CERF+ Partnership

The lack of a safety-net for profes­sional craft artists when personal or natural disas­ters strike was the impetus in 1985 for a group of craft artists and show produc­ers to create the Craft Emer­gency Relief Fund. From a modest, grass roots mutual aid orga­ni­za­tion, CERF+ has emerged as one of the leading voices for safe­guard­ing artists’ liveli­hoods to ensure that they are as well protected as America’s art trea­sures. Together we envi­sion a future in which all profes­sional artists can thrive in commu­ni­ties across the United States.

The Furni­ture Society and CERF+ have a long-stand­ing partner rela­tion­ship. CERF+ resources are avail­able to Furni­ture Society members and CERF+ has regu­larly presented at Furni­ture Society confer­ences. CERF+ and the Furni­ture Society worked together to develop a pilot insur­ance survey, which has since led to creat­ing robust insur­ance resources for artists on CERF+’s website. We invite you to explore some of CERF+’s programs and initiatives:

• Direct emer­gency assis­tance to profes­sional craft artists affected by career-threat­en­ing emer­gen­cies (Learn More)
• Infor­ma­tion on emer­gency prepared­ness and recov­ery for all artists (Learn More)
• Infor­ma­tion on purchas­ing busi­ness insur­ance and a listing of nation­ally-avail­able busi­ness insur­ance plans designed for artists (Learn More)
• Research on topics related to build­ing sustain­able careers for artists (Learn More)
• Studio Protec­tor: The Artist’s Guide to Emer­gen­cies — an emer­gency prepared­ness and response toolkit for artists (Learn More)

We hope all Furni­ture Society members will take advan­tage of the infor­ma­tion and resources avail­able on CERF+’s website as well as their Studio Protec­tor website. 

Visit CERF+ on Insta­gram and Face­book where they post prepared­ness tips, artist resources, and updated emergency news