CORE SUPPORT PROGRAM “C” PAGE 1 of 5

COMMUNITY CULTURAL CENTRES - Guidelines

Tourism, Heritage and Culture

Core Support Program “C”

for Community Cultural Centres

2017-18, 2018-19

Program Guidelines

Application Deadline: April 30, 2017

Purpose

To provide support to community cultural centres thatoffercommunity arts, education and enrichment activities, and provide access to professional artists or professional arts programs including programming of and by New Brunswick artists.

Objective

Through this support, community cultural centres achieve a blend of community and professional arts development activity that contributes to:

  • Development of the arts and learning through the arts
  • Development of communities through the arts
  • Engagement withprofessional artists, especially New Brunswick artists.

What are Community Cultural Centres?

A Community Cultural Centre (CCC) is defined here as a non-profit organization that owns or manages a building in which most or all of its space is dedicated to arts and cultural activity. The Centre is open year-round and has paid staff dedicated to managing and developing its cultural programs. The CCC may provide rented space that is prioritized for arts and cultural activity.

The CCC providescommunity arts activitiesfor people of all ages. Examples of such activities may includeart classes, exhibitions, performances and community arts projects including arts-based wellness or social development programs. It alsoprovides opportunities for professional artists through exhibitions, performances, presentations, lectures and community arts facilitation or production.

This blend of community, avocational andprofessional arts optimizes participation, learning, outreach and growth through the arts in ways that are appropriate for the community served by the centre. The Community Cultural Centre continuously endeavours to reach new audiences and publics.

The Community Cultural Centres Core Support Program provides multi-year operating support for Community Cultural Centres. Overall, the eligible organization’s operating support level will be determined based on the quality of their programs, their integration of professional arts into community programming, their organizational strength and the quality of their partnerships and commitment to developing best practices in community engagement.The evaluation process focuseson the merit of the application and rewards organizations in which their mandate and activitiesposition them well to achieve goals and objectives articulated in the New Brunswick’s Cultural Policy.

Applicant Eligibility

  • The Community Cultural Centre (CCC) owns or manages a building for which the primary purpose is arts and cultural programs in that community.
  • The CCC is a non-profit entity in which the primary mandate is the management of arts and cultural programming within the building or building complex.
  • The CCC receives municipal support (e.g. financial, in-kind, infrastructure and administrative support).
  • The CCC’s municipality has, or is in the process of developing a cultural policy.
  • In addition to its community arts and cultural programming the CCC regularly present exhibitions, performances or events and/or develops programs which employ professional artists at established rates,[1] including New Brunswick artists.
  • The CCC is open year-round and has a paid staff dedicated to the development of its cultural programming.

Organizationsthat do not meet all of the eligibility criteria may be eligible for other forms of support through the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture.

Ineligible Organizations

  • Organizations receiving support through the DTHC’s Core Support to Professional Arts Organizations.[2]
  • Organizations receivingoperational support from other provincial government departments, such as Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour for example.
  • Municipalities
  • Museums, libraries, churches, multi-cultural associations or organizations in which the primary mandate is not arts and culture.[3]
  • Large Municipal presenting venues.[4]
  • Organizations that failed to submit a complete report for this program or another DTHC grant.

Evaluation

Assessment is based on the quality of overall programming including the balance and integration of professional and community arts programming. Funding is to assist in operations and core programming. An application may be considered ineligible if:

  • The submission is late;
  • The submission does not contain all required components and the organization fails to forward the information to the Department in a timely manner;
  • The applicant has failed to address issues identified by the Department in previous assessments;
  • The organization fails to provide the Department with information or reports required forthis or other grant programs;
  • The organization undergoes a disruption of activities that has a negative impact on the organization or on creditors;
  • The organization is in violation of the Act under which it was incorporated.

Complete applications are reviewed by a peer assessment committee (jury) composed of professional artists, and arts professionals knowledgeable about the sector. Following the pilot year (2016-17) and an initial two year funding period (2017-2019), funding will be then provided on a three-year multi-year basis (2019-20/2020-21/2021-2022).

Support to the organization may be interrupted, reduced or discontinued in the middle of a three-year cycle if the Department’s budget is reduced, if the organization’s activities or personnel are significantly altered, for any of the reasons stated above, or in any other extenuating circumstance at the discretion of the Department.

Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation criteria are linked to the program objectives and are based on targeted goals, objectives and action items of New Brunswick’sRenewed Cultural Policy. Evaluation will take into account the applicant’s overall community impact and its blend of community and professional arts activities; its organizational strength, and the quality of its partnerships. Applicants will be assessed overall on:

Program Quality

  1. The overall impact of the organization’s activitiestoadvance thearts and learning through the arts in their communities. This will be determined in part by the quality of the programs, the way that programs are planned and evaluated by the organization, and levels of community participation.
  2. The organization’s commitment to and success inincorporating the work of professional artists into some or many aspects of its community programming. Please note that this is a requirement of funding.
  3. How the organization measures the impact and success of its programs in meeting its community’s needs.

Organizational Stability and Partnerships

  1. The strength and stability of the organization’s management, community engagement and health. This will be determined by financial stability, revenue diversification, and the ability to plan and budget effectively.
  2. Networking and meaningful partnerships within the community and with other community cultural centresthat demonstrate a commitment to learn about and implement innovative practices of community cultural centres both in New Brunswick and in other jurisdictions.

Please note that the criteria are equally weighted.

Application and Grant Requirements

  • The application is in four parts. Organizations must complete ALL required components and label them as described in Parts 1 - 4 of the application.
  • Part 1: Application Form
  • Part 2: Financial and Statistical Information
  • Part 2.aCADAC financial and statistical forms
  • Part 2.bBudget and Statistical Narrative (1 page maximum)
  • Part 3: Description of Organization and Programs (5 pages maximum)
  • Part 4: Addenda #1 - 6-
  • Includes articles of incorporation, board list, annual report and audited statements and additional support materials (Addenda 4 – 6).
  • Organizations must be registered on the NB Cultural Facilities Inventory. For more information,visit

Note: In the case of disagreement concerning the interpretation of its policies and programs, the Department reserves the right to final interpretation of the intent and implementation of a program. The Department reserves the right to revise programs at any time without notice.

Grant Allocations

The maximum grant in the program is $30,000. Funding is competitive – not all organizations which apply will necessarily receive funding. Organizations should be realistic in their grant requests, based on their size and level of activity.

The Department maychoose not to allocate funding if:

  • the organization receives a poor assessment by the assessment panel;
  • the organization has not met minimum requirements for the program;
  • the organization has failed to demonstrate significant improvement in problem areas identified by previous panelsthat have resulted in at least two grantreductions of 10% or more over the past three grant cycles. In this case, an organization will be removed from the program. The organization may continue to apply for projects in other grant programs.

Notification of Results

Organizations will be notified of the results within two months following the application deadline.

Annual Reporting Requirements

Organizations are required to provide the following:

  • CompletedCADAC financial and statistical reports for the previous completed year, for the current year; and for the coming year.
  • The latest annual report and audited financial statement, or reviewed financial statement.Note: If audited financial statements are not ready by the program deadline, financial statements will be accepted until audited financial statements are available (see deadline below).

The deadline to receive the annual core support report for the most recent completed year is no more than 3 months following the end of the organization’s fiscal year.

Additional Information

  • The Department must be notified immediately of any substantial change in the initial application or the budget submitted.
  • Applicants must keep the guidelines and a copy of their application form for their records.
  • The Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture is subject to the Right to Information Act and the Protection of Personal Information Act.
  • The guidelines for this component may be modified without notice and apply to all applications submitted.

Acknowledgement of Government Support

Successful applicants must acknowledge the support of the Government of New Brunswick in all promotional material associated with the grant.

Release of Information to the Public

The applicant acknowledges and agrees that, if awarded a grant, the name of the grant recipient, the recipient’s community, the program name, and the amount of the grant, will be published by the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture on the Government of New Brunswick web site and in the Department’s Annual Report.

Submission of Applications

Applications and all required supporting material must be sent electronicallyno later than April 30, 2017by

email to:

Multiple emails may be required, based on the size of the application. Applications and submissions of supportingmaterial received after the deadline will not be accepted.

Note: The government’s email system has a limit of 9MB for any addenda. Anything larger will not be delivered. The email system will automatically send you an acknowledgement of receipt but that should not be interpreted that all of the information/attachments have been received. When in doubt, please contact the Branch’s Administrative Assistant at (506) 453-2555.

Contact Information

For questions or assistance, please contact Program Officers, Rebekah Chassé at(506) 453-5372, or Caroline Walker at (506) 444-5303, .

[1] CARFAC, AFM, Equity etc.

[2] Formerly the Operational Grant Program (For Production and Presentation; Service Organizations or Literary Organizations).

[3]An arts-related event or program by a cultural association may be eligible through the Arts Partnerships Project Program.

[4]The Fredericton Playhouse, the Capitol Theatre, the Imperial Theatre. Large presenters are eligible for support for the presentation of New Brunswick artists through the Touring and PresentingGrant program.