Atlanta Artist Relief Fund

Atlanta Arts Supporters, Artists, Family, Friends:

With the rise of Covid-19, our Atlanta arts community is facing an existential challenge the likes of which we haven't seen in our lifetime.  Most artists in Atlanta live on a paycheck to paycheck, gig to gig basis and have to supplement their art with a second and oftentimes third part-time job. It's the nature of the society we live in, and bettering that situation is a fight for another day.

Many of these artists have found themselves out of work, and as the infection rates continue, we have members of our community under quarantine, unable to leave their house and unable to earn an income. To many ATL artists, this has been and will continue to be a devastating financial blow.

With your financial help, a group of Atlanta artists have assembled to ready a relief task force to help our community weather this storm as best as we can.

Where your money went:
- Purchasing of food supplies for a frozen meal prep volunteering group that has created over 1000 meals for those who are quarantined or financially in need due to being out of work, delivering nutritious food and supplies to the doorsteps of those artists who are in financial need.
- Purchasing of necessary essentials for artists in financial need (pain medications, fever reducers, electrolytes, etc)
-Gas reimbursement for those volunteers who run meal trains to the quarantined.

Where it is going:
-Radically accessible mental health support programs, making mental health care possible for any Atlanta artist, regardless of their ability to pay. 
- Office space headquarters for our incredibly dedicated volunteer staff, 
-Paying two staff members to increase bandwidth: a relief manager to let us serve as many people as possible and a development director to help us continue to grow and serve. 

Where it is going next:
-A housing fund that allows artists to continue to pay rent, even as their finances are in trouble.
-Community programming that connects artists to healthcare, regardless of their insurance situation. 
-We are working toward an Atlanta Artist Community Center, dedicated to affordable housing and accessible services for the artists of this great city. 

We are overwhelmed with the support that you have demonstrated. With you continued generosity, we look forward to a future where Atlanta artists are the most community-supported artists in the country. We seek to create sustainable careers for artists that can weather any storm.