ArtLinks Initiative
Deadline: April 28, 2008

Grant Coordinator: Catherine O'Brian
Catherine.R.O'Brian@dcr.nh.gov
(603) 271-0795

These FY09 Grant Guidelines are valid for grant period July 1, 2008 - June 30, 2009.

This initiative encourages partnerships between community organizations, schools, and arts organizations to provide arts education for middle and high school-aged youth in under-served communities around the state. For this purpose, an under-served community is one in which individuals lack access to arts programs due to geography, economic conditions, ethnic background, disability, or age. Applicant teams are asked to make a three-year commitment to this program.

In addition to project funding, the State Arts Council offers technical assistance, workshops, peer learning opportunities, and smaller grants to help organizations document and evaluate their projects. ArtLinks is administered through the State Arts Council's Arts in Education Program. Grant recipients and their partner organizations also need to commit to attending a minimum of one meeting each year of the three years of the funded project. These meetings will assist participants with project planning, documentation, peer learning and fundraising skills. Funds are available for both project planning and implementation.

Goals

• Funding projects that focus on quality arts education and arts activities that provide positive alternatives for youth development (pre-teens and teens).
• Helping provide, through the arts, the knowledge and skills needed by New Hampshire students to be competitive in the 21st century's creative workforce and to lead productive lives in their communities.
• Assisting rural schools in meeting the standards set out by the recently adopted New Hampshire Curriculum Frameworks for the Arts, particularly in the areas of theatre, dance, and media arts.
• Involving students in vocational tracks in creative projects that make use of their technical skills in everything from metalwork to make-up.
• Utilizing the internet and other new technologies more effectively to enhance artist residency activities and link arts and community resources.
• Engaging artists as mentors for technical support in arts education and community projects.
• Connecting the arts resources of the arts and cultural organizations located in the more populous areas of New Hampshire to schools and community organizations in the more rural areas of the state.
• Because this initiative requires participants to work in partnership, which takes time to develop, multi-year funding will be available to help strengthen and maintain these partnerships and sustain arts programming. Funding is available for both planning and implementation phases.

Maximum Grant Request
First year applicants may request up to $2,500 for project planning or $5,000 - $7,500 for project implementation. Those receiving funding for implementation may apply for second-year funding for up to 66.6% of the grant amount received the first year, with third-year funding of up to 33.3% of the grant amount received the first year. Those receiving first-year planning funds may apply for $5,000 - $7,500 the second year, with third-year funding of up to 33.3% of what was received for second-year funding.

Important Note: All grant categories and amounts are subject to change, depending upon availability of state and federal funds for any fiscal year.

Required Match
First-year grants can be matched with in-kind contributions of goods or services or cash (or any combination of the two); second-year grants must be matched by at least 50% cash (i.e., a $5,000 grant must be matched by at least $2,500 in cash); third-year grants must be matched on a one-to-one cash basis.

Who May Apply
New Hampshire 501(c)(3) arts or cultural organizations, schools, school districts or SAUs, municipalities, or New Hampshire 501(c)(3) organizations that are incorporated in the State of New Hampshire and located in the community or region to be served by the project, who also meet the following conditions:

• Make all their programs and facilities accessible to people with disabilities;
• Are working in partnership with at least one arts organization and/or school; and
• Have submitted all required reports on past State Arts Council grants.

Restrictions
This grant does not support:

• Projects already receiving funding from any other State Arts Council grant category;
• More than one grant in this category per fiscal year (July 1 - June 30);
• General operating expenses not directly related to the project;
• Purchase of non-consumable equipment.

New! After a three year cycle of funding, grantees in this category must wait twelve months before re-applying for this grant.

Sample Projects
To obtain a packet of sample projects, contact the Grant Coordinator whose name appears above.

How to Apply
Contact AIE Coordinator Catherine O'Brian to discuss your project, determine its eligibility and request application materials. Applicants are strongly encouraged to either attend one of the Council’s grant information sessions held in the fall (please see the State Arts Council website for specific dates) or to discuss their proposals with the Coordinator whose name appears above before writing their applications. Draft applications maybe reviewed if submitted at least two weeks in advance of the application deadline. First time applicants are especially encouraged to submit draft copies.

