TO: HONORABLE MAYOR FROM: Nanci Klein AND CITY COUNCIL

SUBJECT: CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUNDS DATE: January 27, 2021 FOR ARTS AND CULTURAL SECTOR

Approved Date 1/28/2021

INFORMATION

As part of the City of San José’s federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) moneys, the City dedicated $2,493,000 to provide relief grants to a) San Jose nonprofit arts and cultural organizations, and b) San Jose artists and cultural entrepreneurs that have been negatively impacted by COVID-19. The City’s goal was to provide relief to these two vital pillars of the City’s arts ecosystem by reimbursing specific and documentable expenses and income loss due to the pandemic. A racial equity lens guided the distribution of these funds, prioritizing individuals and organizations that have been disproportionately negatively impacted by the pandemic.

Through the CRF: Nonprofit Arts Grant and the CRF: Artist Grant, 73 arts and cultural organizations received grants totaling $2,285,000 and 94 artists and sole proprietor business owners in the arts sector received grants totaling $208,000, respectively.

This memorandum provides information on the outcomes of the CRF Nonprofit Arts Grant and the CRF Artist Grant.

BACKGROUND

On August 18, 2020, the City Council approved the implementation of approximately $23 million in Coronavirus Relief Funds allocated in the 2020-2021 Adopted Operating Budget for local assistance related to the COVID-19 pandemic. On September 22, 2020, the City Council approved the disbursement of an additional $7 million in unallocated Coronavirus Relief Funds to invest in the City’s most vulnerable populations for a total of $30 million. Of these funds $3,350,000 was allocated toward direct assistance to non-profit organizations (non-arts) and $2,493,000 to arts and cultural nonprofits, individual artists and cultural entrepreneurs.

The City entered into an agreement with the Community Foundation to administer and expedite the payment of grant funds to nonprofit arts and non-arts organizations by the December 30, 2020 federal deadline for spending Coronavirus Relief Funds. The City also HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL January 27, 2021 Subject: Coronavirus Relief Funds for the Arts and Cultural Sector Page 2

entered into an agreement with Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI), a trusted intermediary focused on the economic security of people in the arts, to administer and adjudicate the grants to individual artists and sole proprietor cultural entrepreneurs.

On September 15, 2020, the Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA) released both the CRF Arts Nonprofit Grant guidelines and the CRF Artist Grant guidelines outlined below. These guidelines were distributed to OCA’s extensive list of arts organizations and artists, promoted in the OCA’s social media channels and the City’s weekly Flash Report, and posted on the City’s website. Applications were due on September 29, 2020.

ANALYSIS

The arts sector has been particularly hard hit as arts and cultural facilities such as theaters have been among the first to close and the last designated for re-opening in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Arts organizations and artists play a vital role in the City’s unique cultural identity and economic vibrancy. As part of its designated CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF), the City provided $2,493,000 in grant support to artists and organizations that anchor our vitally important art communities. Grants were disbursed to the arts sector through two direct grant programs:

• City of San Jose Coronavirus Relief Fund: Nonprofit Arts Organizations, grants supporting arts and cultural nonprofits with funds totaling $2,285,000; and

• City of San Jose Coronavirus Relief Fund: Artists, grants supporting individual creative entrepreneurs and sole proprietors with funds totaling $208,000.

The OCA managed grants to arts organizations, with contracting and disbursement administered through the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Grants to artists were administered and adjudicated by the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI).

City of San Jose Coronavirus Relief Fund: Nonprofit Arts Organizations

This program was designed to provide economic relief to nonprofit arts and cultural organizations during the pandemic and is guided by the Federal CARES Act CRF requirements. A total of 73 arts and cultural nonprofit organizations applied for and received $2,285,000 in relief funding. Awards ranged from $5,720 up to $80,030 and were tiered based on organization budget size. Recognizing the disproportionately negative economic impact of COVID-19 on communities of color, priority organizations serving predominantly communities of color were eligible to apply for funding that was approximately $10,000 higher than the maximum otherwise set for their budget category.

Of the 73 organizations that were funded, 33 organizations (45%) serve predominantly communities of color. Of that number, 24 organizations -- one-third of the total number of HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL January 27, 2021 Subject: Coronavirus Relief Funds for the Arts and Cultural Sector Page 3

organizations funded -- are led and governed by communities of color, often with organizational missions that focus on the cultural expressions deeply rooted in their communities.

