video series, and a monthly Conversations series. Artist Relief concluded all operations on June 23, 2021 after fully disbursing its funds, and applications and donations are no longer accepted.
Artist Relief firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Artist Relief
- Legal name
- Artist Relief
- Website
- https://artistrelief.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Artist Relief was a volunteer coalition of seven national arts grantmakers that provided $5,000 unrestricted emergency COVID-19 relief grants to 4,682 practicing artists across the United States from April 2020 to June 2021; the initiative is now closed.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Artist Relief industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Arts Emergency Relief Grants
- NAICS
- Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Public Art, Arts Councils & Grantmaking Programs (BPAGAHAH), Arts Education & Community Arts Programs (BPAGAHAC)
Keywords
Artist Relief business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Personnel
Revenue model
- Foundation and Individual Donations: Artist Relief raised $25 million from foundations, family funds, and individual donors to provide emergency grants to artists. The organization distributed approximately $23.4 million in $5,000 emergency relief grants to 4,682 artists over 15 months through 13 funding cycles.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Single $5,000 emergency grant |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
Artist Relief product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Artist Relief was a volunteer coalition initiative that provided $5,000 unrestricted emergency relief grants to practicing artists in the United States experiencing dire financial emergencies due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Applications were collected through the Submittable platform and grants were disbursed via Tipalti payment processing operated by United States Artists. Across 13 funding cycles over 15 months (April 2020 to June 2021), the initiative distributed approximately $23.4 million to 4,682 artists across all 50 states, Tribal Nations, and U.S. territories.
Product overview
Artist Relief is a volunteer coalition emergency grant program—not a technology product—with a single core offering: the Emergency Relief Grant Program. The program provided $5,000 unrestricted emergency grants to artists facing financial hardship during COVID-19. In addition to direct financial support, the organization offered supplementary resources including informational content, video series, and wellness programming. The program operated 13 funding cycles over 15 months (April 2020 to June 2021), distributing approximately $23.4 million to 4,682 artists across all 50 states, Tribal Nations, and U.S. territories. The grant application was processed through Submittable, and grants were disbursed via Tipalti payment processing.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Emergency Relief Grant Program The core offering of Artist Relief: $5,000 unrestricted emergency relief grants provided to practicing artists in the United States facing severe financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Operated 13 funding cycles from April 2020 to June 2021, disbursing approximately $23.4 million to 4,682 artists. Grants carried no reporting requirements and could be used for any emergency relief need including housing, medicine, childcare, and food.
Quantifiable outcome
- 4,682 artists received emergency funding out of 170,000+ applicants (~2.5% funding rate)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Artist Relief
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Artist Relief technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Artist Relief partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
16 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- The Design VanguardminorJoined as a Field Partner expanding resources for design artists.
- Sundance InstituteminorJoined as a Field Partner providing additional support for filmmakers and media artists.
- Academy of American PoetscoreOne of seven founding coalition partners that organized Artist Relief to provide emergency financial resources to artists during the COVID-19 crisis. Contributed to review and selection processes for grant applications.
- ArtadiacoreOne of seven founding coalition partners that organized Artist Relief to provide emergency financial resources to artists during the COVID-19 crisis.
- Creative CapitalcoreOne of seven founding coalition partners. Also continued to update and provide a comprehensive list of alternative funds for artists and additional resources for artists.
- Foundation for Contemporary ArtscoreOne of seven founding coalition partners that organized Artist Relief to provide emergency financial resources to artists during the COVID-19 crisis.
- MAP FundcoreOne of seven founding coalition partners that organized Artist Relief to provide emergency financial resources to artists during the COVID-19 crisis.
- YoungArtscoreOne of seven founding coalition partners that organized Artist Relief to provide emergency financial resources to artists during the COVID-19 crisis.
- United States ArtistscoreOne of seven founding coalition partners. Served as the 501(c)(3) coalition partner accepting all donations on behalf of Artist Relief and distributing the funds.
- CERF+minorJoined as a Field Partner providing additional reach and resources for artists in the craft field.
