Cattaraugus County Arts Counc i l

ARTS EDUCATION GRANT

For Cattaraugus, Allegany and Chautauqua Counties

2 0 1 8 G u i d e l i n e s

Deadline for Application: October 6, 2017 at 4pm

History & Overview ...... 2

FY 2018 Informational Seminars & Grant Resources ...... 2

Who Can Apply? ...... 3

What Does AE Fund? ...... 4

What Does AE NOT Fund? ...... 4-5

Fiscal Sponsorships / Partnerships ...... 5

How Do I Apply? ...... 6

How Do I Submit an Application? ...... 7-8

How Will Funding Be Decided? ...... 8

Grant Notification ...... 8

Responsibilities of Funded Applicants ...... 9

Appeals Process ...... 9

Cattaraugus County Arts Council | 100 W. Main Street | Allegany, NY 14706 | 716-372-7455 |

Courtney Mealy, Grants Administrator

The grant programs at the Cattaraugus County Arts Council are made possible with funding by the New York State Council on the Arts with support from Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

History

Founded in 1977, The New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program (DEC) was developed to ensure New York State’s cultural funding reached every part of the state. DEC funding provides support for community-based arts & cultural activities through a local decision making grant process that reflects the unique character of each community. In 2000, the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) appointed the Cattaraugus County Arts Council to administer the DEC Program for Cattaraugus, and soon after gained administration of Allegany and Chautauqua counties.

Arts Education Grant Overview

The Arts Education grant funds local cultural organizations and/or teaching artists in providing meaningful arts education. Funding is offered for two funding strands: K-12 in-school projects and after-school and community based learning.

These funds serve to bring teaching artists and their classroom skills into dedicated learning environments for all ages whether in K-12 in-school classroom settings or in community-based or after-school settings. Emphasis is placed on the depth and quality of the creative process through which participants learn through or about the arts. Projects must focus on the exploration of art and the artistic process. For K-12 in-school classroom projects, inter-curricular collaborations are encouraged. AE grant program is designed to provide opportunities that would not otherwise be available to a particular group.

FY 2018 Informational Seminars & Grant Resources

The free information workshops offer assistance in understanding the grant process, the program guidelines, grant application tips and provide grant writing assistance. All workshop dates and locations will be listed under informational sessions in the GRANT section of Please RSVP for the workshop(s) of your choice by calling CCAC at 716-372-7455. An applicant can attend any of the seminars.

New Applicants

All new applicants are required to attend a grant workshop or meet with Grants Administrator individually before applying and at least two weeks before grant deadline to ensure ample time to prepare grant. If you have not applied and received a grant in the past 3 years, you must attend an informational seminar.

FY 2017 Applicants

Any applicant that has applied in the past year is strongly encouraged to attend a grant workshop to review changes to the application process, however this is not mandatory. Please review “New for 2018” document and contact Grants Administrator with any questions or clarifications.

Grant Resources

CCAC is dedicated to providing assistance for any artist and organization in regards to grant assistance and resources. A complete list of resources can be found at

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Who Can Apply?

Any artist or non-profit arts or cultural organization whose primary residence is in Cattaraugus, Allegany or Chautauqua County, or an out-of-county individual artist or organization who is partnered or fiscally sponsored by an in-county non-profit.

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To be eligible for this grant, applicants must:

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  • Be an individual artists residing in Cattaraugus,Allegany or Chautauqua counties; and must provide proof of residency or
  • Non-profit organizations with a legal non-profit status. Any one of the documents below may serve as proof of nonprofit status.
  • Letter of Determination from the IRS indicating tax exempt status under section 501(c)(3)
  • Documentation of charter by the NY State Board of Regents under section 216 of NYS Education Law
  • Documentation of incorporation under Section 402 of the NYS Not-for-Profit Corporation Law
  • Current NYS Bureau of Charities (Office of the Attorney General) filing receipt
  • Official authorization as an arm of local government (i.e., a formal letter on official stationary signed by the appropriate county, city, town, or village executive)
  • NYS individual artists and organization residing outside if Cattaraugus, Allegany and Chautauqua counties may apply through a fiscal sponsor of a qualified non-profit that meets the above criteria. For more information on sponsorship and partnerships please review the information under GRANT ROSOURCES at
  • Applicant artist must be over the age of 21 and cannot be enrolled in any degree program.

Projects with schools or non-profit partners involved in any projects currently receiving direct NYSCA funding are not eligible for grants from CCAC. And organizations that applied directly to NYSCA for 2017 funding may NOT apply for any CCAC grant funding regardless of the status of their NYSCA application.

An organization may apply for an Arts Education grant and a Community Arts grant in the same year but the total number of projects can only be three with the funding not exceeding $5,000 combined.

How Much Can I Request?

