CERF+ Craft Emergency Relief Fund

Program Overview

CERF+ provides $3,000 emergency relief grants to individual craft artists in the US and US Territories, aged 18 and older, who have experienced a recent, unforeseen, substantially disruptive emergency. The grant can be used in any way towards recovery efforts. The application process is open year-round with no set deadline, and typically takes up to 10 business days to receive a determination.

Eligibility

Be an individual craft artist with a public-facing artistic practice, reside and work in the US or US Territories, be aged 18 or older, and have experienced a recent and substantially disruptive emergency or disaster. Craft object-making must be a primary, meaningful, and substantive part of your current practice.

Eligible Craft Forms & Materials

• Handmade jewelry, vessels, dishes, sculptures, chairs, purses, hats, masks, garments, quilts, baskets, embroidery, musical instruments, beadwork, regalia or ceremonial clothing, printmaking (etching, woodcut), papier-mâché, mask making, knitting/crochet, dolls, bookmaking, blacksmithing, and knife making
• Materials: clay, glass, textiles/fiber, wood, metal, concrete, plastic, gourds, shells, bones, leather, recycled materials, and many others
• Objects can be functional or nonfunctional

Eligible Emergencies

• Disaster events: Fires, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other acts of nature
• Emergency events: Theft, accidents, and other unforeseeable, unexpected events outside your control

Grant Limits

One emergency relief grant per person per event each calendar year. Once you have received support for an eligible event, we do not accept repeat applications for the same event. Receiving an emergency relief grant does not exclude you from applying to other CERF+ programs or opportunities.

Application & Timeline

The application process is open year-round and available in both English and Spanish with no set deadline for submissions. You may apply on an artist's behalf with their permission. Typically it takes up to 10 business days to receive a determination after applying.

Current Program Status

After careful evaluation of our financial position, the Craft Emergency Relief Fund has made the difficult decision to suspend all grantmaking programs for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2026.