COVID-19: Resources for Organizations
Featured
Thursday May 4 at 3:30 on Zoom | A Webinar on the Employee Retention Tax Credit Program
Are you leaving game changing COVID Relief Funds on the table? Did your organization take advantage of the PPP, EIDL, Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, or other Federal grant and loan programs? For many nonprofits, this emergency financial support was critical during the depths of the pandemic. Far fewer groups know about the Employee Retention Tax Credit program. It’s not too late! This webinar hosted by Vermont Humanities and the Vermont Arts Council will introduce the Employee Retention Tax Credit program and the process for evaluating eligibility and claiming the credit.
Digital Capacity Technical Assistance
The pandemic made clear that a strong digital foundation is essential to our future. Pandemic or not, digital arts programming is here to stay. Cultural organizations have varying levels of digital readiness and different needs, from identifying the best equipment to live-stream a performance, to navigating streaming rights, marketing digital content, training staff, or hiring a website designer. In 2021, the Vermont legislature approved $1.15 million in funding to the Arts Council to help build the digital capacity of Vermont cultural organizations. This funding supported our Digital Capacity Grant Program in 2022, as well as an array of free technical assistance opportunities and webinars.
All technical assistance webinars were recorded and can be viewed in our Tech Help Video Library.
Digital Access: Key Elements for Inclusion of Disabled People
Inclusive Arts Vermont partnered with the Vermont Arts Council to offer a series of workshops on improving digital access to arts programming for the inclusion of disabled people. The pandemic has drastically changed the way organizations deliver programming, and there is a misconception that the new digital methods are inherently more accessible for disabled people. Truly accessible and inclusive programming requires specific skills and preparation, and these workshops covered a variety of essential topics including disability etiquette, creating alt text, accessible web design and social media, graphic design and marketing practices, and more.
There are nine workshops altogether. All were recorded and can be viewed in our Tech Help Video Library.
General Resources
- The National Endowment for the Arts’ “The Art of Reopening: A Guide to Current Practices Among Arts Organizations During COVID-19″
- Know Your Bone: Data-Informed Resource for Cultural Organizations. This site tracks how the pandemic is influencing perceptions and intentions to visit cultural entities
- ArtsReady, an online emergency preparedness service by and for arts/cultural nonprofits
- Vermont Department of Libraries’ resources for libraries
- The Institute for Museum and Library Services and OCLC maintain the REALM project, a toolkit of resources and research for reopening archives, libraries, and museums in light of the Covid-19 pandemic
- League of American Orchestras coronavirus resources
- The Vermont Small Business Development Center offers low-interest loans to small businesses and private nonprofits, as well as direct advising related to Covid-19
- The Vermont Community Loan Fund provides flexible financing and business advisory services to businesses and nonprofits negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic
- Common Good Vermont’s COVID-19 resource page for nonprofits
- The American Repertory Theater has released this “Roadmap for Recovery and Resilience for Theater”
- New England Foundation for the Arts COVID-19 resources
- National Assembly of State Arts Agencies coronavirus resources
- Americans for the Arts’ Coronavirus Resource and Response Center
- The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies’ Arts and Economic Recovery research
- Rethinking Relevance, Rebuilding Engagement: Findings From the Second Wave of a National Survey About Culture, Creativity, Community and the Arts (Jan. 31, 2022)
- “3 Smart (and Easy!) Ways to Improve Your ‘On Camera From Home’ Presence” from Burlington’s Convey Communications
- “Resources to Help Ensure Accessibility of Your Virtual Events for People with Disabilities” from the National Endowment for the Humanities
State of Vermont Resources
- Vermont Department of Health and Covid-19
- The State of Vermont’s Vermont Forward Plan, released April 6, 2021
- The Vermont Arts & Culture Disaster and Resilience Network (VACDaRN)
- PreK-12 Schools
- Child Care Programs
- Safety and Health Guidance for Music Education
- The Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development offers COVID-19 resources for businesses on their website
Vermont Arts Council Resources
Resources for Artists
A variety of relief funds and emergency grant opportunities for artists of all disciplines.
Virtual Arts Experiences
Online concerts, live readings, and more socially distant events held by Vermont artists and organizations during the pandemic.
Grants
Changes and additions to our grant and program schedules, including new relief funds.
Give
Donate to support relief efforts for Vermont artists and organizations impacted by the pandemic.