COVID-19 Arts & Culture Relief Fund To Benefit Those Organizations Struggling During Pandemic

DENVER (CBS4) - A majority of arts and culture organizations worry if they can survive the coronavirus pandemic and remain in business when the outbreak is over and if they can return to serving their communities, according to a recent survey. The Bonfils-Stanton Foundation and The Denver Foundation teamed up to create the COVID-19 Arts & Culture Relief Fund to rescue those organizations that may not otherwise stay afloat.

"It's very difficult at this time, it's really hard for our singers particularity, they love to perform, they love to sing, they love to be together," said Emily Crile, the artistic director of Colorado Children's Chorale. "We do feel as an organization that we are fiscally strong going into this, that is a comfort for us."

Crile took the helm of the organization on May 1 as a veteran of the organization serving in other roles for 20 years. Their last concert as a group was in March. They have 400 members who audition for their spots and rehearse regularly. The Chorale performs in concerts, goes on tour, and collaborates with other arts groups in Colorado. But they have shut down for the summer and they already know they will need to be innovative for their 2020-21 season. It is one of many organizations already planning to apply for the fund.

"The arts play such an incredible role in building community and as we go through this crisis, we got to start thinking about what does this all look like after the COVID crisis is over," said Javier Soto, the president & CEO of The Denver Foundation. "How do we come out of this as a thriving community."

His organization has focused on facilitating philanthropy for 95 years and will oversee the fund as it begins to award money to organizations. Soto says they will help to determine the criteria and process for a team of reviewers considering applications. Grants will be $5,000 to $50,000 each.

"Art by its very nature is about bringing people together in space," said Gary Steuer, president & CEO of the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation. "The very lifeblood of these institutions is gathering people together with artists, or with art, and that was all gone almost overnight."

Steuer says his organization knew quickly it needed to respond to the crisis arts and culture organizations are facing and they did not want to do it alone. So they partnered with The Denver Foundation to create this fund and lead with a $1 million leadership gift. The Denver Foundation contributed $50,000 along with early donations from Denver Arts & Venues giving $205,00 and the Gates Family Foundation providing $100,000. PNC is also giving $10,000 so the fund is already approaching $1.4 million before it starts accepting applications.

"We're very careful because we want to give them the hope that we will together soon," Crile told CBS4 on Wednesday. "There will be a day that we can be in that space together,"

Started in 1974 as a group of children performing with Central City Opera, the families at the time decided to keep the performances going and eventually started the Chorale. The group has enjoyed 46 seasons and currently has a budget of $1.8 million. Not only does the organization manage professional choirs that perform on their own or in collaborations, community choirs also give a chance to more students who may not be able to rehearse regularly across the metro area.

"A big part of the driver for what has been the Denver story, and the Colorado story, over several years is building this exciting and thriving community," Soto said on a video conference call. "I'm absolutely optimistic, this is an incredibly generous community, a community with a deep sense of pride and sense of ownership over the future of this community."

The Chorale hopes to use money from the fund to keep its staff as well as gig workers who are hired for rehearsals. The aid will also help them find creative ways to pursue concerts with technology and remote performances. This support would also help secure their future as an organization that serves many in the community. Students from 180 schools currently participate with the Chorale and 30 percent need financial assistance.

"They're all interconnected, they draw on the same audiences," Steuer said on a video conference call. "We are going to see organizations go out of business, I just think that's the reality here."

Applications open on June 8 and close on June 26, organizations can go to The Denver Foundation website to begin the process. The fund launches at a time when the median shortfall for groups in this sector is $38,000 in Colorado. It was an early estimate that demonstrated the potential impact for arts and culture was already $17 million across the state. The Scientific and Cultural Facilities District more recently reached out to organizations for a new study. According to their findings, 60 percent of groups were moderately confident or not confident at all they will survive the pandemic.

"It's just going to play such an important role when we come out of this to help us feel united once again," Soto said on Wednesday. "What are those things that we need to be doing now that set the table for a successful transition out of this crisis, so that we can recapture that sense of community recapture that economic growth that has been driving this metro area for several years now."

Most organizations have four months' worth of reserves but some only have one month left. The focus of this fund will be on small and mid-size institutions, the aid will certainly help but individual support will still be necessary to keep these groups going through the pandemic and beyond. Ultimately, some organizations will need the money to just stay in a form of hibernation waiting to reopen. Others may look to merge with like-minded groups so they can survive together.

The goal is to have this be the first round of many to support the arts and culture community. While there is a clear need now, some will only realize their struggle later in the year and the cycle will continue now into the fall, as well as 2021.

Chorale members miss their regular routine but they enjoy Zoom rehearsals and weekly videos from conductors giving them instruction to practice at home, along with the school work that they're already working on remotely.

"We don't want them to feel as though everything is cancelled and life has ended as they know it," Crile said. We continue to give them as much hope as possible and we believe that hope too, we will be together to sing again."

LINKS: Arts Culture Relief Fund | Support Colorado Children's Chorale | Bonfils-Stanton Foundation