Special to Iredell Free News

RALEIGH — The Iredell Arts Council is accepting applications for North Carolina CARES for Arts grants through November 9.

The N.C. General Assembly designated $9.4 million federal CARES Act funds for arts councils and arts organizations to mitigate business disruptions caused by COVID-19. The N.C. Arts Council will distribute these funds on a per-capita basis to all North Carolina counties with a population of less than one million people.

In many counties, local arts councils will receive the funds and then sub-grant a portion of the county allotment to eligible recipients.

Individual artists, unincorporated arts groups or LLC’s and nonprofit organizations with 25 percent or more arts programming are eligible to apply to for a North Carolina CARES for Arts grant to offset business disruption and/or expenses incurred due to COVID-19 between March 1 and December 30, 2020.

The following expenses can be considered: paid salaries and benefits (including contractors), on-going operating expenses, costs associated with canceling programs and creating virtual programs, and COVID-related safety and cleaning measures. Applicants must provide documentation as evidence for expenses. Documents such as receipts, bill/invoices, monthly financial statements, and payroll ledgers will be considered.

Revenue losses are not considered for mitigation in this grant program. North Carolina CARES for Arts funding cannot reimburse expenses already paid for by other federal relief funds such as PPP loans, direct grants from the NEA, and stimulus grants issued by the North Carolina Arts Council.

Application forms and grant guidelines are available on the Iredell Arts Council website at www.iredellartscouncil.org/artist-resources. Applications must be received no later than November 9.

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For questions or more information, contact the Iredell Arts Council at 704-873-6100 or email mail@iredellartscouncil.org.