Gov. Evers Directs WI's Department of Health Services to Issue a Safer At Home Order

On March 24, Governor Tony Evers directed DHS Secretary-designee Andrea Palm to issue a Safter at Home order that prohibits all nonessential travel, with some excetions as clarified and defined in the order.  The order is available here.  The order became effective at 8 am on Wednesday, March 25, 2020 and will remain in effect until 8 am on Friday, April 24, 2020, or until a superseding order is issued​.

Gov. Evers Directs WI's Department of Health Services to Prohibit Mass Gatherings of 10 People or More

Governor Tony Evers and Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) Secretary-designee Andrea Palm ordered a statewide moratorium on mass gatherings of 10 people or more to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, effective at 5:00pm on Tuesday, March 17th. This order applies to all public and private mass gatherings.  Read more.

Gov. Evers: Declares public health emergency due to COVID-19

On March 12, Governor Tony Evers declared a public health emergency in response to new cases of COVID-19, directing the Department of Health Services (DHS) to use all the resources necessary to respond to and contain the outbreak.  One of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) recommendations is “… that all non-essential gatherings of 250 or more people be cancelled or postponed statewide to help protect Wisconsinites from the spread of COVID-19, particularly those who are most vulnerable to infection and severe disease."  At this point, it is a recommendation. Read more.

GUIDE TO GOVERNMENTAL RELIEF FOR ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS:  SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (SBA) LOANS (FOR NONPROFITS AND ARTISTS)

Important (and urgent) advice from our colleagues at the Association of Performing Arts Professionals and at 20 Degrees:

• Time is of the essence to prepare and submit your application for the SBA Paycheck Protection COVID-19 relief loan program, as these dollars will go quickly and nonprofits are eligible but potentially disadvantaged. Getting your application in as early as possible is one of the best things you can do.
  

• Small businesses and sole proprietorships can begin applying for loans on April 3, 2020. 
• Independent contractors and those who are self-employed can begin applying on April 10, 2020.
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• Talk to a lender who already knows you. They need to be approved to do 7a loans in order to process this loan. Here is a list of the top most active 100 SBA lenders. As you are applying for these new loans, be sure to read current loan documents and keep in touch with current lenders. 

• Need guidance on small business relief, including applying for SBA loans? This is a very useful article.
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• Have your different scenarios ready for cost containment and new revenue generation. Here is the 20 Degrees Nonprofit COVID-19 toolkit that can help with that.
  
  We encourage you visit APAP's COVID-19 government relief page to understand the different relief programs that are available and for which you are eligible.
  

EMERGENCY FUNDS FOR ARTISTS AND ARTS ORGANIZATIONS*

Artists/Creative Entrepreneurs/Individual Arts Administrators: ​​

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ARTS-SPECIFIC RESOURCES FOR ARTISTS, ARTS ORGANIZATIONS, AND THEIR CONSTITUENTS

To help with all of this, we have compiled (in our daily Arts News​ service since January, and now here), the following list of resources.

        ArtsReady​

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        EmcArts "ARTS FWD" - virtual office hours, online workshops, weekly articles, free resources

        Film and Media Artists: State-specific and national resources, gathered by Southern Documentary Fund.​  

        Creative Capital (art resources including "late-breaking" grant opportunities; online workshops for artists and creatives, etc.)​​

        Arts Wisconsin's webpage devoted to COVID-19​

       Upcoming:

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​WEDC'S GUIDE FOR MAIN STREET AND OTHER BUSINESSES NAVIGATING COVID-19 TIME

(​​Click on the header above to access the Guide.)

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EXCERPTS FROM THE WISCONSIN ARTS NEWS RELATED TO COVID-19​​

(​​Click on the header above to access those excerpts.)

WI'S ARTS ORGANIZATIONS ALERT THEIR AUDIENCES, PATRONS, and PUBLIC

Click on the header to find a sampling of the messages (via email and website) that WI's arts organizations have begun to send to their patrons, partners, audience members, and community stakeholders.  We provide these as a way of helping others to shape a response to this public health issue, not to endorse any specific action.

For those who have not yet communicated with your partners, patrons, audience members, and community stakeholders, here are a couple of sample templates that have come our way.  We share them for your consideration, without recommending either course.   ​Sample Templates​​

RESOURCES FOR STAYING CONNECTED​

(​​Click on the header above to access a compilation of tech/teaching resouces, and classes and live events.)

IF YOUR WAB-FUNDED PROJECT HAPPENS DURING COVID-19 TIME

If you have a WAB grant to support a program or event taking place during this time of increased concern, we will allow you to postpone and reschedule, and will if necessary extend the grant project period. Be sure to contact WAB staff via email to alert us to the changes.​

As we continue to watch and prepare for the coming weeks, we will be tracking local response and welcome your questions – as will our partner in the priva​te sector, Arts Wisconsin. During times like this, we must act in concert with one another and support each other locally, statewide, and nationally.

Please be safe, protect yourself and those you interact with, and be healthy. Most importantly, thank you, as always, for all the extraordinary things you do eve​ry day.

​​- The Board and Staff of the Wisconsin Arts Board​, Updated 4/6/2020​