Artists' Fellowship Inc.: Emergency Cash for Fine Artists in Crisis Since 1859

Artists' Fellowship Inc. has been giving emergency money to fine artists since 1859. That is not a typo. This organization predates the Civil War. It was founded by artists who recognized that their colleagues faced financial ruin from illness, injury, and bereavement, and 167 years later, it is still doing the same thing.

The premise is simple: if you are a professional fine artist in the United States and a serious emergency has put you in financial jeopardy, Artists' Fellowship will write you a check. No repayment expected. The average award is $2,500. The maximum is $20,000. Applications are rolling, there is no fee, and the Board of Trustees reviews requests monthly from September through June.

What Counts as an Emergency

Artists' Fellowship is strict about what qualifies. They are looking for a recent, unexpected hardship that has caused financial crisis. Acceptable emergencies include:

• Natural disasters (hurricane damage, wildfire loss, flood)
• Medical or dental conditions requiring treatment you cannot afford
• Accidents causing personal injury or property damage
• Bereavement (death of a family member)

What does not qualify:

• General indebtedness or credit card debt
• Lack of employment or slow sales
• Chronic underemployment
• General financial precarity without a specific triggering event

This distinction matters. Artists' Fellowship is not a general assistance program for artists who are struggling financially. It is an emergency responder for artists who have been hit by a specific, documented crisis. If your studio burned down, if you were diagnosed with cancer and have no insurance, or if a hurricane destroyed your workspace, this is who you call.

Compare this to the Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grants, which specifically covers medical emergencies for artists, or the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grants, which covers a broader range of urgent needs. Artists' Fellowship is the oldest and most established of these emergency resources.

Who Is Eligible

Artists' Fellowship supports professional fine artists working in all visual arts media: painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, photography, mixed media, and installation. You must be currently resident in the United States and its territories.

The organization looks for evidence of a sustained professional practice. Practicing artists with a long career will be given preference, but artists at all stages of their career are welcome to apply. The key requirement is that you are a genuine professional fine artist, not a hobbyist.

Who is NOT eligible:

• Performing artists (dancers, musicians, actors)
• Literary artists (writers, poets)
• Makeup artists, fashion designers, graphic designers
• Filmmakers and commercial photographers
• Hobbyists and creators with no documented professional activity

The eligibility is specifically limited to fine artists who make their livelihood through sales as reported on a Schedule C with federal tax returns. This is a strict definition. If your income comes primarily from teaching, commercial work, or a day job, you may still qualify as long as you have a documented history of professional fine art practice and sales.

How Much You Can Request

Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. The average award is $2,500. Applications requesting more than $20,000 will not be considered. When you apply, you provide a total amount requested and a breakdown of individual items that add up to that total, with documentation for each item.

This is not a grant you apply for to fund a project or develop your practice. It is emergency financial assistance. The amount you request should correspond to the actual financial gap created by the emergency. If your medical bills are $8,000 and you cannot work for two months, you might request $8,000 for medical costs plus $4,000 for lost income. Document everything.

The Application Process

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. The Board of Trustees meets monthly from September through June to review applications. The Board does not meet in July and August, and applications are not accepted between June 1 and August 1. If you have a crisis in the summer, you can submit starting August 1 for the September meeting.

To apply, you will need:

1. Documentation of the hardship: Medical records, accident reports, insurance claims, disaster damage assessments, or other evidence of the specific emergency
2. Financial information: Current financial situation, including the impact of the hardship on your ability to meet basic needs
3. Proof of professional practice: Exhibition records, reviews, publications, gallery representations, or other evidence of sustained professional engagement with fine art. A Schedule C tax return documenting art sales is the primary proof.
4. References from art professionals: Gallery directors, curators, museum professionals, or fellow artists with established careers who can speak to your professional standing and the quality of your work

The application is available on the Artists' Fellowship website. There is no application fee.

The History: Why This Organization Exists

Artists' Fellowship was founded in 1859 in New York, during the period when the Hudson River School was at its height and New York was establishing itself as the center of American art. The organization was created by artists for artists, as a mutual support structure for colleagues facing the financial precarity that has always been part of a life in art.

This founding impulse, artists supporting each other through crisis, has remained central to the organization's identity for 167 years. It is not a foundation funded by wealthy patrons who are distant from the art world. It is an organization sustained by the art community itself, reflecting the conviction that professional artists have a responsibility to support each other.

That history gives Artists' Fellowship a credibility and reliability that newer organizations cannot match. When you apply, you are engaging with an organization that has been doing this work through the Civil War, the Great Depression, two World Wars, the 2008 financial crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic. They know how to respond to artist emergencies.

How It Compares to Other Emergency Grants

• vs. Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grants: Rauschenberg specifically covers medical emergencies and is open to a broader range of artists. Artists' Fellowship covers medical emergencies plus natural disasters, bereavement, and accidents, but only for fine artists.
• vs. FCA Emergency Grants: The Foundation for Contemporary Arts emergency grants cover urgent needs like pending evictions or sudden loss of housing. Artists' Fellowship requires a more specific triggering event (illness, accident, disaster, bereavement).
• vs. Gottlieb Foundation Grants: The Gottlieb Foundation offers emergency grants to painters, sculptors, and printmakers in crisis. Artists' Fellowship covers a similar range of media but has a longer history and a simpler application process.

If you are facing a medical emergency specifically, apply to both Artists' Fellowship and the Rauschenberg program. If you are facing a non-medical crisis (natural disaster, bereavement, accident), Artists' Fellowship is one of the few organizations that will respond.

Final Verdict: Who Is This Actually For?

Artists' Fellowship is for professional fine artists in the United States who have been hit by a specific, documented emergency and need financial help to survive it. It is not for general financial struggles, not for project funding, and not for artists outside the fine arts category.

If you are a painter, sculptor, printmaker, photographer, or mixed media artist who has been derailed by illness, accident, disaster, or bereavement, contact Artists' Fellowship immediately. The rolling application process means you can apply as soon as the crisis occurs (except in July and August). The average award of $2,500 will not solve everything, but combined with other emergency resources, it can be the difference between recovering your practice and losing it entirely.

Visit artistsfellowship.org to start the application process. If you are in immediate crisis, call or email them directly rather than waiting to compile a perfect application. Their staff can guide you through what documentation you need.