In accordance with the federal coronavirus relief guidelines, eligible expenses under the arts and cultural nonprofit relief grant program included reimbursing the following costs of business interruption incurred between March 1, 2020 through December 30, 2020 and directly necessitated by COVID-19:

• Lost income due to cancelled performances, classes or services; • Rent/lease/mortgage and utility payments for business facilities; • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), sanitation or health safety equipment; and • Costs of digital technology equipment required to transition existing programs online.

Arts and cultural nonprofit organizations based in San Jose were eligible to apply, with priority consideration given to the following groups:

• Arts and cultural organizations that submitted applications in the City’s regular annual arts grant process for the FY2020-2021 funding cycle, including those that submitted applications using a nonprofit fiscal sponsor. Due to ongoing and extensive outreach, the OCA’s annual arts grants programs attract a large pool of qualified applicants representing various disciplines, budget sizes and diverse cultural communities. In early spring 2020, almost 100 applications were evaluated by qualified panels comprised of arts professionals, local artists, and community laypersons, but due to an unprecedented drop in Transient Occupancy Tax receipts, most recommendations were unable to be implemented.

• Arts and cultural organizations centered in communities of color that have been disproportionally negatively impacted by COVID-19. Organizations that predominantly serve communities of color are particularly vulnerable to the negative impacts of COVID-19 due to historic funding patterns and income disparities that exist in most communities of color. It is important that the City retain the partnership and participation of arts organizations of color in shaping the City’s unique and diverse cultural landscape.

• Cultural organizations that steward City-owned regional cultural facilities and/or historic assets. The pandemic has significantly impacted these organizations’ operations due to high fixed costs associated with facility operations. Supporting their sustainability mitigates risk of loss of critical services to the community and financial loss to the City.

Prior to finalization of the grant guidelines, the OCA conducted community outreach, seeking input from nonprofit arts and cultural organizations, Arts Commission, and arts philanthropy colleagues on the general guiding principles for the arts organization grants through an on-line survey. An overwhelming majority of the 56 respondents expressed support for the general guiding principles which included: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL January 27, 2021 Subject: Coronavirus Relief Funds for the Arts and Cultural Sector Page 4

• Prioritize arts organizations that applied for annual arts funding for FY2020-2021. • Utilize an equity lens for organizations centered in Coronavirus-vulnerable communities. • Establish tiered funding categories that recognize differing financial capacities. • Automate funding decisions to the extent possible for efficiency and objectivity.

The grant guidelines set forth several funding tiers based on organizational budgets to maximize the possibility that all eligible applicants with priority could be funded. Given the extent of economic disruption in the arts sector, had these pre-set maximum tiers not been in place, the total funds requested would have exceeded the funds available. Due in part to the strategic funding tiers and a modest allocation of additional funding after the grant guidelines were released, all arts organizations that applied for relief funding were able to be funded. One organization, whose mission was more closely aligned with social services, opted to withdraw from consideration and submitted a successful application for the non-arts Nonprofit Relief funds.

City of San Jose Coronavirus Relief Fund: Artists

In addition to the City’s support for the nonprofit arts ecosystem, the City offered relief grants to artists based in San Jose, with targeted outreach to those who are from historically underserved communities and have been made financially vulnerable by the COVID-19 pandemic. Administered and adjudicated by the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI), a trusted intermediary focused on the economic security of people in the arts, the City of San Jose Coronavirus Relief Fund: Artists provided a total of $208,000 in the form of grants ranging from $2,000 to $2,342 to 94 individual artists and sole proprietor arts businesses who make their primary income as freelancers or sole proprietor business owners in the arts sector. This includes literary, visual, and performing artists; musicians; teaching artists; culture bearers; art-making entrepreneurs such as jewelry makers; artist members of collective-based or cooperative creative social enterprises; and specialized artist workers (e.g., lighting or sound designers, fabricators). The fund assisted creative entrepreneurs who have lost income or incurred expenses due to COVID-19 and are facing an emergency regarding the payment of necessary expenses.

Of the 94 individual artists and cultural entrepreneurs that were funded:

• Gender: 55% were Female; 38% Male; 4% Non-binary; and 3% declined to state.

• Race/Ethnicity: 40% White/Caucasian; 34% Asian American; 17% Latinx; 9% Black/African American; 4% Native American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander; and 11% preferred not to state. (Percentages exceed 100% because applicants were able to check multiple boxes as applicable)

• Most frequently listed geographic locations: 14% from 95112 (one of San Jose’s neighborhoods with highest rates of COVID-19 and pandemic-related job loss); 11% from 95125; 10% from 95136; 7% from 95126.

