Happening now: CERF+'s Summer Campaign has Begun!
Following the devastating 2017 hurricane season, local leaders from Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda approached former President Bill Clinton to help them build back better. In response, The Clinton Foundation launched the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Action Network on Post-Disaster Recovery in the Caribbean.
Over the course of a week, we met with many of our emergency grant recipients each in different phases of recovery – some completely back to work and others whose destroyed homes and studios remain in a state of uncertainty. Many told us that ours has been the only help they’ve received so far. Since the storm struck eight months ago, CERF+ has already provided 42 artist working in craft disciplines $188,100 in grants and interest free loans, making this our second largest response effort after Hurricane Katrina.
Irma was my first hurricane, but it certainly wasn’t Key West’s. I moved here five years ago to take the reins at a growing art center, and quickly became attuned to the way storms serve as rites of passage and touchstones for anyone who’s lived through at least one.
We’re excited to share CERF+’s recently released impact report for our fiscal year 2016, which covers the period of time from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016. CERF+ is distinctive among non-profit artist service organizations not only because of our focus on career protection for studio artists, but also, the high percentage of support […]
Folk and traditional artists are sometimes so deeply embedded in their community that both their skills and their products, while recognized by their neighbors, go largely unnoticed and under-appreciated by the broader population.
CERF+ received a grant from Westfield Insurance Foundation’s Legacy of Caring Fund thanks to the help of ZINC to bring its Build Back Better program to the artist community in Gatlinburg, TN in partnership with Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.
“Being a full time craft artist is something that many of us dream about, but it does have its own risks built into it: Lack of financial stability and traditional safety nets are one of them.
