Emergency Relief Fund

The Emergency Relief Fund Grant Program provides $500 or $1000 to individual artists who have had a critical need relating to healthcare, housing, equipment, or legal emergencies since January 1, 2024. This grant is intended to serve our community by addressing the pressing circumstances of artists in need. We can fund at least 36 artists in need with this program.

Daniel Thomas
Unsplash

Award Amounts: $500 or $1,000

Important dates

Application Opens: September 29, 2025
Deadline: November 9, 2025 before 11:59 pm 
Decision Date: November 20, 2025
Award Notification: Week of November 24, 2025
Emergency Relief Period: January 1, 2024 – Present (The time frame in which the emergency happened)

For any ADA accommodation requests throughout the application process, please reach out to info@aracouncil.org for support.

ELIGIBILITY

Please read all eligibility criteria prior to submitting your application. If you have any questions AFTER reading the full program guidelines, please email info@aracouncil.org for further support.

Applicant must abide by the following guidelines to be eligible for funding:

    • Applicant must have been a resident of the Arrowhead Region for at least 6 months prior to the application deadline, as determined by their voting address and/or the payment of Federal, State, and local taxes

    • Applicants must live in ARAC’s service region consisting of the following seven (7) counties: Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, and St. Louis, and/or one of the following four (4) Tribal Nations: Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe (District I)

    • Applicant must be applying as an individual. No organizations or LLCs will be eligible for funding

    • Applicant must be eighteen (18) years of age or older and be a U.S. citizen or have permanent resident status

    • Applicant’s emergency must have occurred in the past twelve (12) months, and be related to healthcare, housing, equipment, or legal emergencies.

    • Returning applicants must have filed satisfactory final reports through the Grant Portal for all prior ARAC-funded projects.

APPLICATION PROCESS

The Emergency Relief Fund program intends to disperse these funds as quickly as possible. The application will be open from September 29, 2025, until November 9, 2025. After this, the staff will tabulate the results and get them approved during our board meeting on November 20, 2025. This grant is non-competitive, meaning that all results will be based on a random numerical drawing.

    • All applications will be made available on our website on the application open date and must be submitted via our secure online grants management system, Foundant.

    • If you don’t have access to a computer, you may arrange a time to use a computer at the ARAC offices or your local library 

    • ARAC Staff is available to assist applicants throughout the process. Please reach out to info@aracouncil.org with any questions.

    • Applications close at 11:59 p.m. on the due date. Submissions after the deadline will not be accepted.

      • Exceptions will only be made in very specific, rare circumstances. Any exception requests must be made in writing to grants@aracouncil.orgas soon as possible after the application deadline for consideration

    • After the application deadline, applications will go into a 2-3 week Eligibility Review by ARAC Staff

      • During this time, applicants may receive emails from staff regarding technical issues, incomplete information, or eligibility-related questions.

    • After passing eligibility review, applications will move forward to the randomized drawing to provide recommendations to the ARAC Board of Directors for final approval.

    • This grant is non-competitive, meaning that all results will be based on a random numerical drawing.

    • To increase the geographic equity of fund distribution, ARAC will be assigning one extra entry to applicants from outside Duluth city limits. Due to limited resources in the greater Arrowhead Region, the intent is to help ensure that applicants from these communities have more equitable access to public funding.

    • After the final drawing is reviewed and approved by the ARAC Board of Directors at their quarterly board meeting, all eligible applicants will receive an award approval or denial notice via email within a week of the board meeting decision date.

    • To officially accept the award, grantees will be issued the required follow-up form(s) within their Grant Portal to complete promptly before payment can be issued. Once complete, the grant award payment will be issued in the full amount requested. 

      • After accepting, awardees can expect payment within 6 weeks.

      • Failure to respond or accept the award within the acceptance period could result in the loss of funding.

      • Please monitor your email for official correspondence throughout the application period.

    • Out of respect for the applicant’s privacy, ARAC will not publicly announce the awarded grantees for the ERF.

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Qualified applicants should apply regardless of their race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or family status, pregnancy, use of a support animal, educational background, or status as a qualified individual with a disability or protected veteran. Individuals who are Black, Indigenous, People of Color, people with disabilities, people age 65 and older, military veterans, and/or individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, agender, Two-Spirit (LGBTQIA2+) are encouraged to apply.

ARAC’s FUNDING SOURCE

The Artists Emergency Relief Fund Network is stewarded by Springboard for the Arts

ART ADVOCACY

To advocate for the arts and this critical funding, consider becoming a member of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts or joining ARAC annually at Arts Advocacy Day in St.Paul! Organized in 1974, MCA is the oldest continuously operating statewide arts advocacy organization in the country.

As one of the nation’s leading advocacy groups for the arts, MCA has been organizing the creative community for decades to protect and defend this essential State funding for the arts. Thanks to their work alongside arts advocates at the State Capitol, critical funding remains secure for Minnesotans to have access to and involvement in the arts. Learn more about their mission here.