On September 14, the California Arts Council (CAC) announced a revision to its previous grant award announcement for 2021, awarding more than $11.4 million across an additional 484 grants in project and operational support for nonprofit organizations and units of government throughout the state of California. The update more than doubles the original number of grants awarded, from 441 to 925, and nearly doubles its original award allocation for its first five programs for the 2020-21 fiscal year to $24,490,261.

The decision, approved by the Council at its meeting on August 25, was made in direct response to the arts and cultural field’s ongoing need for support amid the continuing economic threat spawned by the COVID-19 global health crisis. The CAC said its revised allocations accomplish a number of critical goals for the Council: funding hundreds of organizations with strong applications that originally went unfunded; significantly prioritizing funding for small, economically vulnerable organizations; increasing support for BIPOC-led and BIPOC-serving organizations; and protecting the diversity of the arts ecosystem across the state. See the full announcement here.

ACSO Executive Director, Sarah Weber, said, "We are grateful to the CAC for listening and being responsive to the field's concerns and calls for assistance during this unprecedented time of need and support. We commend the Council members and staff for quickly adapting their already-announced 2021 grant cycle and finding additional funds to double the number of organizations that received grants. We urge the CAC to continue this creativity and innovation in future years as our field works to recover from the pandemic so that grants can be distributed equitably across all arts disciplines and across all budget sizes."

In the 2021 grant round, ACSO and six of its members have received grants totaling $229,750 in three grant categories. Additionally, sixteen orchestras, chamber groups, and classical music ensembles outside of the ACSO membership network received nearly $370,000 in grant funds.

Congratulations to the following ACSO Members: Fremont Symphony, Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, Santa Maria Philharmonic, Santa Monica Symphony, The Colburn School, and Youth Orchestras of Fresno. See their grant categories and award amounts below. 

Arts & Cultural Organizations General Operating Relief
Supporting arts and cultural organizations who have experienced economic hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Santa Monica Symphony: $30,000
• Fremont Symphony: $28,500
• Youth Orchestras of Fresno: $27,000
• Santa Maria Philharmonic: $27,000

Impact Projects
Supporting collaborative projects that center artists and artistic practice in responding to issues currently faced by California’s communities.

• Inner City Youth Orchestras of Los Angeles: $18,000

Statewide and Regional Networks
Supporting arts service organizations and networks.

• Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles: $33,250
• Association of California Symphony Orchestras: $31,500
• The Colburn School: $31,500