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ArtLinks Initiative
Deadline: April 24, 2009
Grant Coordinator: Catherine O'Brian
Catherine.R.O'Brian@dcr.nh.gov
(603) 271-0795
These FY10 Grant Guidelines are valid for fiscal year July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010.
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 [This link does not work]. 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 with community resources.
- Engaging artists as mentors for artistic and 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 - $10,000 for project implementation. Those receiving funding for implementation may apply for second-year funding for up to 50% of the grant amount received the first year, with third-year funding of up to 25% of the grant amount received the first year. Those receiving first-year planning funds may apply for $5,000 - $10,000 the second year, with third-year funding of up to 50% 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;
- Have submitted all required reports on past State Arts Council grants; and
- Are in good standing with the State Arts Council and the NH Attorney General’s Office.
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;
- Continuous applications. After one three-year cycle of funding for applicants, grantees in this category must wait twelve (12) months before re-applying for this grant.
Sample Projects
Projects that focus on hands-on arts education and arts activities that provide positive alternatives for youth, specifically pre-teens and teens.
- A choir group develops a program that incorporates the National Standards for Music Education and gives adolescent girls the opportunity to receive individual and group instruction and perform in ten public events and benefits.
- A local historical society includes in cooperation with a NH Roster Artist, engages local youth in producing a documentary on their town’s history by conducting one-on-one interviews of elderly residents and researching local historical documents.
Application Review Process
A panel with expertise in the field meets to review and rate applications according to the funding criteria listed. A State Arts Councilor facilitates the meeting. Funding recommendations are then passed along to the State Arts Council 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 Executive Council for approval.
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.
How to Apply
Before submission: Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend one of the Council’s grant information sessions and to discuss their proposals with the appropriate grant coordinator noted above before writing their applications. Applicants should also review the legal and reporting requirements relevant to State Arts Council grants.
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.
When sending in a draft, please clearly indicate DRAFT FOR REVIEW in BOLD letters on your submission.
Submitting the application:
Errors and omissions may affect a panel’s evaluation of your application, so please prepare your application carefully and follow instructions.
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Narrative Questions (First Year Applicants or Project Planning Applicants)
Please answer the following narrative questions on no more than 5 typed pages. Margins (not less than 1”), fonts (not smaller than 12 point) and spacing should provide easy reading for the panelists. Please number and respond to the following questions in the order in which they appear. Be sure your organization's name and title of grant are included on each numbered page.
1. Organizational Profile: Give a short sketch of your organization and your partner organization(s). Please remember that some panelists may be from out of state and/or not be familiar with your organization or its importance to the arts in New Hampshire. Attach a Partner Information Form for the lead applicant and each partner included in the project. MSWord / PDF
On these forms be sure to note who will be responsible for: fiscal management; administrative oversight; source of community information/publicity; project staff and volunteers; cash contributions; non-cash resources and in-kind contributions; day-to-day operational assistance; project documentation and project evaluation.
2. Project Description: Write a clear and detailed description of the youth development arts project including:
- Participating artist* or consultants;
- How the artists were selected for this project;
- Programs, activities, or services being offered;
- Dates and locations of your arts projects;
- Desired outcomes;
- How the arts project contributes to youth development and supports the National Standards and/or NH Curriculum Frameworks for the Arts
- Attach a project timetable (one page), including planning time necessary to develop the project.
* Note: Resumes and work samples must be included unless participating artists are listed on the Council’s Artist Roster or the Traditional Arts and Folklife Listing, are NH Fellowship or Governors Arts Awards recipients, or have served as NH Artist or Poet Laureate.
How You Are going to Do It
3. Financing: Describe how you plan to meet the required match. Make sure that the project costs outlined on the budge forms correspond with the narrative. Attach a financial statement for your most recently completed fiscal year (lead applicant organization only).
4. Marketing/Outreach Plan: How do you plan to publicize this project to attract youth participants and audiences? How will youth be selected if there are limited spaces in the project activity? Include a specific, comprehensive plan for crediting the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts for supporting projects that are funded.
5. Accessibility: Identify the ways you will provide access to people with disabilities so they may benefit from this project. (i.e., physical access) Is a plan in place to make the programs accessible via sign language interpretation or listening devices, large print programs, large type labels for exhibits, if necessary?
