In response to valid and ongoing concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic, the Arts & Business Council of Chicago (A&BC) is committed to maintaining its mission of lending expertise, providing support, and facilitating partnerships for arts, cultural, and creative organizations in all of Chicago’s 77 communities. As new information emerges every day, this support center will be updated with leading research and emerging issues to help navigate this period of disruption. This support center will be updated as quickly and as often as possible.

If you would like to post a resource or learn more, please contact Braden Cleary, Director of Arts Services, at bcleary@artsbiz-chicago.org.

• March 4: Prepare Your Organization for the Coronavirus Disease Outbreak – Event Safety Alliance
• March 16: Artists in a Time of Global Pandemic – Howlround Theatre Commons
• March 19: Arts and Culture Sector and the Coronavirus: What We Know and How to Move Forward – Americans for the Arts
• March 19: Emergency Preparedness and Response: COVID-19 and the Arts Ecosystem – Grantmakers in the Arts
• March 19: Guidance for Employers During the COVID-19 Pandemic – Quarels & Brady
• March 20: Town Hall Webinar: Fundraising & COVID-19 – Giving Tree Associates
• March 23: Financial and Strategic Planning in Response to COVID-19 – Studio Watershed, SKS Consulting & En Pointe Consulting
• March 24: Networking for Disaster Management in the Performing Arts – Performing Arts Readiness
• March 25: Crisis Communication and Reputation Management for Performing Arts Organizations – Performing Arts Readiness
• June 16: Achieving Fundraising Resiliency: Arts and Culture – Evolve Giving Group

• Weekly Policy Briefings – Arts Alliance Illinois
• Preparing for Potential Impact of the Cornonavirus – ArtsReady (February 26, 2020)
• Arts and Culture Sector Can Prepare for Coronavirus in the United States – Americans for the Arts (March 5, 2020)
• What Nonprofit Board Members Should Be Doing Right Now to Address the COVID-19 Situation – BoardSource (March 16, 2020)
• Using Digital Engagement to Reach Donors During the COVID-19 Outbreak – Campbell & Company (March 17, 2020)
• Managing Nonprofit Finances During the Coronavirus Crisis – Wallace Foundation (March 25, 2020)
• Leading an Organization Through the COVID-19 Crisis – BoardSource (March 26, 2020)
• How Small Nonprofits Must Adjust to Ensure Survival in the Age of the Coronavirus – IPaintMyMind (April 13, 2020)
• Nine Steps Arts & Culture Leaders Can Take to Overcome a Crisis – Arts Consulting Group (April 17, 2020)
• Three Cracks in Cultural Entity Operations to Repair for Reopening – Know Your Own Bone (May 13, 2020)
• How COVID-19 is Impacting Intentions to Visit Cultural Entities – Know Your Own Bone (latest update: June 8, 2020)
• Be Safe Chicago Guidelines for Reopening Performance Venues – City of Chicago
• Reopening Guidelines for Theaters and Performing Arts – Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity

• The Actors Fund
• The Artists’ Fellowship
• Artist Relief
• Arts for Illinois
• CERF+ (resources for artists who test positive for COVID-19)
• Chicago Microbusiness Recovery Grant (for companies with 4 or fewer employees in low or moderate-income community areas)
• Chicago Small Business Resiliency Fund
• Chicago Theatre Workers Relief Fund at the League of Chicago Theatres
• The Dancers’ Fund at Chicago Dancers United (short-term financial assistance to Chicago dance professionals in times of critical health need)
• Federal Arts Funding Opportunities for Nonprofit and Commercial Arts Organizations and Individual Artists
• IFF + CRF USA Payroll Protection Program Loans for Nonprofits
• Illinois Humanities COVID-19 Emergency Relief Grants
• Loans Available to Nonprofits in the CARES Act
• Musicians’ Corona Relief Fund at Equal Sound
• National Endowment for the Arts CARES Act Grant
• Propeller Impact Fund at Threewalls (priority consideration for communities that are impacted disproportionately including: ALAANA artists, d/Deaf and disabled artists, LGBTQ2SIA+ artists, and gender non-conforming and non-binary artists.)
• Small Business Administration Disaster Loan Assistance

• Arts Leaders of Color Emergency Fund
• Chicago Artists Relief Fund
• Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund

• Paycheck Protection Program Pop-Up Call Center – Chicago Community Loan Fund
• Virtual Legal Clinic for Small Businesses & Nonprofits – Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights
• Brief Response Center (assistance with Federal Paycheck Protection Program, state unemployment benefits, and more) – Lawyers for the Creative Arts
• Loss Calculator – Performing Arts Readiness
• Sample Emergency Plans – Performing Arts Readiness