Did you know there is a Writers Emergency Assistance Fund? Either did I! Holy mother of fuck, we're saved.
"The mission of the WEAF is to help established freelance writers who, because of their advanced age, illness, disability, a natural disaster, or an extraordinary professional crisis are unable to work."
The fall of newspapers is an extraordinary professional crisis! The rise of "content" is an extraordinary professional crisis! Freelance is another word for nothing left to lose!
We're all eligible!
"Since 1982, WEAF has awarded more than 160 grants totaling approximately $400,000. Among the recipients have been writers of diverse backgrounds and interests, with an impressive list of honors and credentials among them. Each year, many such talented and deserving men and women appeal to WEAF, which is often their last hope for help."
Wait a cottonpickin' minute. That's only $11,764.70 per year. And it's only $2,500 per recipient.
Come on! If a freelance writer needed $2,500, he'd land a six-month investigative magazine story or write 5,000 blog posts to increase the SEO of a heating and cooling company.
A freelance writer doesn't need $2,500.
What a freelance writer needs is a job.
This Christmas, give a freelancer a job.
(And a nose hair trimmer.)
Is there a fund that makes grants for getaways for the spouses of freelance writers? Perhaps a spa weekend, wine tasting or maybe a bridge cruise? Maybe just a bottle and a pack of smokes?
The Carney Fund … for Full-Time Spouses of Freelance Writers.