- Americans for the ArtsminorResearch partner that worked with Artist Relief on research efforts to identify and address the needs of artists and independent creative workers.
- Yancey ConsultingminorPartnered on research efforts to better identify and address the needs of artists and independent creative workers.
- Cultural CounselminorMedia partner handling press and media inquiries for Artist Relief.
- SubmittablecoreApplication platform used by Artist Relief for collecting and processing grant applications. Operates with above-industry-standard security certificates and features for data collection and storage.
- TipalticorePayment processing platform used by United States Artists for disbursing grant funds. Uses bank-level security, firewalls, and encryption.
- CompoundminorSupported the monthly conversations series and artist wellness video series.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights1 record
Artist Relief competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- The Actors Fund: National nonprofit providing social services, financial assistance, and emergency support to performing arts and entertainment professionals; direct comparable for emergency-relief-to-artists use case.
- Sweet Relief Musicians Fund: Charity providing financial assistance to musicians and music industry workers facing illness, disability, or hardship; closely comparable small-staff, grantmaking model to a single discipline.
- CERF+ (Craft Emergency Relief Fund): Long-standing nonprofit providing emergency financial assistance and career support to professional craft artists; most direct comparable to Artist Relief's emergency-grant model and even served as a field partner on Artist Relief.
- The Haven Foundation: Provides emergency financial assistance to freelance artists (writers, visual artists, performers) experiencing income loss due to disability, illness, or crisis; same emergency-cash-grant model to individual artists.
- Authors League Fund: Provides emergency financial aid to professional authors and their families; same emergency-relief-for-creatives proposition in the literary vertical, comparable operating model.
- MusiCares (MusiCares Foundation): Musician-focused safety net of the Recording Academy providing emergency financial assistance, addiction recovery, and health programs; mirrors Artist Relief's discipline-specific emergency grant approach for a different artist segment.
Emerging players
- United States Artists: Fellowship and grantmaking organization for U.S. artists; also served as Artist Relief's 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor, so operationally adjacent and directly comparable in grantmaking mechanics.
- Creative Capital: Provides grants and professional development to innovative artists; one of Artist Relief's coalition partners and comparable in artist-grantmaking function, though oriented around project rather than emergency funding.
- Foundation for Contemporary Arts: Provides emergency and project grants to contemporary artists; one of Artist Relief's seven coalition partners and a direct comparable in emergency-grant-to-artists delivery.
Broad incumbents
- New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA): Large, established arts grantmaking and services organization running emergency and program grants to artists; broader portfolio but materially overlapping function as an arts grantmaker.
Market position
Strengths3 records
Weaknesses3 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Artist Relief social profiles
Digital presenceArtist Relief financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Artist Relief leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Artist Relief funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Artist Relief M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Artist Relief
What does Artist Relief do?
Artist Relief was a volunteer coalition initiative that provided $5,000 unrestricted emergency relief grants to practicing artists in the United States experiencing dire financial emergencies due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Applications were collected through the Submittable platform and grants were disbursed via Tipalti payment processing operated by United States Artists. Across 13 funding cycles over 15 months (April 2020 to June 2021), the initiative distributed approximately $23.4 million to 4,682 artists across all 50 states, Tribal Nations, and U.S. territories.
Is Artist Relief a public or private company?
Artist Relief is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently closed.
When was Artist Relief founded?
Artist Relief was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
How does Artist Relief make money?
One revenue line is on record: foundation and Individual Donations.
Who are Artist Relief's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are The Actors Fund, Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, CERF+ (Craft Emergency Relief Fund), The Haven Foundation, Authors League Fund and MusiCares (MusiCares Foundation). Emerging players are United States Artists, Creative Capital and Foundation for Contemporary Arts. New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Artist Relief have an API?
No public API is recorded for Artist Relief.
What industry is Artist Relief in?
Artist Relief's product category is Arts Emergency Relief Grants. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAJ, Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations, with a secondary code of BPAGAHAH, Public Art, Arts Councils & Grantmaking Programs. Its NAICS code is 81321.