Arts Education Grants range from $500-$5000 for partnerships involving at least FIVE contacts between artist or non-profit cultural organization and a core group of participants. This AE grant is not intended to fund the total expense of any project. AE grants will fund a maximum of 50% of the project's total cash expenses and should include costs for appropriate project evaluation and documentation.

Project Requirements

Projects must include:

  • Sequential, skill based study that incorporated one or more art forms
  • Project must involve at least 3 consecutive contact sessions with the same artist/non-profit and core group of participants
  • In-depth, age and skill appropriate learning opportunities
  • Hands on, participatory creation and/or learning opportunities in one or more art forms that culminate in exhibitions, productions, or demonstrations
  • Stated learning goals, methodologies and outcomes and a means for evaluation.
  • Projects must include and accommodate participants with disabilities
  • Projects must be designed to provide opportunities that would not otherwise be available to a particular group.

What does AE fund?

The Arts Education grant can provide funding to bring teaching artists and their classroom skills into dedicated learning environments for all ageswhether in K-12 in-school class room settings or in a community-based or afterschool setting. Emphasis is placed on the depth and quality of the creative process through which participants learn through or about the arts. Projects must focus on the exploration of art and the artistic process. For K-12 in-school projects inter-curricular collaborations are encouraged. These projects do not need to be open to the public

Examples:

For the afterschool and community-based learning:

  • Dance and movement workshops in partnership with a senior center
  • Visual arts or ceramics with developmentally disabled communities
  • Afterschool Theater Program

For K-12 In-School:

  • From Field Songs to Hip Hop and the parallel to American history
  • Puppetry and theater as a tool for exploring any curricular theme

In School & Afterschool Projects- Designed to support arts education projects in K-12 school settings and partnerships between arts providers and public schools. Inter-curricular collaboration for in-school projects is encouraged

Community Based Learning- Designed to support arts education projects in community-based settings for a discrete group of learners that may not be open to the general public.

The Arts Education grants values the depth and quality of the creative process through which participants learn through or about the arts. Projects must focus on the exploration of art and the artistic process. Arts Education grants strive to build the capacity of local teaching artists and nonprofit organizations while providing students with high-quality artistic learning experiences.

What is not funded?

Funds will not be granted for:

  • NYS agencies and departments (including SUNY Schools)
  • Public Universities, colleges; and public, private or parochial secondary and elementary schools
  • DEC site staff or board members
  • Unincorporated applicants without an eligible sponsor or partner organization
  • NYSCA applicants, including fiscally-sponsored applicants that have applied to NYSCA is the most recent cycle.
  • Projects involving partners that apply directly to NYSCA.
  • Non-incorporated chapters of organizations whose “parent” is incorporated outside of the DEC site service area
  • Start-up or seed funding for the establishment of a new organization
  • General operating expenses
  • Requests that are greater than an organizations total operating expenses minus totaloperating income.
  • Past re-grantees that have failed to submit final reports
  • Operational expenses of privately-owned facilities (home and studios).
  • Events that take place in ones home.
  • Non-arts related activities including galas, benefits or fundraising events and entertainment such as balloons, clowns, magicians
  • Programs that are essentially recreational, therapeutic, rehabilitative or social. Decentralization funds are not appropriate for magic shows, clowns, balloons, bubble demonstrations, nature or animal presentations.
  • Acquisitions of works of art
  • Contingency funds
  • Permanent equipment or capital improvements
  • Creating of textbook or classroom materials
  • Lobbying expenses
  • Programs which children are used as professional artists (paid a fee)
  • Regrants by applicants to fund other activities
  • Cash prizes, juried shows, fellowships, scholarships and other awards to students.

Individual artists cannot submit the same project proposal to the Community Arts Grants and Artist in Community Grants at CCAC.

Fiscal Sponsorship & Partnerships

Individual artists not from the tri-county region or organizations that do not have a not-for-profit status can seek sponsorship or partnership with an organization that fits the eligibility criteria. Any group interested in finding a sponsor or partner must contact CCAC as soon as possible. It is up to the artist or group to find their own sponsor/partner but CCAC can assist in the search. Please review the Partnership/Sponsorship document in the GRANT RESOURCE section of for complete information.

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FISCAL SPONRSORSHIP

Fiscal sponsor is a non-profit organization that offers their legal and tax-exempt status to unincorporated groups engaged in activities related to the organizations mission.

How does this relate to the Arts Education grants?

An individual artist, collective or non- incorporated organization may apply for funds through a fiscal sponsor. The entity serving as the fiscal sponsor must meet the same eligibility requirements as an application organization listed in the guidelines.

PARTNERSHIP

APartneris a non-profit organization that offers their legal and tax-exempt status to an unincorporated group with whom that are partnering with to produce a program or project.

How does this relate to the Arts Education grants?

An individual artist or collective may apply directly for DEC funds if working in partnership with a community-based non-profit organization that meets the listed criteria for the Community Arts grants or a public school for Arts Education.