ArtLinks participants applying for second or third-year funding for projects funded the previous year will be asked to submit a progress report and abbreviated proposal for year two. Upon request, the AIE Coordinator can supply copies of the 2nd and 3rd year ArtLinks proposal form.

Deadline
Applications must be postmarked or hand delivered to the NH State Council on the Arts office at 2 ½ Beacon St, second floor, Concord, by 4:15 p.m. on the deadline date noted above. Office hours are Monday - Friday, 8:15 a.m. - 4:15 p.m. The office is closed all state and most federal holidays. Late applications will not be accepted. The Council cannot accept applications transmitted by facsimile (FAX) or be responsible for applications lost in transit. Errors and omissions may affect a panel's evaluation of your application, so please prepare your application carefully and follow instructions.

Notification
Applicants will be notified of their application status within approximately ten weeks of the application deadline.

Payment
The NHSCA disperses funds appropriated from public sources, both federal and state. Processing of grants is subject to procedures developed to ensure public accountability. Checks are issued by the Central Administrative Services of State of NH, not the Department of Cultural Resources or the NHSCA.

Upon receipt of properly executed grant forms, the State of New Hampshire generally pays grants under $5,000 to grantees within 4 to 6 weeks. If an organization is awarded $5,000 or more or has received other State Arts Council funds which brings the cumulative total received for that fiscal year (July 1 - June 30) to $5,000 or above, payment can take up to ten weeks. Therefore, we ask grantees to plan cash flow accordingly. All awards are subject to availability of state and federal funds.

IMPORTANT:

• All grant agreements must be returned by January 15 of the fiscal year (July 1 to June 30) they are awarded. Failure to return the grant agreement by that date will result in the cancellation of the grant and reallocation of funds.
• Payment of a grant will be withheld if the final reports for previous grants are not in compliance with policy below.

Grant Period & Final Report
The grant period is July 1, 2008 - June 30, 2009. A final report for each year’s project is due 30 days after the completion of your project, but no later than July 31, 2009. An extension of up to three months may be requested by writing to the grant coordinator responsible for administering the grant. The request should be sent no later than July 15, 2009 and should briefly note why the extension is necessary and the date the report will be submitted. A status report will be due with the request.

Failure to submit the final report by the required date will result in the organization becoming ineligible to apply for NHSCA funding for two years. Additionally, failure to submit the final report may result in a withholding of funds from any currently awarded NHSCA grant. Click here for the Final Report Download Center.

Funding Criteria
The following criteria are used by reviewers to rate applications:

Strength of Partnership

• Evidence of commitment from partner organizations.
• Clearly defined roles of partners.

Quality of Arts Programming

• Artistic merit of participating artist(s).
• Experience of artist(s) in doing education and/or youth development work.
• Defined selection process of artists.
• Use of NH artists, including those living in the community.

Administrative Capacity

• Realistic timetable for project.
• Evidence of planning process with partners.
• Efforts to make programs physically and programmatically accessible to people with disabilities.
• Plan to publicize project to attract participants and/or audience.
• Soundness of fundraising plan.
• Realistic project budget with diverse sources of income, including cash and/or in-kind contributions from partner organizations.
• Qualifications of Project Director.
• Administration of past Council grants and all reports.
• Clarity of proposal.

Documentation and Evaluation

• Plan to document project’s objectives and desired outcomes.
• Effective evaluation methodology.
• Assessment of students’ arts learning.

Narrative Questions, Required Support Materials, and How to Prepare the Application Package
These are included in the application packet.

Application Review Process
A panel with expertise in the field meets to review and rate applications according to the funding criteria listed above. Funding recommendations are then passed along to the State Arts Councilors for review and approval. If a grant of $5,000 or more is recommended, or the applicant's cumulative total of grants received from the State Arts Council for that fiscal year (July 1 - June 30) is $5,000 or more, the grant recommendation must also be submitted to the Governor and Council for approval.

Last updated: February 4, 2008