• Top priorities for reimbursement funding: 73% bill payments; 71% rent; 38% food. HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL January 27, 2021 Subject: Coronavirus Relief Funds for the Arts and Cultural Sector Page 5

• Impact of the grant: 84% strongly agreed that the grant provided much needed relief in a time of stress and uncertainty. 61% were not receiving pandemic unemployment assistance.

OUTCOME

As mentioned above, 73 arts and cultural nonprofit organizations were funded for a total of $2,285,000 in relief grants. With the exception of a few applicants that were not in a priority group, award amounts were determined by organizational budget, with organizations that serve predominantly communities of color receiving higher amounts relative to their budget. The table attached identifies the list of funded arts and cultural organizations. In addition to these organizations, 94 relief grants totaling $208,000 were provided to individual artists and sole proprietor business owners in the arts sector to help assist in their economic recovery.

/s/ NANCI KLEIN Director of Economic Development

For questions, please contact Kerry Adams Hapner, Director of Cultural Affairs and Deputy Director of Economic Development, at (408) 793-4333 or Andrea Flores Shelton, Community and Economic Recovery Director, at [email protected]. .

Attachment ATTACHMENT A

SAN JOSE CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND: NONPROFIT ARTS ORGANIZATION GRANTEES

AWARD # ORGANIZATION LEGAL NAME AMOUNT 1 Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose $34,300 2 Aimusic School $45,730 3 Alliance for Youth Achievement $22,870 4 American Beethoven Society $11,430 5 Aztlan Academy $5,720 6 Bay Area Glass Institute $57,170 7 Bay Area Showcase Chorus $11,430 8 Cambodian American Resource Agency $2,370 9 Cambrian Symphony $5,720 10 Cashion Cultural Legacy $22,870 11 Chinese Performing Arts of America $45,730 12 Chopsticks Alley Art $22,870 13 Christmas in the Park $68,600 14 Cinequest Film Festival $80,030 15 City Lights Theater Company of San Jose $57,170 16 Contemporary Asian Theatre Scene $11,430 17 Curatus $11,430 18 Dynamics Performance Team $5,720 19 Exhibition District $5,720 20 Fountain Blues Foundation $11,430 21 Gay Pride Celebration Committee $34,300 22 Gilbert and Sullivan Society of SJ $11,430 23 History San Jose $57,170 24 Italian American Heritage Foundation $34,300 25 Kaisahan of San Jose Dance Company $22,870 26 Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana (MACLA) $68,600 27 NoonArts & Lectures $5,000

28 Northside Theatre Council $11,430 29 Opera Cultura $22,870 30 Opera San Jose $68,600 31 Playful People Productions $22,870 32 Red Ladder Theater $57,170 33 San Jose Center for Poetry and Literature $11,430 34 San Jose Chamber Music Society $11,430 35 San Jose Chamber Orchestra $22,870 36 San Jose Children’s Discovery Museum $80,030 37 San Jose Children’s Musical Theater $68,600 38 San Jose Choral Project $11,430 39 San Jose Dance Theater $5,720 40 San Jose Downtown Foundation $11,430 41 San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art $57,170 42 San Jose International Piano Competition $5,720 43 San Jose Jazz $80,030 44 San Jose Multicultural Artists Guild $22,870 45 $68,600 46 San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles $45,730 47 San Jose Stage Company $57,170 48 San Jose State University Research Foundation $8,100 49 San Jose Symphonic Choir $11,430 50 San Jose Taiko $45,730 51 San Jose Youth Shakespeare $5,720 52 San Jose Youth Symphony $68,600 53 Sangam Arts $22,870 54 Performing Arts Association $5,720 55 School of Arts and Culture at MHP $80,030 56 Silicon Valley African Film Festival $22,870

57 Silicon Valley Creates (for Blood Moon Orchestra) $22,870 58 Silicon Valley Creates (for POW!WOW! San Jose) $11,430 59 Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival $34,300 60 Silicon Valley Shakespeare $11,430 61 sjDANCEco $11,430 62 South Bay Guitar Society $5,720 63 Starting Arts $68,600 64 Steinway Society - The Bay Area $11,430 65 Symphony Silicon Valley $68,600 66 Teatro Vision $34,300 67 The New Ballet School $57,170 68 The Tabard Theatre Company $45,730 69 The Tech Interactive $68,600 70 Villages Music Society $5,720 71 Vivace Youth Chorus $22,870 72 Winchester Orchestra $5,720 73 Works San Jose $11,430 TOTAL GRANTS AWARDED TO ARTS AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS $2,285,000