2008
COMMUNITY ART$GRANTS
FOR ORGANIZATIONS
Art$Grants is funded by the State and Local partnership program of the New York State Council on the Arts in collaboration with The Arts Center of the Capital Region
GUIDELINES FOR COMMUNITY ARTS AND CULTURAL PROJECTS Funding will be distributed to community organizations in Albany, Rensselaer and Schenectady counties for community arts and cultural projects. Purpose: The Arts Center of the Capital Region presents a Community Art$Grants program which addresses the developmental needs of a thriving arts community serving the residents of Albany/Rensselaer/Schenectady counties. The program provides grants to enhance access to arts in all communities throughout the region including underserved communities (urban, ethnic and rural) that supports the development of rich and varied arts experiences of highest quality and encourages artistic expression in all disciplines and in their various forms. The Arts Center’s Mission: To engage individuals in the making and experiencing of the arts Grant Descriptions: (Total of all requests cannot exceed $5000) Project Support – Not-for-profit organizations may apply for up to three projects
Deadline: All project applications must be received by this office no later than 5 p.m. October 11, 2007. This is not a postmark date. Time Line: All projects must occur between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008. Assistance: Call Carolyn Abrams at 273-0552 x229.
A. ELIGIBILITY FOR PROJECT SUPPORT To be eligible for a grant from The Arts Center of the Capital Region’s Community Art$Grants program an organization must meet each of the following criteria: 1) The organization must be an established association or institution whose earnings do not benefit any individual. Evidence of this status must be presented in the form of ONE of the following: o IRS letter of tax-exempt status (501c3) o Receipt from the Department of State, Office of Charities Registration o Charter issued by the Board of Regents under Section 216 Education Law o Letter on official letterhead, signed by the appropriate county, city, town or village executive or departmental official o Acceptance form for incorporation under Section 401 of not=for-profit law 2) The organization must be located in Albany, Rensselaer or Schenectady counties and the program services for which funding is being requested must be provided within the three county area. 3) It may not exclude persons because of disabilities, religious preference, age, gender, ethnic background or other practices prohibited by provision of the 1991 American with Disabilities Act, Fair Labor Standards, and Affirmative Action Policies set by the US Government. The following are not eligible for funding: Organizations currently applying directly to the New York State Council on the Arts, regardless of the application’s status; Public or private schools, their affiliates or components or activities which exclusively serve a student audience with no public component; Four-year public universities and colleges; New York State agencies and departments.
B. PROJECT GRANT FUNDING POLICIES: The total expenses of a request are rarely funded. You are strongly urged to seek other sources of revenue that can be committed to the project in addition to this grant. Previous applicants are reviewed anew in the context of current grant panel policies and are judged within the pool of current applications. This is a competitive process and organizations receiving repeated funding should be aware that the grants panel expects to see indications of organizational growth as well as growth in arts projects. C. FUNDING SUPPORTS: New, emerging, and mature community arts organizations Collaborations between artists and organizations High quality programs that have developed a history with the decentralization program. New programs with high artistic merit and value to the community
D. Funding Criteria:
1. The following specific criteria is used by the panel when considering Project Support requests: The community benefit generated by the project The artistic merit of the project and quality of the presenter
The uniqueness of the project. The feasibility of the project. The objectives of the project must be clear and the ability to achieve those objectives are reflected by the organization’s history, and financial stability. The appropriateness of the project in relation to the organization’s short and long term goals.
E. RESTRICTIONS: Funds may not be awarded for the following: Equipment or capital expenditures; Expenditures for the establishment of new organizations; Scholarships; Fellowships; Cultural Activities restricted to an organizations’ memberships; In-school activities and programs not open to the general public; Art programs that are recreational, rehabilitative or therapeutic; Budget requests that are greater than an applicant organization’s project expenses minus total project income’; Entertainment costs (e.g. theater parties; museum opening, receptions and fund raising benefits); Acquisitions of works of art; Fees to children for use as professional artists; Non-arts related programs; Cash prizes, juried shows or awards to students.
F. REVIEW PROCESS All applicants must submit 17 (an original + 16 copies) of the complete application and required attachments as indicated on the cover sheet (incl.) DO NOT ENCLOSE IN FOLDERS OR REPORT COVERS. STAPLE ONLY PLEASE. EVERYTHING MUST BE COLLATED INTO 17 PACKETS FOR EACH OF THE PANELISTS. You will receive an email confirmation that we have received your application. Please be sure to include an email address on your application The application review procedures include a preliminary reading of all requests by the grant coordinator to determine completeness and accuracy. Applications are distributed to trained panel members selected from the A/R/S counties community to serve on the grant panel and make funding recommendations. The authority to make final decisions on the grant proposals resides with The Arts Center of the Capital Region’s Board of Directors. Funded projects must be completed by December 31, 2008. All rules governing the grants panel are formulated within NYSCA guidelines and are subject to approval by The Arts Center Board of Directors. The Community Art$Grant program is competitive. Simply meeting the eligibility requirements is not an assurance of funding. G. APPEALS Appeals will be considered on the following grounds only: Non-presentation of information by staff or panelists Misrepresentation of information by staff or panelists Improper procedures
H. GRANTEE RESPONSIBILITIES: File timely notice of all funded events and provide complimentary tickets to The Arts Center, if needed, so that a review may be conducted by a staff member or panelist; Provide copies of publications and promotion materials related to the funded projects, and to use the proper credit statement in acknowledging The ‘Arts Center of the Capital Region and NYSCA’s support on all publicity and programs (The Arts Center will provide logos and statements) File a final report within 30 days after the conclusion of the project or before January 31 of the following year whichever comes first. Keep the Grant Coordinator informed as to the progress of the project and to alert the coordinator in the event that difficulties are encountered in fulfilling the obligations of the agreement. Grantee must notify the Grant Coordinator if major changes are made from the original proposal.
