Craft Emergency Relief Fund Inc.

“The cerf+ finance/audit committee reviews the 990 prior to filing. This year the finance committee has empowered the finance/audit committee chair/treasurer to approve the form 990 prior to filing. The finance/audit committee then shares the 990 with the board at the time it is filed.”

“Each year board members are required to complete a form disclosing if they have any conflicts.”

“As part of cerf+'s governance policy, responsibility for the executive director's compensation is determined by the board. Renumeration of the executive director is decided annually after a review of monitoring reports.”

“The deputy director researches factors relevant to staff compensation and the executive director determines the salaries.”

“Governing documents are available on website, guidestar and upon request.”

“Craft emergency relief fund, inc. (cerf+ -- the artists' safety net), is a national artist service organization whose mission is to serve artists who work in craft disciplines by providing a safety net to support strong and sustainable careers. Cerf+'s core services are education programs, advocacy, network building and emergency relief.”

“In fiscal year 2019, cerf+ focused on four main goals: (1) enhancing and expanding our emergency preparedness and career protection resources and technical assistance; 2) responding nimbly and quickly to natural disaster related requests for assistance and scaling our emergency response program; (3) expanding our outreach to increase the number of artists served through our emergency relief and response program and engagement and leadership in national and regional networks; and (4) sustaining our public policy advocacy and research about trends within the craft field. In addition to our own programs and services, we played a national leadership role in the emerging movement within the arts sector to improve the overall safety net before, during and after disasters for artists and arts organizations. Emergency response - cerf+ provides critical emergency financial assistance to artists working in craft disciplines who have experienced a recent, career-threatening emergency. Once applications are completed, grant determinations are made within two weeks and on average, within seven days. This year, 54 artists received direct emergency relief grants. These artists were impacted by floods, home and studio fires, hurricanes, injuries and illnesses receiving a total of 170,609 in emergency aid (159,000 in grants) and 11,609 worth of gifts-in-kind (donations of equipment, materials, booth waiver fees, etc.), for a grand total of 170,609 in aid. Responding to artists who suffered losses in natural disasters dominated our work this year. 37% of the fy19 assistance was in response to the major disasters. Our personalized individual counseling and referrals helped 491 artists respond to their emergency in a time of crisis. 37% of this personalized assistance was in response to natural disasters - primarily hurricanes michael, florence, and maria, as well as flooding and the california wildfires.”

“Education & training: training workshops - more than 1000 artists, arts professionals, and representatives of government and community agencies attended cerf+'s national, regional and local workshops and presentations in fy19. Ready + resilient - cerf+ offers a "ready + resilient" program, a one-day professional development program for studio artists to learn how to strengthen their careers, prepare for emergencies and get back on their feet in communities that have experienced disasters. "ready + resilient"provides resources, tools and information on a variety of topics critical to building and maintaining a sustainable career. In fy19, cerf+ conducted trainings in huntsville, alabama and houston, texas. A part of cerf+'s continued commitment to serving artists in puerto rico + us virgin island, cerf+ conducted three workshops in puerto rico and two in the us virgin islands to support artists incorporating emergency preparedness and career protection measures into their ongoing recovery efforts from hurricanes irma and maria. Cover your a's: art, assets + archives - cover your a's (cya) is a train-the-trainer workshop, inaugurated in 2012, that is geared for art school faculty (bfa, mfa, and certificate programs), career services staff and professional development providers. Optimum workshop size is 15-25 participants; workshop length is flexible (1-1.5 days). Our curriculum modules focus on "defensive strategies" to build and sustain a creative practice, and are designed to complement standard artist business skill training (marketing, business planning, budgeting). Workshop instructors include cerf+ staff, subject experts, and cya workshop "alumni." through the multiplier effect of our teaching program thousands of art students and emerging artists are receiving instruction in risk management. Other education & preparedness resources: studio safety education & planning - cerf+ developed a studio safety guide and accompanying poster in both english and spanish, educating artists and raising awareness about this topic as an important advocacy issue. Available online as a free download or for purchase as a printed guide, the portable 12-page studio safety guide is designed to help artists evaluate their current or new spaces and to help them maintain or upgrade their studios with step-by-step clear instructions about how to identify and reduce unsafe conditions and potential risks. The guide breaks down complicated (and often scary) issues such as checking out structural issues of a building, its heating and ventilation systems, electrical wiring, and also looks at the artist's use of hazardous materials and other safety measures. Cerf+ has disseminated thousands of copies and there have been more than 170 online downloads. "get ready" grants - cerf+ continued its third year of "get ready" grant program to support preparedness efforts that will help artists working in craft disciplines safeguard their studios, protect their livelihoods and prepare for emergencies. Forty-three grants were awarded to 42 individual artists (up to 500) totaling 21,129 towards the purchase of goods or services. Projects included purchasing and installing dust collection and ventilation systems, fire extinguishers, hazardous material cabinets, non-toxic art materials, security systems, hard drives, estate, and legacy planning. As part of the grant, artists share what they have learned through videos, blogs, workshops and social media to inspire other artists to "get ready." artists legacy planning - artist legacy planning is a fast emerging field given the aging of the 'baby boom' generation. To complement a spate of recent publications and resources on artist estate planning, cerf+ has published a workbook that focuses on the transfer/disposition of an artist's tools, books and other non-artistic assets. Based on interviews with more than 15 artists, "crafting your legacy, guide to putting your non-artistic assets to work in an estate plan" provide”

