Artist Relief

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.

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

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

• Emergency artist grants
• Arts funding coalition
• COVID-19 relief grants
• Nonprofit arts support
• Artist financial assistance

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Personnel

Revenue model

1. 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

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core 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

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• The Design VanguardminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2020Joined as a Field Partner expanding resources for design artists.
• Sundance InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 April 2020Joined as a Field Partner providing additional support for filmmakers and media artists.
• Academy of American PoetscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 April 2020One 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.
• ArtadiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 April 2020One of seven founding coalition partners that organized Artist Relief to provide emergency financial resources to artists during the COVID-19 crisis.
• Creative CapitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 April 2020One 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 ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 April 2020One of seven founding coalition partners that organized Artist Relief to provide emergency financial resources to artists during the COVID-19 crisis.
• MAP FundcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 April 2020One of seven founding coalition partners that organized Artist Relief to provide emergency financial resources to artists during the COVID-19 crisis.
• YoungArtscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 April 2020One of seven founding coalition partners that organized Artist Relief to provide emergency financial resources to artists during the COVID-19 crisis.
• United States ArtistscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 April 2020One 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+minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 April 2020Joined as a Field Partner providing additional reach and resources for artists in the craft field.
• Americans for the ArtsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner that worked with Artist Relief on research efforts to identify and address the needs of artists and independent creative workers.
• Yancey ConsultingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered on research efforts to better identify and address the needs of artists and independent creative workers.
• Cultural CounselminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partner handling press and media inquiries for Artist Relief.
• SubmittablecoreTechnology or IntegrationApplication 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.
• TipalticoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment processing platform used by United States Artists for disbursing grant funds. Uses bank-level security, firewalls, and encryption.
• CompoundminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSupported the monthly conversations series and artist wellness video series.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights1 record

Direct 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

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZBweFMKMJOirj6YBzqMpkA
• Facebookfacebook.com/ArtistRelief
• Instagraminstagram.com/artistrelief

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Artist Relief