COVID-19 Response and Resources

A group class at New England Center for Circus Arts in 2020. Photo: Elsie Smith

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*(543 to artists, 491 to cultural nonprofits, and 53 to creative sector for-profits)

Across Vermont, hundreds of museums, theaters, community arts centers, galleries, and dance studios remain among the hardest hit and face an uncertain economic future due to the continuing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. From loss of admissions revenue through ticket sales and memberships, income loss through gift shop and gallery sales to unexpected new expenditures with new cleaning and disinfecting protocols and the rapid adoption of new technologies for online programming – all have taken a huge toll. Although the worst of the crisis may be over, some audiences remain hesitant to return to indoor spaces.

In an early study of the pandemic’s impact, Vermont’s creative sector lost over 8,000 jobs and sales of over $216 million between April and July of 2020, according to a Brookings Institution report. In a more recent analysis, the 197 cultural organizations that applied for the Council’s Covid-19 Cultural Recovery Grant Program in 2021 reported $36 million in lost revenue from April 2020 to mid-2021.

Increased funding through the state legislature, new partnerships, and private donations has been vital to help support Vermont’s creative sector—a sector that has proven crucial to Vermont’s economic development and community vitality. Through April 2023, the Council has made 543 awards to artists, 491 to cultural organizations, and 53 to creative sector for-profits, totaling more than $8.9 million. Grants have been awarded through partnerships with Vermont Humanities, the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, and with CARES Act and American Rescue Plan Act funds distributed through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Support for individual artists was also made possible through new philanthropic partnerships with the Vermont Community Foundation and the New England Foundation for the Arts, and by generous contributions from Higher Ground and other donors.

The Council’s Covid-19 aid through April 2023 includes:

Creative Futures (currently open)
Digital Capacity Grants (closed April 2022)
Cultural Recovery Grants (closed September 2021)
Vermont Economic Recovery Grants for Cultural Organizations (VERGCO) (closed October 2020)
Cultural Relief Grants (closed May 2020)
Rapid Response Artist Relief Grants (closed May 2020)
Special funding for individual artists through Artist Development Grants and direct grants to artist networks via the Clemmons Family Farm and the Vermont Abenaki Artists Association

View a complete list of Council-administered Covid aid to Vermont organizations through April 2023.

In addition, in partnership with the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing and the Vermont Recreation and Parks Association and with funding from the Community Foundation, in the summer and fall of 2021, the Council provided $1,500 sponsorships to 21 outdoor event series across the state through the Stages in the Sun program.

Not reflected in the above data, Vermont arts and cultural organizations also received separate funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the New England Foundation for the Arts, the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, and the Shuttered Venue Operators Grants from the US Small Business Administration.

Reporting

Digital Capacity Grant Program

Funded by a one-time $1.15 million allocation from the Vermont legislature to help build the digital capacity of Vermont cultural organizations, the Digital Capacity Grant Program was intended to support Vermont’s arts and culture organizations by providing them with the skills, equipment, and expertise they need to serve their audiences and community.

Read the Digital Capacity Program report.

Cultural Recovery Grant Program

The Vermont Covid-19 Cultural Recovery Grant Program was a partnership between Vermont Humanities and the Vermont Arts Council to provide funding to arts and humanities organizations facing financial hardship due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Funding for the program was provided primarily from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Read the Pandemic Recovery in Vermont’s Cultural Sector Report.

Cultural Relief Grant Program

In March 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit Vermont, the Vermont Arts Council and Vermont Humanities together developed the Cultural Relief Grant Program to deliver urgently needed economic aid to struggling cultural organizations. The final report, our “Cares Act Report to the Community,” tells the story about this joint program that brought $781,000 in a matter of weeks to 123 cultural organizations across Vermont in all 14 counties.

Read the CARES Act Report to the Community.