Sep 2

Sep 2 City CARES Act funding helps these Sacramento businesses, arts organizations survive through Covid shutdown

Cultivating a creative economy, Building up business, Helping all people thrive, Helping Sacramento work, In The News, Investing in young people, Keeping people housed, Supporting Sacramento's health

Mary Daffin specializes in large events like this block party on the Capitol Mall in October to welcome Major League Soccer

Harlow’s nightclub in midtown Sacramento was enjoying a strong start to 2020 as business in a new upstairs venue started to take off. Local event producer Mary Daffin also was expecting a good year, coming off a fall where she staged signature events like the massive block party welcoming Major League Soccer to Sacramento.

Artist Franceska Gamez and her partner Shaun Burner were busy painting murals, creating art installations for events and running their 1810 Gallery downtown.

Then came Covid-19 and the mid-March order to shut down.

Harlow’s has tried to keep its marketing and social media presence alive.

“Within 14 days I had six months of business gone, and then the whole latter part of the year was canceled,” said Daffin, who specializes in large corporate events.

Harlow’s also was forced to cancel shows it had worked on for many months. “We lost them all, and we’ve now refunded all of our tickets through October this year,” said owner and General Manager James Cornett.

Gamez said she and Burner lost work when building owners scrapped plans for murals to save money and community arts events were postponed or canceled.

“A lot of our clients are mom and pop businesses and restaurants,” Gamez said. “Them being affected by Covid-19 definitely trickled down to us.”

Cancellations cascaded through the music and restaurant community, costing thousands of people their paychecks. Harlow’s workforce shrunk from 54 employees to three. All told, Sacramento’s creative economy was one of the sectors hit hardest by the Covid-19 pandemic. Indoor venues remain closed, and large events remain prohibited.

The City of Sacramento responded by dedicating about $20 million of its CARES Act federal stimulus money to helping the creative economy and tourism industries in Sacramento stay afloat until business eventually opens back up. .

Harlow’s, Daffin and Gamez are among the nearly 300 arts and culture organizations, artists and creative businesses that have been notified so far that they will receive grants from the City’s Creative Economy Recovery program. Another round of funding is coming since the City Council voted to add another $6.9 million. Learn more here.

That money comes on top of the $19.1 million in CARES Act funds the City dedicated to help small businesses in all industries. More than 1,300 small businesses have been selected to receive forgivable loans from that program.

On Tuesday, the City Council voted on the final significant spending items from ts $89 million CARES Act check. The specific allocations follow the broad framework laid out by Mayor Darrell Steinberg in May: roughly $20 million for small business recovery and assistance, $20 million for youth and workforce training, $20 million for homelessness and affordable housing and $20 million for the creative economy and tourism.

“I’m proud that here in the City of Sacramento we have put our CARES Act money out to work in our community by providing relief to small businesses, support to the arts, culture and tourism, funding to house the homeless and training for our young people and adults,” said Mayor Darrell Steinberg. “This was money well spent both to mitigate the short-term pain caused by the COVID and to put us in a position to regain our momentum once we fully reopen.”

Cornett, Daffin and Gamez said they’re grateful for the City of Sacramento’s support, which helps offset some of the losses they have experienced.

“We’re lucky we’re in a city that supports its arts and culture,” Cornett said. “I have lots of friends in other cities where that has not been the case.”

Daffin said they money she’s receiving will help her pay taxes and other outstanding costs associated with her dormant business so she can keep going until events resume. Cornett said the funds for Harlow’s will go to a similar purpose and will help for a few months.

“I can pay my rent, I can pay a few employees to keep marketing for us, and we’re going to start making some plans to at least open our patio for live music.”

Daffin and Cornett said they’ve both begun to look ahead at how they can get through the coming months and create a business model that can work in the years ahead even if Covid hasn’t gone away. Daffin can envision events that are partially in person, partially virtual. Cornett would like to double the size of the club’s patio. He has also joined independent club owners in Sacramento and around the state to form a trade organization to advocate for state assistance.

They look forward to the day when they can bring Sacramentans together again.

“The other day I came in here and fired up the sound system and played it loud just to feel better,” Cornett said.

Gamez is hopeful that the Sacramento arts scene will resume its upswing. “In the last few years the creative community here really began to thrive,” she said. “I saw a lot more of my friends being able to make a living on art alone. When Covid hit, it really flipped the script.”