HURRICANE HELENE ARTS RELIEF GRANTS

In the wake of Hurricane Helene’s devastating impact on Western North Carolina, ArtsAVL launched two critical relief grant programs to support the region’s creative community: the Arts Business Relief Grant and the Emergency Relief Grant. Together, these initiatives provided over $1.4 million in direct relief to arts professionals and businesses across 26 counties.

Arts Business Relief Grant

Launched in February 2025, this grant program awarded $5,000 each to 136 arts businesses—both for-profit and nonprofit—working in craft, visual, and performing arts, including music. The grants supported recovery from both physical damage and economic disruption caused by the storm.

Program Highlights:

• Total Awarded: $680,000
• Applicants: 180 | Awards: 136
• Eligibility: Arts-focused businesses operating for 2+ years with a $20,000+ annual budget, located in one of 26 Helene-impacted counties
• 70% of grantees are based in Buncombe County, with 60% in Asheville
• 61% of grantees were for-profit; 39% nonprofit
• Estimated storm-related losses:
• $6.7M in physical damage
• $11.3M in economic injury

Primary uses: Staff retention, program relaunches, facility repairs, marketing, and community outreach

Arts businesses reported damage to buildings, loss of inventory and equipment, extended closures, and major revenue losses during what is typically the region’s busiest arts and tourism season. Funds helped stabilize operations and supported the sector’s long-term recovery efforts.

Emergency Relief Grant for Artists

Open from October to November 2024, this grant program provided $500 stipends to 1,500 individual arts professionals significantly impacted by the storm. Artists of all disciplines—including craft, visual, literary, media, and performing arts—were eligible to apply.

Program Highlights:

• Total Awarded: $750,000
• Applications Received: 2,391
• Grants Awarded: 1,500
• 30% craft artists | 27% visual artists | 25% performing artists
• 48% of applicants requested help for basic needs like rent, food, or transportation
• 26 counties reached, including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
• 28% of grantees identified as LGBTQIA+; 17% as BIPOC

Artists cited the loss of venues, studios, equipment, and income due to widespread event cancellations and infrastructure damage. Many also experienced displacement, utility disruptions, and long-term economic hardship. Relief stipends helped cover urgent expenses and sustain artistic careers during an unstable time.

Next Steps

These grants represent a vital first step in the region’s arts recovery. By delivering immediate relief to both individual artists and arts-based businesses, the programs helped stabilize livelihoods, prevent permanent closures, and lay the groundwork for long-term rebuilding. However, the scale of damage caused by Hurricane Helene—estimated at over $18 million in physical and economic losses—underscored the vulnerability of the creative sector in times of crisis.

ArtsAVL continues to lead efforts to ensure a comprehensive and equitable recovery for the region’s cultural economy. In partnership with local, state, and national stakeholders, ArtsAVL is now guiding the development of the Buncombe County Arts Recovery Plan (2026–2030), coordinating regional pilot activations, and advocating for increased public and private investment in arts resilience. This includes strengthening infrastructure, expanding access to emergency resources, and amplifying the role of the arts in community healing, economic revitalization, and disaster preparedness.

The creative sector is a cornerstone of Western North Carolina’s identity and economy. Sustained recovery and strategic investment will be essential not only to rebuild what was lost, but to reimagine a more inclusive, connected, and resilient future for the arts in our region.

BIG Thanks to our Supporters!

Carol Maulhardt & Joseph Piscotty, Eunice & Bob Koch, Reilly Family Fund, Anderson-Rogers Foundation, Inc, Steven Dennis, Blackwing/California Cedar Products Company, Kaye & Todd Phillips, Coastal Barrier Island Foundation, Joan Kerrigan, Blackwing LLC, Owen Murphy – One Drop Design Studio, Carla & Judah dal Cais, Gary Davis & Gerri Barraco, Rod & Bess Baird, Laura Smith, Peter Hollis, Thomas Frank, Anne Goodwin, Susan & Jim Knorr, Jane Doughty, Lauren Steiner, Myra Lynch, Lynn & Jim Karegeannes, Diane Miller, Theresa Jurgensen & Christopher Jackson, Bob & Phyliss Ward, Julie Modaff, River Whyless, Joan Signorille and Dennis Greeno, Kenneth Nelson & Julie Hettiger, Motorco with Parts & Labor, Jack Weiss, Johnathan Wesley Design, Rachel King, Jack Anderson, Asheville Chamber Music Series Benefit, Elizabeth Mehaffy, Winslow Tuttle, Karen Gottlieb, Todd Johnson & Megan Lynch, Meet the Needs Charleston, Gordon & Kim Wissinger, David Adoff & Hildy Teegan, Family 140 Fund, Kim Kelley Events, Timothy & Anne Wissler, The Ramkat, PayPal Giving Fund, Women’s Caucus for Art – New Hampshire, James Badonsky, Andrew Herbst, Sunlight Tax LLC, Robert & Karen Milnes, Patricia McCauley, Rotary Club of Asheville Foundation, Johnson Family Charitable Fund, Suburban Tetris, Lauren Bechtol, Susan and Erick Laine, Railgarten, Brook Reynolds, Aubrey Entertainment, Lee Ellison, Chateau Seaview Charitable Fund, Sherry Heacock, Elizabeth Hosier, Gary Sirak, Four Seasons Chamber Orchestra, Altura Architects, Patricia Van Voorhis, Brad & Roberta Allen, d&b audiotechnik Corporation, Lipscomb Family Foundation, Louise Cort, White Horse Community Fund, Grand Bohemian Greenville, Nancy Miller-Green, Mary Stanley, COHAB.SPACE/Blue Spiral 1/Shoppe Object, Alicia Lein, Melvin Scholl, Ed Remsen, Wicked Weed Brewing, Sterling Coffee Roasters, Margrit Goldstein, Devil’s Foot Distillery/The Mule, Drury Southwest Foundation, WNC Long Haul Recovery & Resilience Fund, Rex Foundation, New Orleans JCC, Mint Museum of Art, Lyric, Charlotte Is Creative, Bridget & Rick Eckerd, W. Jeffrey Brady, Ash Gutierrez/Glaive

With additional support provided by gifts from hundreds of donors from across the country and around the world.