Remember when the NEA was a dirty word in some halls of Congress? Well, apparently, the Recovery and Reinvestment in our economy is going to include the arts. My state arts organization, (the same one that has previously, but no more, dispensed grants to individual artists like me) is able to receive federal funds to help keep arts organizations floating. This will be critical to so many small, struggling non-profits.
The NEA guidelines for these competitive grants specify that the awards from the NEA stimulus package are limited to:
“Salary support, full or partial, for one or more positions that are critical to an organization’s artistic mission and that are in jeopardy or have been eliminated as a result of the current economic climate.
And/or
Fees for previously engaged artists and/or contractual personnel to maintain or expand the period during which such persons would be engaged.”
This will be a lifeline extended to many small arts groups, and is well worth the investment.
Take that, American Family Association!
(they have repeated lobbied congress to eliminate funding for the National Endowment for the Arts) along with other distasteful activities.
In addition, we are adding our own element to the local stimulus package… our furnace decided to call it quits, so we are opting for a more energy efficient one, and using the 2009 tax credit of 1500 to help pay for it. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy- just glad today was 70 degrees, (yes, it’s Colorado!) so we can be without heat for a while!
erskinestudio.com 
Good stuff. And good idea with the furnace replacement. Be careful as there are specific requirements for all of the measures. A couple of things to consider: There is still an open question regarding whether the 30% applies to the cost of materials only or to the total installed cost. Previously the provision was for material only–it appears to be the case now, but it’s not completely clear.
I provide a couple of good links to specific requirements at http://greenhomesamerica.wordpress.com/2009/03/05/arra-stimulus-package-1500-home-energy-improvement-tax-credits-redux/ And I will be posting updates as they become available.
Thanks,
Mike
Thanks for the additional information Mike! Our furnace is a 96% efficient one, so hopefully we can get the max or close to it.
Also, I’ll keep the notes about roofs and insulation since we seem to be in a year when we are dealing with those as well.
The art market is pretty quiet these days, so it’s nice to get a break somewhere! Cheers.