Arts NGO Kingston Creative says it has distributed 38 stipends to creative entrepreneurs impacted by Hurricane Melissa, under its Creative Resilience Fund (CRF) which was launched in 2025.

The Creative Resilience Fund, supported by the Miami Foundation, the American Friends of Jamaica (AFJ) and individual donors, offers J$30,000 monthly stipends to affected creatives. This helps small businesses to restock materials, replace equipment, and recover income lost due to cancelled gigs, damaged studios, and production downtime, the organisation said in a release.

It said a total of 516 creatives from western parishes have requested support during the application window of December 1-31, 2025. The selection of the first batch of grantees was made by independent jurors from the creative and cultural industries Alliance of Jamaica (CCIAJ).

A total of 38 cultural practitioners were approved for the first round of grants, including musicians, designers, filmmakers, with the majority of the beneficiaries being artisans and craft producers, according to the NGO.

“Each month, Kingston Creative will be issuing grants, for as long as funding is available – as it is a long road to recovery for creatives who need to rebuild their businesses,” commented Andrea Dempster Chung, Executive Director of Kingston Creative. “We are very grateful for the outpouring of support from the international partners and hope that even more will come on board. It is our aim that a regional resilience fund can eventually be established to mitigate against future climate events and geopolitical shocks that disproportionately impact our sector.”

Kingston Creative is calling on the public, corporate partners, philanthropic organisations, and members of the Jamaican Diaspora, to contribute to the Creative Resilience Fund by contacting Kingston Creative info@kingstoncreative.org or www.kingstoncreative.org/donate. Donations can be made through the American Friends of Jamaica’s secure portal at: https://theafj.app.neoncrm.com/fundraiser/kingstoncreative.