#CARESForMusic: A Musician's Guide to Accessing Relief Funds

It’s no secret that the coronavirus pandemic has hit the Burlington music community hard. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for local musicians! The CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Support) Act, passed in March of this year, allocated over $150 billion to states and municipalities to help protect small businesses from the effects of COVID. These small businesses include musical venues, facilities workers, and musical entrepreneurs. 

These funds can be claimed by eligible people to help support their small business, and as of August 24, only 19.3% of funds had been claimed. So, there is lots of money to go around. Seems great, right? There’s a catch: the money must be claimed, allocated, and spent by Americans before December 30, 2020, when it disappears.

Luckily for all the starving artists out there, Sound Diplomacy, gener8tor, and others have teamed up to launch the #CARESFORMUSIC Initiative. This is a project designed to help support our local musical economy by educating small music businesses, including artists and venues, on how to claim the federal money that is available to them. 

The #CARESFORMUSIC team has created a comprehensive toolkit, available for free download at www.caresformusic.com, to help you access CARES funds for your musical pursuits. This toolkit is a step-by-step guide to assessing your eligibility and claiming your federal funds as soon as possible. The team says on their website that “The toolkit has four parts focused on music, but we hope it is replicable for all sectors impacted by the pandemic – all live performance, art, culture and entertainment.” The website also has resources like databases and worksheets to help you understand your eligibility and perfect your application. 

Portia Sabin, Executive Director of sponsor Music Business Association, said, “Knowing that money is out there and knowing how to get it are crucial pieces of information. This toolkit aims to help with both by drawing attention to the availability of CARES funds and by providing a guide to successfully applying for them that we hope will benefit a lot of artists and others in the music space.”

There is COVID relief money waiting for you, but you have to claim it soon! Check out the website now to download your free toolkit, find out if you’re eligible, and unlock funds to enrich Burlington’s local music community and your career.  

Find out more about this opportunity at www.caresformusic.com.

Text by Kaitlyn Paszkiewicz