6. Project Director/Consultant: Attach a brief biography or resume of your project director.
How you will Evaluate and Document
7. Project Documentation: How do you plan to document this project and assess the quality of arts experiences (photos, slides, videotape, articles, surveys, evaluations, anecdotal stories, etc.)?
8. Evaluation: Describe the evaluation methodology you will use to measure the outcomes of this project (e.g., initial and exit interviews with participants, questionnaires, audience or parent feedback forms, academic achievement, pre and post project, attendance etc.) How will you assess each participant's learning in the arts?
Narrative Questions (Second and Third Year Applicants)
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 years two and three.
Narrative Questions for Second and Third Year Applicants: MSWord / PDF
Required Support Materials
6 copies of
- Board-approved financial statement for most recently completed fiscal year of Applicant Organization.
- An arts organization embedded within institutions (i.e., an art gallery within a university) should submit an income statement for the past two years and other financial documents, approved by a financial officer of the supervisory institution. This income statement should detail how much support the arts organization has been receiving from internal and external sources, as well as where those funds have been going. These organizations should submit a balance sheet, if available.)
- List of current board members of Lead Applicant Organization including addresses and occupations.
- One page resume or biography of project director.
- Project timetable.
- Partner information forms.
- Letters of support from partners.
One copy of
- Work samples for artists who are not already juried by the State Arts Council.
- First-time applicants only: Tax exempt status letter from the IRS and a copy of the Letter of Good Standing that was received upon registering with the Attorney General's office.
- A completed New Hampshire Nonprofit Checklist found at this link: http://www.nhcf.org/page16898.cfm. This checklist conveniently lists all the legal requirements for NH Nonprofit Organizations.
NOTE: Registration of IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofits is required every five years, for the years ending in 0 or 5. This registration may be done on-line at www.sos.nh.gov.
How to Prepare the Application Package
1. Fill out and sign the original application & budget form and make 5 copies.
2. Complete and make 6 copies of the answers to the narrative questions.
3. Collate the original signed application form and copies to result in 6 sets. Each set should contain the following items arranged in the order in which they are listed:
1) the signed application and budget form (the original application should be with the first set)
2) narrative questions
3) board approved financial statement
4) list of board members
5) project director biography or resume
6) Partner information forms
7) Project timetable
8) letters of support from partners
4. Include work samples for artists who are not already juried by the State Arts Council. See Preparation of Work Samples for instructions on preparing work samples/support materials.
5. First-time non-profit organization applicants only (municipalities and schools are exempt from this requirement):
- One copy of IRS letter certifying 501(c)(3) status.
- One copy of the Letter of Good Standing that was received upon registering with the NH State Attorney General’s office.
IMPORTANT: If applying for more than one grant include only one IRS letter and one Letter of Good Standing and make a note in your packet that you have submitted these with another application.
6. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope for any materials that need to be retuned.
7. Include the completed New Hampshire Non-Profit Checklist.
8. Please do not use binders, folders, or protector sheets for the 6 separate sets for materials. Staples or clips are acceptable. Separate large envelopes may be used to contain the collated materials. It is helpful if you use post-it notes or label the application cover sheets to indicate original set, 1,2, 3 etc.
9. Make 1 copy of everything for your files.
10. Put everything together in one package, putting the set with the application with the original signature on top. Mail or hand deliver to: NH State Council on the Arts, 2 ½ Beacon Street Suite 225, Concord, NH 03301.
Why all these copies?
The original is for the State Arts Council files. Additional copies are for the panelists who will review your application prior to discussion at the panel meeting.
Deadline
Applications must be postmarked or hand delivered to the NH State Council on the Arts office at 2 ½ Beacon St, Suite 225 , Concord, NH 03301-4447 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 email. It is not 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 disburses funds appropriated from public sources, both federal and state. Checks are issued by Administrative Services of the State of NH, not the Department of Cultural Resources or the State Arts Council. 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, grant need to be approved by Governor and Executive Council; consequently payment can take up to ten weeks. All awards are subject to availability of state and federal funds. Therefore, we ask grantees to plan cash flow accordingly.
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 could 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 & Reporting Requirements
The grant period is July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010. A final report for each year’s project is due 30 days after the completion of your project, but no later than July 31, 2010. An extension of up to three months may be requested. The request for extension must be made in writing, before the deadline for filing has passed to the grant coordinator responsible for administering the grant and should briefly note why the extension is necessary and the date the report will be submitted.
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.
Last updated:
March 20, 2009
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