Community Arts Grant

C a t t a r a u g u s C o u n t y A r t s C o u n c i l

COMMUNITY ARTS 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? ...... 2- 3

What Does CA Fund? ...... 3-4

What Does CA NOT Fund? ...... 4

Funding Preferences ...... 5

Fiscal Sponsorship & Partnerships ...... 5-6

How Do I Apply? ...... 5-7

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

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

Grant Notification ...... 9

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.

Community Arts Grant Overview

The Community Arts Grants are competitive arts grants that provide financial assistance for community-based arts and culture program by eligible non-profit organizations or sponsored artists/organizations. The program exists to support professional fees for artists, marketing costs, and technical production services. CA support enables emerging artists and organizations to grow professionally and to enhance the cultural vibrancy in communities and neighborhoods where they live and operate. Arts programming must be the driving force of project requests.

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 Program and Grants Manager 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

Who Can Apply?

To be eligible for this grant, applicants must:

Be an established nonprofit organization, a local government municipality, or sponsored artist/non incorporated organization legally located in Allegany, Cattaraugus or Chautauqua County. 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)

Applicant organizations must have an active Board of Directors/Trustees or volunteer group that meets on a regular basis.

Applicants must not exclude persons with disabilities, according to the 1991 Americans with Disabilities Act.

Chapters of national organizations must have their own non-profit status in the county of their organization area and may not use the non-profit status of group-ruling parent organizations.

Individual artists and non-incorporated arts organizations residing or legally located in the tri-county service area may apply for CA funding through the fiscal sponsorship or partnership of a qualified non-profit that meets the above criteria. Organizations who wish to apply with a sponsor or partner MUST meet with CCAC’s Grants Administrator.

Individual artists must be over the age of 21 and any students enrolled in a degree program are not eligible for funding.

NOTE: Organizations that apply directly to NYSCA (including REDC applications) for 2018 funding may NOT apply for funding administered by CCAC, regardless of the status of their NYSCA application.

An organization can apply for CA and Arts Education (AE) within the same year for different projects. The total number of project requests can be three and the funding request cannot exceed $5,000.

How Much Can I Request?

Grants are awarded from $500-$5,000.

Organizations may submit up to three (3) separate grant applications for three separate and distinctly different programs but funds requested may not exceed a total of $5,000.

The Community Arts grant is not intended to fund the total expense of any project. Applicants must seek and commit other sources of revenue and support in addition to the requested funds. Creative collaborations and support from community organizations and businesses are strongly encouraged. All proposals must show income that is equal to or greater than 25% of the total project request.

What Does Community Arts Grants Fund?

The priority of CA is to fund the arts related aspects for the proposed project (e.g.,artist fees, supplies and materials needed for the execution of the program, production costs, etc.).

Funding may also be requested for marketing/publicity and other outreach costs and administrative expenses.

Projects must be open to the general public in a fully handicap accessible location and takes place between January 1, 2018- December 31, 2018.

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 total operating income.
Past re-grantees that have failed to submit final reports
Operational expenses of privately-owned facilities (home and studios).
Activities not opened to the general public such as camps, clubs, or college associations
Events that take place in private homes
Non-arts related activities including galas, benefits or fundraising events and entertainment such as balloons, clowns, magicians, juggling, bubble demonstrations, nature or animal presentations
Programs that are essentially recreational, therapeutic, rehabilitative or social.
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.

Funding Preferences

Awards are based on a competitive review process by a community panel. Each project is reviewed on the basis of its own merits and against others in the application pool. Limited funds are available, and priority will be given to applications that address a number of priorities:

First time applicants.
Artist initiated projects.
New initiatives from past applicants.
Collaborative projects.
Employment and payment of skilled and meriting artists, evidenced by resumes and supplemental information.
Service to under-represented or under-served populations.
Programs that present cultural traditions and/or contemporary creative expression of a particular ethnic group.

Fiscal Sponsorship & Partnerships

Individual artists 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.

