ARPA Arts Recovery — Equity-Aligned Funding Design

In March 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was signed into law, allocating $1.9 trillion to support the nation’s equitable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognizing the disproportionate impact of the crisis on artists and cultural workers — particularly communities of color and historically marginalized groups — the City of Berkeley directed $2 million in ARPA funds to its Civic Arts Commission to support local arts and culture recovery.

The Commission engaged the Cultural Strategies Council to design a funding framework that would align federal policy, municipal equity commitments, and local cultural priorities in a coherent and values-driven way.

Rather than approaching the task as a technical scoring exercise, CSC treated it as an opportunity to translate equity principles into structural decision-making tools. Working within an accelerated timeline, we designed a scoring matrix and review process that:

• Integrated ARPA’s equity objectives with the City’s equity charter
• Centered the lived realities of artists most impacted by systemic inequities
• Prioritized organizations mitigating disproportionate pandemic harms
• Strengthened transparency and shared accountability in funding decisions

The resulting framework connected federal recovery policy to local cultural context — ensuring that capital flowed in ways that were both compliant and deeply aligned with community values.

Delivered under significant time constraints, this engagement demonstrated what becomes possible when leadership, vision, and equity commitments are translated into clear structural design.

This project reflects CSC’s broader commitment to aligning policy, culture, and capital — stewarding public investment in ways that advance relational trust, community vitality, and regenerative recovery.

Romare Bearden, Berkeley – The City and It’s people (1973)