2008 APPLICATION
COMMUNITY ART$GRANTS NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IN ALBANY/RENSSELAER/SCHENECTADY COUNTIES
FOR
Please type: Do NOT change any item in this application. If you submit an altered application it will be returned to you and you will need to resubmit it correctly. Organization’s Legal name
Address
City/State Zip
Contact Person/Name/Title Phone (day) NYS Assembly District # US Congressional District # Year of organization incorporation Fiscal Year ends Evening E-mail (necessary)
NYS Senate District #
Has your organization ever applied to the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) directly? Yes No If yes, what year? When was the last time your organization applied for a Decentralization grant?
TOTAL COMMUNITY ART$GRANT REQUEST $ (Total of all requests cannot exceed $5,000)
HISTORY & MISSION Describe the history and mission of the organization ( 200 word limit)
ORGANIZATION GOALS Briefly list your organization’s long-term arts programming goals. For organizations having received project support in the past, include how the funded programs helped towards your community programming goals. (100 word limit)
The undersigned certifies that he or she: 1.) Is the principal officer for the organization with authority to obligate it, 2.) Has knowledge of the information presented in the application and 3.) Has read and accepted the guidelines of the COMMUNITY ART$GRANT program and all its policies and procedures.
Signature: Executive Director or Administrator
Date
Name (please print)
Title
Signature: Board Officer
Date
Name (please print)
Title
PROJECT NARRATIVE (Your description for each request should be limited to 350 words.) Describe in detail in the order stated what the project is and how much funding is requested; who the artists are and their fees; where and when the project will take place, what the community benefit will be and a description of the audience for which the project is intended, including accessibility to the underserved. If previously funded by decentralization conclude with how this project has changed or is different from past grant years. If you would like a second or third project to be considered, submit separate narrative and budget pages for each request. Grantwriting TIPS – Control the panel discussion of your project by writing a good narrative and a clear budget. This can be accomplished by writing them both at the same time. Use the first sentence of your narrative to clearly state how much money is requested and what it will be used for. Keep historical and background information brief. If it is necessary to place the request in context to make a strong argument for support, it should appear later in the narrative and be brief. Example of a narrative first sentence: The Central Civic Center requests $2000 for artist Sonny Lee to conduct watercolor workshops with 20 children, three days a week (M,W,F) for 12 weeks from 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. Project Title and Narrative:
PROJECT EVALUATION .Conducting evaluations of your project can pinpoint what is really happening in your project which can lead to improvement of the project and future projects. Please explain precisely what will be evaluated and what methods you will use to evaluate your project.
PUBLICITY & MARKETING. Outline the publicity/marketing strategy for this project. Report any effort to reach the disabled, young, elderly, and minority populations. Describe how you will reach the communities you intend to serve if you don’t already serve your intended participants.
FUNDING NECESSITY – State the adjustments you will make to your program if you do not receive full requested funding.
BUDGET NARRATIVE (optional)
ESTIMATE OF INFORMATION FOR EACH PROJECT # artists participating # youth participating # of individuals benefiting Project Start Date 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3
PROJECT BUDGET –BUDGET INFORMATION SHOULD REFLECT PROJECT ONLY. DO NOT INCLUDE ANY ORGANIZATIONAL FINANCIALS) If you have more than one request you must submit a separate budget page for each request. (A) Actual Cash Expenses Administrative & Personnel Costs Specify: Actual Cash Expenses $ (B) Actual Income Admissions, Tuition or Fees Actual Cash Income $
Artistic Costs Specify
Individual Contributions Private, Business, Corporate Specify:
Technical & Outside Professional Services Costs Specify:
Other Grants Specify:
Fundraising for project Specify Other Project Expenses Space Rental Supplies & Equipment Rental Printing Postage Advertisement Travel Insurance Other Specify:
(A) TOTAL ACTUAL CASH EXPENSES
$
(B) TOTAL ACTUAL CASH INCOME
$
TOTAL ACTUAL EXPENSES (A) MINUS TOTAL ACTUAL INCOME (B) EQUALS
$ $
TOTAL GRANT REQUEST
$
In Kind Contributions: Outline any in-kind goods and services and approximate value. Source Source Source Service Service Service Value $ Value $ Value $
Complete the checklist below and attach to front of original application.
2008 COMMUNITY ART$GRANTS for Albany/Rensselaer/Schenectady County
APPLICATION CHECKLIST
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Thursday, October 11, 2007 at 5:00 p.m. All applications either hand delivered or mailed must be received by deadline date. This is not a postmark date. A COMPLETE APPLICATION PACKET MUST CONTAIN: The original application plus 16 copies that includes: A list of Board of Directors A list of major artistic and administrative personnel associated with your project Resumes of all principle artists involved Up to three sheets of pertinent supplementary material such as news articles, flyers,brochures etc. about the art programs your organization has undertaken. APPLICATIONS MUST BE COLLATED AND STAPLED OR PAPER CLIPPED INTO 17 PACKETS FOR THE PANELISTS. DO NOT SUBMIT IN FOLDERS OR COVERS. With the original application please send one copy of proof of not-for-profit status as outlined in the eligibility section. (The New York State and Local Sales Tax Exemption Form is not an acceptable form of proof of 501c3 status.) With the original applications please send one copy of your organization’s latest complete year financial statement or annual report .Do not send Form 990 Income Tax Return. If more financial information is required you will be notified.