INSIGHTi
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021: Arts and
Cultural Provisions
July 22, 2021
On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA; P.L. 117-2) was signed into law.
Among other provisions, ARPA appropriated FY2021 funding to the Institute of Museum and Library
Services (IMLS), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and the National Endowment for the
Humanities (NEH). This CRS Insight provides an overview of these provisions.
Institute of Museum and Library Services
IMLS received $200 mil ion through ARPA “for necessary expenses to carry out museum and library
services.” ARPA required the director of IMLS to award a minimum of 89% of funds to states, the
District of Columbia, territories, and Freely Associated States through the Grants to States program. The
program used the state al otment formula to distribute this funding to State Library Administrative
Agencies.
In addition to the Grants to States, $15 mil ion is to be distributed through a competitive grant program to
museums, libraries, and Native American and Native Hawai an communities. The program is intended to
support “museum and library services in addressing community needs created or exacerbated by the
[Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic and in assisting with recovery.” Existing programs and
services or new ones that “address emergent needs and unexpected hardships” wil be eligible for support.
National Endowment for the Arts
NEA received $135 mil ion through ARPA “to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from the
coronavirus.” Under the law, 40% of the $135 mil ion provided grants to state art agencies and regional
arts organizations that support arts organizations’ programming and general operating expenses. Each
state and regional agency decides its own priorities and timeline to award the funds, which are designed to
support the arts sector as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The remaining 60% of NEA’s funding is to be distributed through two competitive grant programs:
 Grants to Organizations wil be made to eligible entities, including nonprofit arts
organizations, local arts agencies, arts service organizations, units of state or local
government, federal y recognized tribal communities or tribes, and a wide range of other
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IN11707
CRS INSIGHT
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organizations. These grants are intended to support day-to-day business expenses and
operating costs, not specific programmatic activities.
 Grants to Local Arts Agencies for Subgranting wil competitively award funds to
designated local arts agencies for subgranting programs. To be eligible to subgrant, an
organization must be an arts agency (“local arts agency”) that is a unit of city or county
government or be official y designated to operate as an arts agency on behalf of its local
government. The agency must have a history of grantmaking that occurred within the past
10 years. Local arts agencies that apply may request a fixed grant amount of $150,000,
$250,000, or $500,000. Out of that fixed grant amount, applicants may request up to
$50,000 to support their eligible operating costs associated with administering the
subgranting program. The local arts agencies are to then regrant to organizations or
individual artists for their own arts activities.
National Endowment for the Humanities
NEH received $135 mil ion through ARPA “to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from the
coronavirus.” Under the law, 40% of these funds were distributed to state and jurisdictional humanities
councils that subgrant the funds to support humanities organizations’ programming and general operating
expenses.
The other 60% of NEH’s funding is to fund two competitive programs:
 American Rescue Plan: Humanities Organizations wil provide relief grants of up to
$500,000 to cultural organizations and educational organizations, including museums,
libraries and archives, historic sites, independent research institutions, academic presses,
professional organizations, and colleges and universities. These funds are intended to
support humanities projects across the fields of education, preservation and access, public
programming, digital humanities, and scholarly research for one year. Grantees can
develop new projects or focus on sustaining core programs and activities.
 American Rescue Plan: Humanities Grantmaking wil provide grants to experienced
grantmaking organizations to administer competitive programs to support humanities
activities. Applicants may propose a new grantmaking program or expand or adapt an
existing program. A grantmaking program may be for either organizations or individuals,
not both. According to the agency, “NEH especial y encourages applications for
grantmaking programs that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the humanities.”

Author Information

Shannon S. Loane

Senior Research Librarian




Disclaimer

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