Ashland Independent Film Festival has been approved for a $50,000 award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The grant will replace funds from lost ticket sales, membership and other revenues typically earned at AIFF’s April Festival. Funds will support AIFF Learn educational programs, communications and public relations work and administrative efforts.
“We are so grateful for this support from the NEA and taxpayers,” said AIFF Executive Director Erica Thompson. “With this grant, we can maintain our staff and continue moving forward with exciting plans for year-round events, such as the October Varsity World Film Week and AIFF Learn.” Thompson noted that more than 76 percent of AIFF’s budget is spent locally, meaning that the federal dollars will stay and circulate in the Rogue Valley.
The awards were announced July 1, 2020, after a rigorous selection process. Ten $50,000 grants were awarded to Oregon arts organizations. According to the NEA, the federal arts agency received more than 3,100 eligible applications nationwide, requesting $157 million for the $45 million available in direct assistance, and used more than 200 application readers and panelists to review and score each application using published review criteria.
“All of us at the National Endowment for the Arts are keenly aware that arts organizations across the country are hurting, struggling and trying to survive and that our supply of funding does not come close to meeting the demand for assistance,” said Arts Endowment Chairman Mary Anne Carter. “That said, I am enormously proud of the over-and-above efforts of the Arts Endowment staff to swiftly and professionally manage such a large amount of additional work in a relatively short period of time on behalf of the American public.”
The 855 organizations — located in every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico — will receive a total of $44.5 million in non-matching funds to support staff salaries, fees for artists or contractual personnel and facilities costs.