NYFA: Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grants

“Dire financial emergencies“ include the lack or imminent endangerment of essentials such as housing, medicine/healthcare, utilities, and food. This grant program aims to provide dancers with greater stability to move forward by covering up to three months of essential expenses, recognizing the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dance sector, as well as other recent career interruptions including illness or injury.

Funding Information

• Grants of up to $5,000.
• In each cycle they will distribute approximately $65,000 in total funding.

Eligibility Criteria

• There are three eligibility criteria in this program: Individual, Artistic, and Emergency.
• Individual Eligibility
  • Applicants must be 21 years or older.
  • Applicants must reside in the United States, the District of Columbia, a Tribal Nation, or a U.S. Territory.
  • Applicants must be an artist in need, having an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or lower for an individual, or $150,000 for joint filers, averaged over the last two federal tax returns.
  • Applicants cannot be enrolled in any degree-seeking program.
  • Applicants must not have received a Rauschenberg Medical or Dancer Emergency Grant previously.
  • Applicants must demonstrate current and ongoing activity as a professional dancer.
• Artistic Eligibility
  • Applicants must be a professional dancer. You need to have been working as a paid, live dance performer for at least the last five years (since 2020), in any stage/performance style, including aerial, ballet, hip-hop, jazz, modern, tap and traditional/folk. You may apply if you perform in a variety of settings (for instance: ticketed stage performances, free street festivals, and music videos), as long as you have performed in live, public-facing performances regularly since 2020 (at least one paid engagement annually).
  • You do not need to be a full-time dancer, or receive your primary income through your dance performance.
  • Inactivity, or online/streaming activity, during COVID, and during the last six months, is allowable.
  • Performances in educational/academic settings, social dance, competitive settings, clubs or other commercial settings, exotic dance, commercials, and industrials cannot be considered in this history of performing.
  • Self-produced online presentation, and/or performances shared solely through personal websites, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or other online platforms are not eligible.
  • If you perform your own work live, your resume needs to clearly indicate that you were both the choreographer and dancer.
• Emergency Eligibility
  • Applicants must be experiencing a dire financial emergency that has occurred within approximately the last six months. This is defined as the lack or imminent endangerment of essentials such as housing, medicine/healthcare, utilities, food and/or transportation. Your expenses must be direct, out-of-pocket expenses for you individually.
  • The dire financial emergency needs to be the result of a loss or lack of current/recent (in the last six months) work as a paid dancer because of circumstances beyond your control. Common circumstances include canceled performances, cutbacks or cancellations of dance engagement contracts, loss of touring opportunities, illness or injury, and ongoing shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact.
  • The expenses for which you are requesting funds must be incurred and paid within the U.S. (including D.C., Tribal Nations and U.S Territories).
  • In each cycle, they can consider emergencies that have occurred within approximately the last six months. The earliest date for an eligible emergency is listed in the cycle’s information.

For more information, visit New York Foundation for the Arts.