The CALMER Act (Culture, Arts, Libraries, and Museums Emergency Relief Act of 2020)
Be An #ArtsHero stands in full solidarity with the CALMER Act (H.R. 8430), which was introduced by Reps. Maloney and Nadler in September 2020.
The CALMER Act is an emergency relief bill for the arts & culture non-profit community. Congressman Maloney stated, ““Our nation’s museums, libraries, concert halls, and arts and cultural nonprofit organizations were among the first businesses to close because of COVID-19, and they will be the last to reopen. While arts and cultural nonprofits across the country have worked tirelessly to create digital content and support their communities through online programming, there is no way they can account for the loss in revenue resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, which is upwards of $6 billion and continues to grow. This bill will give libraries, museums, and arts groups the assistance they need to pull through and continue enriching our communities nationwide.”
The CALMER Act aids the arts and cultural sector by:
Providing additional emergency relief funding for NEA, NEH, and IMLS grant programs created in CARES Act:
$4 billion in emergency relief funding for NEA
$4 billion in emergency relief funding for NEH
$6 billion in emergency relief funding for IMLS
Expanding NEA and NEH grant eligibility to all arts/cultural nonprofit organizations
Removing the $300 charitable deduction cap implemented in the CARES Act, and allowing taxpayers to claim the deduction on 2019, 2020, and 2021 taxes
Extending the suspension of the 50%-of-adjusted-gross-income (AGI) limitation for individuals and the 25% AGI limitation for corporations through 2021
Giving 501(c)(3) nonprofits a payroll tax holiday for 2020
Adjusting the Main Street Lending Program for nonprofits to give loan forgiveness to all 501(c) nonprofits and eliminate the minimum loan size for nonprofits so they don’t have to borrow more than they need
Expanding the Paycheck Protection Program to include all 501(c) nonprofit organizations