The City of Atlanta awarded 125 grants to independent content creators and creative entrepreneurs through the Creative Industries Grant Fund, a joint program of Invest Atlanta and the Mayor’s Office of Film and Entertainment. The program offered grants in the amounts of $5,000 to $20,000, totaling more than $700,000, to ensure creative industries in Atlanta continue to thrive for decades to come.
Kiah Clingman, producer, KiahCan Productions, was a recipient of one of those grants and says the funding goes a long way in her line of work. “When you commit your life's journey to being an independent filmmaker, you automatically commit to the hustle of exhausting every resource possible to bring a project to life,” explains Kiah. “Whether it's through investors, grants, loans or asking family and friends, the financing part of filmmaking proves to be a tedious one. Without grants and access to funding like the opportunity Creative Industries Grant Fund extended so graciously, it would be significantly more challenging to execute creative projects.”
Originally launched in 2017 as a loan program administered by Invest Atlanta on behalf of the City of Atlanta, the program was converted to the Creative Industries Grant Fund to support creative professionals as they recover from economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Creative Industries Grant Fund gave us an additional tool to support a large and growing sector of jobs and talent to further strengthen Atlanta’s burgeoning reputation as a global entertainment hub,” says Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens. “It’s a footprint we look forward to increasing.”
Grant awards can be used for production, post-production, distribution, marketing outreach, touring, prototype development, product development and sales and attraction for their creative projects.
Awardees include independent content creators and creative entrepreneurs located within the city of Atlanta who plan to create content within the city of Atlanta; independent record, management labels and their talent that are located within the city of Atlanta; and independent businesses who provide educational resources and platforms to creative entrepreneurs, including creative accelerators and incubators.
“Creatives have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic as performing arts centers closed. Events were called off and studios were temporarily shuttered,” says Dr. Eloisa Klementich, president and CEO of Invest Atlanta. “Eighty-four percent of creatives who responded to a 2020 Invest Atlanta survey said their income fell, and we recognize that many are still working to regain their footing, which makes this round of funding especially impactful.”
The Creative Industries Grant Fund program also supports the City of Atlanta’s Economic Mobility Plan objectives, including stimulating growth of the city’s economy, industry sectors and businesses and creating pathways that strengthen the ability of entrepreneurs and small business owners to create and maintain thriving businesses.