LRAC Adapts to Coronavirus Impact on the Arts
The Lake Region Arts Council Board has approved the following in our attempt to provide support to the artists and arts organizations that have had to postpone or cancel activities due to the Coronavirus quarantine. Please contact the LRAC office for more information, LRAC4@LRACgrants.org
Current grantees may apply to modify their grants to accommodate rescheduled or canceled events.
For applicants who had started but not finished an application for the FY20 Career Development the deadline has been extended to May 1, 2020.
Current FY19 and FY20 LRAC non-Operating Support grantees can convert final 20% grant payments to operating support expenses.
Allow FY19 and FY20 grantees to request final 20% payment, prior to holding postponed events due to the Coronavirus quarantine. This modification would be allowed if all of the grant funds have been expended by the grantee. Final reports would be filed when the postponed events have been held.
Looking Ahead
The Lake Region Arts Council is also looking ahead to strategically plan how we can continue to carry out our mission to encourage and support the vitality of the arts in West Central Minnesota.
Over 90% of our funding comes from the State of Minnesota. While the impact of the Coronavirus on the State’s economy is yet unknown, we do know that our State funding will be less in the next two years. To offset these cuts, LRAC will be seeking new, additional sources of funding, to minimize the impact on our grants and services. LRAC will start their new fiscal year on July 1, 2020.
Planning
To help with our planning, we have been talking with the artists and arts organizations in our region to find out what LRAC support they would value most. There were three consistent themes:
Be flexible in your grants so that we can adapt to unknown impacts from the Coronavirus.
Keep as much funding in the LRAC Project, Legacy and Operating Support grants as possible.
Look at providing an online platform that artists and arts organizations could use to offer workshop/classes, events, exhibits and hold meetings. Also provide the technical support for using the platform.
Thank You!
LRAC is grateful for the conversations with our regional arts partners and artists. Their input, concerns and encouragement will guide how we plan for the challenging year ahead. We will continue to let you know how we are adapting our grants and services.
I also want to thank the LRAC Board and our amazing staff, Betsy Ostenson, Rebecca Davis, our independent contractors, Steve and Jackie Henning and their team at AMS Digital Productions who do our website/social media/videos and Jess Torgerson our Gallery Curator/Artist Resource Facebook admin. Their willingness to adjust and roll up their sleeves has been inspiring. I have encouraged everyone that we are preparing not for a sprint, but a marathon. By working together with patience, creativity and courage, we will get through this.
With gratitude and respect,
Maxine Adams
Executive Director
Lake Region Arts Council