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 Community Arts 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

A Partner is 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 Community Arts 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 Community Arts 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 2018 Community Arts 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 savedas 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.

Brief Biography:Please provide a brief biography of the organization’s history and special accomplishments.

Application Questions: Your application will be reviews primarily based on the answers that are provided for the following questions.

Please describe your project in detail including the venue capacity and accessibility. Who is responsible for development, programmatic and financial management?
If you are applying for a project that has been previously funded through DEC, how has the program changed or grown?
Describe the artistic components(s) of the project including ways in which the program contains artistic, creative diverse programming. Please include the artistic personnel associated with this project and their qualifications.
Describe the goals and objectives established for this project and anticipated actions to achieve them. Include your evaluation plans and how you will assess the project.
Describe community interest and benefits resulting from your project. Please indicate how your project demonstrated or encourages collaborations among other organizations/businesses including anticipated support from the community.
What is the community need/benefit for your project? How does the project offer artistic or creative opportunities and experiences to communities and people in areas that are underserved by the arts?
Describe the plan for execution of this program if partial/no funding is awarded.
Describe the marketing and promotion for your project/program(s). How will you reach all areas of your target community?
Provide a detailed explanation for key items in the budget including expense and income. Detail any in-kind support anticipated for this project.

Budget

Applicants should only use the provided budget form found at note that applicants must show income great or equal to 25% of your total expenses. In-kind values should be a reasonable amount and listed in the separate budget column. In-kind values cannot be used as part of the 25% required income.

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:If you are an individual artist or non-incorporated applying with a fiscal sponsor or partner please include a letter that indicates the responsibilities of each organization. The letter must be signed by both applicant and partner/sponsor officials. For more information on Partnerships/Sponsorships, please review the document in the GRANT RESOURCE section of

Work Samples:Please include no more than 2pages of work samples (FYI-more than one sample can be on a page). You may also want to include links to any media including websites, Facebook pages etc.

List of major performers/artists:Please list the major artists or performers that your organization is requesting funding for including their credentials, websites and other media that can be found online. Limit 1 page.

Non-profit Paperwork:Please include a ONE page non-profit document listed in the eligibility section of this document. Example: if your organization has a 501(c)(3) letter, CCAC only requires the first page of the letter. If you have any questions, please contact the Grants Administrator.

Organizational Budget:Please include a comprehensive organizational budget from your last completed fiscal year.

Pre Application Submission Review

CCAC’s Grants Administrator will gladly review and critique a draft of your application questions up to two weeks (by September 22) prior to the deadline date. All drafts have to be submitted by email to Courtney Mealy at . Please note that by having your application reviewed by the Grants Administrator does not guarantee your application a grant award.

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
Partnership/Sponsorship letter (if applicable)
Work Samples
List of major artist/performers
Non-profit document
Organizational Budget

The grant application should be saved in this format: organization.projecttitle.CA17 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.

Notification

Following a collective review of all applications, the panel will make the decision which applications they would like to fund. All applicants will be notified of the panel’s decision via mail in late November/early December. CCAC distributes funding to grant recipients immediately following disbursement from New York State. Grant awards may not be available until late spring. If you/ your organizations is dependent on receiving funds in order to implement the event please plan your budget and cash flow needs accordingly and let CCAC know.

Grant Recipient Responsibilities

Successful applicants are responsible for administering and executing funded projects in a professional, accountable and business-like manner. Recipients are obligated to: sign a Cultural Service Agreement (CSA) outlining expectation; return all unspent funds to CCAC for redistribution; complete a final report 30 days after the completion of the program; add the NYSCA funded events to CCAC’s Regional Events Calendar at least 30 days prior to event; give CCAC and NYSCA proper credit as outlined in the CSA; provide CCAC 2 tickets for every event where admission is charged; send acknowledgement of Artist in Community Grant to all state elected officials within applicant's county of residence; must attend the annual grants award ceremony in early 2018; ensure all events and venues associated with the project are handicap accessible; keep Grants Administrator informed regarding any progress or changes in the original proposed application.