Model ship at the Polson Museum, a CARES Humanities Relief Grant recipient. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
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Humanities Washington Gives Over $500,000 to Cultural Organizations Affected by COVID-19
This past spring, in what is likely a first, every museum and cultural center in Washington State shut down. Empty auditoriums and vacant exhibit spaces meant a devastating loss not only of valuable community spaces, but of revenue for a sector that already operates on thin margins. And in the face of a pandemic that continues unabated, the cultural sector will be among the last to reopen because of social distancing requirements.
Through a grants program funded by the CARES Act via the National Endowment for the Humanities, nonprofit Humanities Washington just finished distributing $522,000 to 108 cultural organizations who are experiencing financial hardship as a result of COVID-19. The CARES Act Humanities Relief Grants, as they were called, provided needed relief for a sector in unprecedented turmoil.
“The impact of COVID-19 on our communities’ cultural organizations is almost impossible to fathom,” said Shelley Saunders, chief resource development officer at Humanities Washington. “But we also know that the sector is resourceful and creative, and it was deeply gratifying to provide support.”
Though the NEH funds were distributed at the same time nationally, Humanities Washington was among the first organizations to begin funding. And the application process was designed with speed in mind.
“We know that on a good day most cultural orgs are overworked,” said Saunders. “When you add a pandemic and a massive loss of funding and staff, the result is an emergency. So we set out to make applying as easy and painless as possible. The whole process only took applicants about half an hour.”
Rural organizations and those serving people of color have been particularly hard hit, and special attention was given to their funding. Of the 108 cultural institutions, nearly half were designated as rural or serving BIPOC communities. Priority was also given to organizations outside King County.
Half a million dollars is a small fraction of the amount of revenue lost for the sector, and massive challenges remain. In a survey of how COVID-19 has affected the state’s cultural sector, conducted by a consortium of humanities and arts organizations including Humanities Washington, it was found that 45% of the state’s cultural organizations can only cover up to three months of operating expenses with their cash reserves. While 66% of organizations estimate that their reopening startup costs will be less than $10,000, the majority of organizations can cover less than 50% of those costs. Though modest, the grants from Humanities Washington of up to $5,000 each could make a significant impact, especially for smaller organizations.
The grants reached every corner of Washington State, and covered all ten congressional districts. See below for a full list of grantees.
CARES Act Humanities Relief Grant recipients:
206 Zulu
9th and 10th Horse Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers Museum
ADEFUA Cultural Education Workshop
Arbutus Folk School
Asia Pacific Cultural Center
Autism Empowerment
Bainbridge Island Historical Society
Blue Earth Alliance
Celtic Arts Foundation
Center for Religious Humanism
Center for World Indigenous Studies
Children’s Museum of Skagit County
Chinook Indian Nation
Coastal Interpretive Center
Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum
Confluence
Densho
Duwamish Tribal Services
East Benton County Historical Society & Museum
El Centro de la Raza
Filipino American National Historical Society Yakima Chapter
Fort Nisqually Foundation
Fort Walla Walla Museum
Friends of Mukai
Friends of Skamokawa
Gay City: Seattle’s LGBTQ Center
George Weyerhaeuser Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection dba Pacific Bonsai Museum
Gig Harbor Peninsula Historical Society dba Harbor History Museum
Greentrike (Children’s Museum of Tacoma)
Hedgebrook
Highline Heritage Museum
Holocaust Center for Humanity
Huong Viet Performing Arts Group
Island County Historical Society Museum
Jack Straw Cultural Center
Jefferson County Historical Society
Key City Players, Inc
Kitsap County Historical Society
KYRS Thin Air Community Radio
Lewis County Historical Museum
Living Voices
Look, Listen and Learn
Lopez Island Historical Society
Lynden Heritage Foundation
Makah Cultural and Research Center
Maple Valley Creative Arts Council
Maryhill Museum of Art
Mason County Historical Society
Meaningful Movies Project
Methow Arts Alliance
Methow Field Institute d/b/a Methow Valley Interpretive Center
Native Arts & Cultures Foundation
New Dungeness Light Station Association
Nikkei Heritage Association of Washington
Northern Kittitas County Historical Society
Northwest African American Museum
Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture
Northwest Railway Museum
Olympia Film Society
Orquesta Northwest
Pickford Film Center
Pioneer Farm Museum
Poetry Northwest
Polson Museum
Port Gamble S’Klallam Foundation
Poulsbo Historical Society
Rainier Avenue Radio
Redmond Historical Society
Regional Theatre of the Palouse
Salish School of Spokane
San Juan Historical Society and Museum
Scarecrow Video
Seattle Latino Film Festival
Shakespeare Uncork’d Walla Walla, dba Shakespeare Walla Walla
SIFF
Skagit County Historical Musuem
South Sound Reading Foundation
Spokane Valley Heritage Museum
SpokaneFāVS
Squaxin Island Museum Library and Research Center
Steilacoom Historical Museum
Steilacoom Tribal Cultural Center and Museum
Stonerose Interpretive Center and Fossil Site
Tacoma Historical Society
The Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas
The Historic Trust
The Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery
Thorp Mill Town Historical Preservation Society
Three Dollar Bill Cinema
Tieton Arts & Humanities
Touchet Valley Arts Council dba Liberty Theater
University Beyond Bars
Wa Na Wari
Washington Museum Association
Washington State Historical Society
Washington State Jewish Historical Society
Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center
Westport South Beach Historical Society
Whatcom Literacy Council
Whatcom Museum Foundation
White Bluffs Quilt Museum
White River Valley Museum and Mary Olson Farm
Whiteswan Environmental
Window Seat Media
Wing Luke Asian Museum
Word Travels: Bringing Immigrant and Refugee Stories to the Community
Write Place
Yakima Valley Museum
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