Museum of Art Receives Florida Humanities COVID19 Funds

Published on January 05, 2022

Coral Springs, FL – Florida Humanities, the statewide, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), has awarded the Coral Springs Museum of Art a $25,000 grant for general operating costs to help recover from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Throughout the pandemic, the Museum has experienced dramatic changes ranging from closure and the implementation of virtual programming to opening back up with limited capacity and hybrid model engagement opportunities and finally back to in-person programming with robust health and safety protocols in place.

Despite inevitable financial hurtles, the pandemic also provided the Museum with an unprecedented opportunity for reinvention and expansion in different ways. At a time when community needs have also abruptly changed, the Coral Springs Museum of Art is committed to forging ahead as a creative gathering place for its diverse communities, as opposed to occupying a traditional passive role that many museums have employed in the past.

The American Rescue Plan grant will be used to support short-term operating costs for the Museum that will help realize its mission of engaging and connecting all people through exhibits, art education, and events that ignite cultural enrichment. The Museum is grateful to have been awarded this grant as it will ensure that it remain accessible and engaged during a time when museums are needed more than ever. Thanks to Florida Humanities, the Coral Springs Museum of Art, and organizations like it, can continue to work to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NEH received $135 million from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021, which was approved by Congress this past spring. The state humanities councils, including Florida Humanities, each received a portion of the NEH award to support museums, archives, historic sites and other humanities-focused nonprofits. The Coral Springs Museum of Art was one of 129 organizations in Florida that was awarded ARP funding totaling $1.88 million from Florida Humanities. The grants are intended to meet immediate operational needs in order for organizations to remain viable and maintain delivery of public humanities programming and resources in their communities. Florida Humanities received 188 applications for ARP funding, with nonprofits requesting the most funds for staffing and utilities.

These funds, said Florida Humanities Executive Director Dr. Nashid Madyun, provide a safety net for the organizations so they can focus on other priorities, such as fundraising and creating programming. “For smaller nonprofits, when bills are paid and staff are safe and intact, that type of alleviation is immeasurable,” he said. “Florida Humanities is honored to provide a lifeline to our state’s cultural and historic organizations, ensuring they continue to enrich their local communities, and the Sunshine State at large, for years to come.”
 
Funding for this grant was provided by Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and NEH’s Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan (SHARP) initiative. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this announcement do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.