Arts Relief Fund Sunsets on May 15; Raised $970,000 for Hurricane Recovery in Western North Carolina
On September 30, two days after Hurricane Helene devastated our state, the North Carolina Arts Foundation collaborated with Arts North Carolina and the NC Arts Council to create the Arts Disaster Relief Fund for Western North Carolina. Overall, the Arts Foundation received and distributed $970,000 in private sector donations that provided assistance to artists and non-profit arts organizations in 26 counties hit hard by the storm.
In October 2024, ARTS AVL was awarded $200,000 for redistribution to individual artists in the western region. Two months later, our foundation awarded $82,500 to the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area for dispersal to artists who had not yet received assistance. Altogether, 550 artists were helped through these efforts.
In February our foundation distributed $620,000 to the North Carolina Arts Council, which then granted these funds to non-profit arts organizations in western North Carolina that had been impacted by Helene. The Arts Council’s announcement of the awards includes a list of all the organizations that received assistance and the amount of funds allocated to each group.
The Arts Foundation distributed $10,000 to Arts North Carolina to support its outstanding work in raising awareness of the Relief Fund throughout our region and nation. The remainder of the funds were distributed to non-profit arts organizations that missed the application deadline for Arts Council relief grants and for support of arts projects that are helping bring visitors back to the region.
The only overhead costs paid associated with over 90% of the donations were small transactions fees if the gift was received through a digital or mobile payment platform, and compensation for extra bookkeeping and processing costs associated with receiving 1,345 donations.
The Arts Disaster Relief Fund for Western North Carolina raised more funds in support of artists and non-profits arts organizations than any previous relief effort organized for the arts in our state. The North Carolina Arts Foundation is deeply grateful to all of the individuals, private foundations, and businesses that made contributions to assist the arts sector recover from Hurricane Helene.
About the North Carolina Arts Foundation
A charitable non-profit, the North Carolina Arts Foundation is a catalyst for bringing private sector interest and support to arts programs that are statewide and regional in scope. The Arts Foundation’s work is made possible by contributions from thousands of individual donors, with major funding from Windgate Foundation, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust, music artist Ben Folds, and the Josephus Daniels Charitable Fund.