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Cycle 8 will open March 21, with a deadline of April 28, for essential expenses between December 1, 2022 and September 30, 2023. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is proud to partner with the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation to administer Rauschenberg Dancer Emergency Grants, a new emergency grant program for professional dancers. Robert Rauschenberg was committed to assisting fellow artists in need of emergency aid, ultimately establishing the nonprofit foundation Change, Inc. in 1970. Recognizing the particularly extreme impact the pandemic and its ongoing effect has had on dancers, the Rauschenberg Dancer Emergency Grants have been created. This program provides one-time grants of up to $5,000 to professional dancers* in need,** who are in dire financial emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences. “Dire financial emergencies“ include the lack or imminent endangerment of essentials such as housing, medicine/healthcare, utilities, and food. If you were displaced due to COVID-19, expenses to enable you to return to your working home base are eligible. You must demonstrate an urgent and critical need for emergency support in your application. *Professional = You have recent and sustained activity as a paid dancer (in any stage/performance style, including aerial, ballet, hip-hop, jazz, modern, tap, and traditional/folk) over at least the last 3-4 years in public-facing performances (outside of educational/academic settings). Inactivity, or online/streaming activity, during COVID is allowable. Self-produced online presentation and/or performances shared solely through Instagram or Facebook are not eligible. **To be eligible to apply, your average adjusted gross income for the last two years you’ve filed tax returns must be no greater than $75,000 ($150,000 for joint filers). You may request funding for eligible essential expenses for up to a three-month period, ranging from four months before the grant deadline through four months after the grant deadline. Expenses can be already paid; can be owed; or can be coming up in the near future. Eligible expenses include, but are not limited to: Rental Housing (deposits, rent, utilities) Medical/dental/vision insurance premiums Essential medical/dental/vision/mental health care Food Transportation (car payments, insurance, ride shares/taxis, mass transit) Legal expenses (only for dire emergencies such as fighting eviction, or visa renewals) Other essential expenses which you can specify Ineligible expenses include, but are not limited to: Mortgage payments Expenses related to other family members – e.g. food, healthcare, child/parent-care Non-essential expenses including credit card debt or student loans Purchases of vehicles or other equipment While housing and utilities expenses may be requested for your general household, other eligible expenses may only be requested for your own individual purposes. If you receive a grant, you will be required to certify your use of the funds for the expenses itemized in your application, and provide copies of your tax returns for the last two years you have filed.