How Do I Apply?

The Arts Education grant application consists of several components including an application form, budget, and requires the applicant to submit support materials. All components must be completed in full to be eligible for funding. The 2018Arts Education application form can be found at

Application Form

All grants employ a fill-able word document. If you do not have Microsoft Word on your computer please download a free trial version for this grant request. This document can be downloaded to your computer saved as many times as needed. This document will be combined with other required information and submitted as a PDF to Grants Administrator.

The following information will be needed to complete the application form. Additional information will be required, please review the 2018 application at

Mission Statement: Provide the mission statement for your organization and if it is not an arts organization please include how the arts fit with the mission of your organization.Individual artists do not need to complete this question.

Brief Biography: Artistsplease provide a brief biography and highlights or accomplishments of your career.

Application Questions: These questions will accompany the narrative.

  • Please list those who will be involved in the planning and implementation of the project including their affiliations.
  • Please list the direct core group of participants who will benefit from this project including number of teachers involved and the number of contact sessions with each group.
  • Please list the indirect core group of participants who will benefit from this project including their grade, number of teachers involved and the number of contact sessions with each group.
  • Please provide a timeline for all activities in your project including pre-project, mid-project and post-project meetings with those involved.

Budget

Applicants should only use the provided budget form.Please note that applicants must show income or in-kind donations greater or equal to 50% of your total expenses.

Separate Attachments

Applicants will need to include the following information with their grant application. All documents are required as PDF’s and must be combined into one PDF with application and budget and emailed to Grants Administrator.

Partnership/Sponsorship Letter See information above detailing these options. The letter must discuss the role each plays in the project and must be signed by both parties.

Major Artist/ PerformersPlease list artistic personnel involved with project including artists, instructors etc. Include their name, short bio and/or websites. This is limited to 1 page.

Support MaterialPanelist also like to see photographs, video, and promotion material that will (or have been used) for your events. Please only submit 2-3 examples that representyour organization.

Resume: Please provide your resume to include past experience with the arts

NarrativeYour proposal will be evaluated primarily on the basis of your project narrative. Using up to five 8 ½” x 11” single-sided sheets of paper, give a complete description of the project for which you are seeking grant funding. Please do not use a font smaller than 10 pt or margins less than ½”. Attach the narrative to the application in PDF format. If you need help creating a PDF please visit myartscouncil.net. When you are composing your narrative please be sure that the evaluative criteria that are outlined have been incorporated into your project’s description. You may arrange your narrative in any format that you choose, but please address the following points:

  • What will the artist and participants do during the project? Please be specific.
  • How will you evaluate participants learning? What methods and tools will be used? Please be specific.
  • If working in a school, please list the arts curriculum and the NYS Arts Learning Standards your project focuses on. Provide actual examples for each learning standards.
  • What teaching role will the artist or cultural organization play in the project? Briefly describe the teaching plan.
  • Describe your project outreach plans. How will you make the local community and/or school community aware of your project?
  • What marketing tools will you use to highlight your project (Examples: Facebook, organizational website, press releases to local newspapers, school newsletters, letters home to parents, etc.)
  • Who will be responsible for promoting the project?
  • Please provide a tentative promotional schedule with Month and activity Example: January- Announce through local press release to newspaper.

CCAC’s Grants Administrator will gladly review and critique a draft of your narrative up to two weeks prior to the deadline date. All drafts have to be submitted by email to Courtney Mealy at

How do I submit my application?

Please save all elements of your application as a PDF. To submit a complete application, please save the individual PDFs together as one PDF document. If you need assistance in doing so, please visit the Creating a PDF Document in the GRANT RESOURCE section of CCAC’s website.

Save the files in the following order:

  • Application Form
  • Budget Form
  • Narrative
  • Resume
  • Support Materials
  • Letter of Endorsement if applicable
  • Proof of Residency/Non-Profit status

The grant application should be saved in this format: artistname/organizationname.projecttitle.AE18 and emailed to the Grants Administrator, Courtney Mealy at before 4pm on October 6th, 2017. Please call CCAC at 716-372-7455 to ensure your application was received and is complete.Please note that CCAC will not accept any applications after the deadline.

Review By Grants Administrator (after application was submitted)

All applications received by the deadline will be checked for eligibility and completeness before it is sent to the review panel. Please note content of the project will not be reviewed. Grants Administrator will contact applicant if there is incomplete or missing information and a deadline will be given to submit this paperwork before it is sent to the review panel. If the information is not submitted in a timely manner, the application may not be sent to the panel.

How will funding be decided?

A diverse panel of artists, art professional, educators and local civic, business, and community leaders will review all applications. The panel recommends a level of funding based on the degree to which the applicant meets or exceeds the evaluative criteria. The applications that will remain competitive through the grant process will be those that provide clean and succinct answers to the points listed within these guidelines.