“Outreach and marketing: cerf+ maintains an active list of individuals, organizations, and arts businesses that receive email alerts before, during, and after a disaster. In fy19, more than 16,264 individuals and organizations received 34 disaster response messages from cerf+ with critical preparedness and recovery information, resources and support. Our monthly e-news averaged 11,420 recipients per issue, and our open rate increased 5.6% compared to fy18. Our increased online social media engagement resulted in 839 twitter followers; 1890 instagram followers and 6,010 facebook followers. Cerf+ website - we continue to update our website with new content on a weekly and monthly basis. Due to the onslaught of disasters, we maintain a "disaster portal," which provides alerts, information, and resources on specific disasters with the click of a link. Other additions to the site include new artist interviews and stories and new content related to our get ready grant program created by recipients of those grants. Cerf+ also updated its emergency relief information pages on its website to include spanish translations. Our site has been the go-to destination for artists seeking emergency resources. It is listed on many state, regional and national arts agencies- and organizations' websites and blogs with disaster-specific information. Advocacy: in partnership with americans for the arts (afta), cerf+ participated in a third round of our congressional advocacy campaign to change fema regulations about artists- and other self-employed workers' eligibility for post-disaster tool replacement. Cerf+ continued to advocate for regulatory change at fema that would enable self-employed workers (including artists) to access fema's other needs assistance (ona) after federally declared disaster as w-2 employees are currently able to do. National coalition for arts' preparedness and emergency response (ncaper) - cerf+ continues to play an active role as a steering committee member of ncaper. The work of ncaper this past year has largely focused on coordinated weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly calls with cultural organizations and artists on the ground in all of the affected states and territories. Cerf+, in collaboration with south arts, released the "cultural placekeeping guide: how to create a local emergency action network guide". Envisioned as both the first advance disaster mobilization planning toolkit for the arts and culture sector and the first of a new set of online resources developed by the coalition, it is also the culmination of cerf+'s 10-year leadership of the coalition. The online guide is available on the afta website. Heritage emergency national task force (hentf) - cerf+'s involvement in the heritage emergency national task force (hentf), sponsored by the smithsonian institution and fema, has widened recognition for our specialized expertise in artists disaster preparedness and recovery. Vermont arts & culture disaster and resilience network- cerf+ has helped shape a new network in vermont called the vermont arts & culture disaster and resilience network (vacdarn). With funding from the performing arts readiness (par) initiative, vacdarn's goal is for vermont cultural institutions to share expertise and resources, mobilize mutual assistance during emergencies, and collectively engage with first responders and government emergency management agencies.”

“Other fees for services 9,971 0 0 other fees for services 95,595 0 0 other fees for services 10,957 1,602 6,995 total 116,523 1,602 6,995”

“Cost of goods sold 1,450 cost of goods sold -1,450”