'NYC Nightlife United' Nonprofit To Offer Grants Of Up To $20K To Local Live Music Businesses

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New York City concert promoter AdHoc Presents and venue Friends and Lovers are spearheading NYC Nightlife United, a nonprofit distributing emergency grants of up to $20,000 for local small live music businesses and $5,000 for musicians, artists, engineers and others.

The fund will work to save businesses with the requirements that they must be based in NYC, can prove a cultural impact on the community, and that they are experiencing financial distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“New York nightlife has long been an essential part of our city’s economy, culture, and identity, and this pandemic has provided a direct and devastating blow,” says Ariel Palitz, Senior Executive Director of the Office of Nightlife at the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.

“In order to find our way through this crisis, everyone must band together in unprecedented ways, and venues, promoters, and entertainers are coming together through important new organizations such as NYC Nightlife United to look out for each other in this time of need.”

Working directly with the NYC Office of Nightlife, the fund is partnering with The Solo Foundation, a non-profit focused on the arts to administer the fund in a fast and equitable way.

These funds will be awarded to support the community, prioritizing the small businesses, venues, and individuals working in NYC nightlife and culture spaces. Funds will be awarded on an on-going basis and can be requested via a simple online application.

On the importance of supporting the Nightlife community, Diana Mora, owner of Friends and Lovers, says, “No one can deny that nightlife is culture. This forum for self-expression influences art, music, fashion and brands. If you think about music especially, it is the most powerful passion point. It’s the original social network, transcending every barrier— socioeconomic, distance and language. That’s why protecting this rare resource that defines the spirit of NY is so important.”

Ric Leichtung , owner of Brooklyn-based AdHoc Presents, which produces hundreds of events per year as well as a print zine and website, adds, “Businesses in live music need immediate aid and face challenges unique to our industry, but there were no relief programs made just for us. We’re fiercely independent people who tap into our community to make the changes we want to see happen. When there’s no road paved for us, we make the concrete.”

Visit www.nycnightlifeunited.com for more information.