Last week, we relaunched our Artist Emergency Fund to aid documentary filmmakers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are grateful to our donors who contributed over $150,000 for our national artist community in just a matter of weeks. At the same time, we also received an overwhelming response from filmmakers in need–which raised concerns around how our modest fund can provide the best support at this time.

We have decided to close this fund tonight, April 8 at 11:59 p.m. ET to allow us to immediately respond to the first batch of applications in our queue. Our goal is to support as many applicants as we can with the resources we currently have available. All applicants who submitted by this time will be reviewed and considered for funding. For questions or clarifications, contact [email protected].

In addition to distributing basic needs grants through April, we plan to re-open the fund in May with a focus on mental health support and hope to make more aid available in the months ahead. We are part of a growing movement of organizations pooling resources for artists around the country–just this week alone, new funds were announced from Artist Relief and Field of Vision, among others. 

We will keep the community updated about upcoming funding opportunities through our newsletter and social media. Until then, be safe and take care of one another.

The Artist Emergency Fund is made possible with support from Open Society Foundations, Shizuka Asakawa, the Chicago Media Project, Genuine Article Pictures and a number of other generous individuals. For more information on ways to support this fund, contact Savannah Lennertz at [email protected].