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Economic Stimulus

ARRA logo


American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)

ARRA and the NH Recovery logos

New Grant Opportunity!

Arts Jobs: Putting New Hampshire to Work
Guidelines for FY2010 - 2011
Deadline: May 8, 2009

Part of the NH Recovery Effort
Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts through
the American Reinvestment & Recovery Act (ARRA)


Grant Coordinator: Cassandra Erickson                                                  
email:  cassandra.erickson@dcr.nh.gov
phone: (603) 271-7926

These Grant Guidelines are valid for the grant period July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2011.

Arts Jobs is a special stimulus grant category funded by the National Endowment for the Arts through the American Reinvestment & Recovery Art (ARRA). Applications are limited to:

  • non-profit organizations (see Who May Apply)
  • state, federal, county or municipal governments
  • units within post-secondary educational institutions

The purpose of these funds is to preserve work in the arts that is in jeopardy due to the economic downturn. Funds may be used for salary and benefits support for positions that have been lost or are in jeopardy or for contracted personnel, including artists. Grant applicants may choose a one- or two-year grant period for expending all funds.

Maximum Grant Request
Arts Jobs requests may be made for either $10,000 or $20,000.

Applicants must choose whether to expend the funds in one year or over two years within the grant period of July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2011.

No match is required.

Important Note: This Arts Jobs grant is a one-time, temporary funding opportunity. All grant categories and amounts are subject to change, depending upon availability of state and federal funds for any fiscal year.

Who May Apply?
Non-profit arts organizations that are currently eligible for Operating Grant support and have submitted applications for the FY2010-FY2011 deadline of April 9, 2009.

OR

Non-profit organizations, state, federal, county or municipal governments, or units within post-secondary educational institutions that have received a grant in any of the followings categories in the past 4 years (FY2006-FY2009):

  • Traditional Arts Project grant
  • Community Arts Project grant
  • Organizational Support Project grant
  • Cultural Facilities grant

In addition, applicants must also meet the following conditions:

  • Make programs and facilities accessible;
  • Have submitted all required reports on past State Arts Council grants;
  • Be in good standing with the State Arts Council and NH Attorney General’s Office.

Restrictions

  • Colleges, universities, libraries, and schools are not eligible. However, independent arts units within an educational institution with separate administrative and program budgets and independent advisory councils, such as some college art galleries, are eligible if the majority of their programming is for the general public;
  • Applicant organizations must be physically located in New Hampshire, not just incorporated in the state;
  • Grant award may not be used for:
    • the funding of a new positions, whether temporary or permanent;
    • fund raising or development positions;
    • programming costs or other administrative costs; or
    • previously incurred debts or deficits.

Application Review Process
These applications will be reviewed by the Operating grant panel, which is comprised of individuals with expertise in general non-profit management or arts administration. They will review and rank applications according to the funding criteria listed. A State Arts Councilor will facilitate the meeting. Funding recommendations then go to the full State Arts Council for review and approval. Since all of the recommended grants will be more than $5,000 each, the Arts Council’s grant approvals must also be submitted to the Governor and Executive Council for final approval.

Funding Criteria
The following criteria will be used to rank and prioritize Arts Jobs grant applications:

Artistic Excellence & Administrative Capacity

  • Significance of organization’s mission to the general public and/or quality of service to New Hampshire artists;
  • Potential to reach a broad geographic range of constituents, and potential to reach underserved populations;
  • Artistic excellence in programming;
  • Evidence of compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act;
  • Successful administration and reporting of past Council grants.

Impact of Request on New Hampshire’s Arts Work Force

  • Evidence of significant and immediate impact on New Hampshire arts work force;
  • Significance of position(s) or contract(s) to the mission of the organization.

Quality of Proposal and Performance Measurements

  • Clarity of proposal;
  • Likelihood that the funding will achieve the identified outcome(s);
  • The proposed performance measurements are feasible. (Please see Grant Period & Reporting Requirements)

How to Apply
Before submission: Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend one of the State Arts Council’s special information sessions on Art Jobs grants and to discuss proposals with the grant coordinator noted above before writing an application. Applicants also should review the legal and reporting requirements relevant to State Arts Council grants.

Draft applications may be reviewed if submitted at least one week in advance of the application deadline.

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.

Don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader®? Click here to download for free!

Narrative Questions
The total narrative portion of the application should not exceed three typed pages.
Please respond to the following questions in the order in which they appear.
(Margins should be no less than 1”on all sides, fonts should be no smaller than 12 point, and spacing should provide easy reading for the panelists.)

Artistic Excellence & Administrative Capacity
1. What is the mission of your organization? How is your mission significant to the cultural life of New Hampshire? Describe your standards and methods for ensuring artistic excellence in your arts programming. (Please keep in mind that some of the panelists may be from out of state and/or not familiar with your organization or its importance to the arts in New Hampshire.)

2. How important is your organization and its continued existence to the businesses and economy of your area?

3. Accessibility. Describe specific ways your organization involves individuals who have limited access to the arts due to disabilities, low income, and distance from arts centers, or other barriers.

Impact of Request on New Hampshire’s Arts Work Force
4. How has the economic downturn affected your organization? Is your organization in danger of going out of business as a result of the current economy? Have you had to cancel artistic performances that you had planned to contract? Please comment on changes that you have had to make or anticipate needing to make in the areas of programming and staffing for the current year and the future. Are you experiencing or do you anticipate changes in earned and contributed income?

A. For Salary Support Requests: Describe the significance of the position(s) to the mission of your organization and how it relates to your operations. What would happen if the position(s) was/were unfilled? Attach a copy of the job description(s)/contract(s) and a copy of the employment or contract notification letter of the most recent employee (with personal information redacted). Note those positions that have been lost or are in danger of being lost due to the economic downturn.

B. For Contractual Personnel/Artist Fee Requests: Describe the significance that the contracted personnel or artist(s) has/have to the mission of your organization. What would happen if the contract(s) was/were not able to be fulfilled? Attach a copy of the contract or contract notification letter for the artist(s) or other contracted personnel you are unable to contract with due to a decline in revenues.

Performance Measurements
5. Describe the steps you will take to ensure that this position(s) or artist contract(s), if funded, will be sustained for the entire project period.

6. What would happen if the job(s) or artist contract(s) were lost? Please address the effect this will or does have on the service your organization provides to your state or community.

7. Are there other jobs or other artist contracts that might be indirectly saved as a result of this request? (Either in your organization, in other non-profit organizations or in the for-profit businesses sector.)

Required Support Materials
Eleven (11) copies of:

  • Completed Arts Jobs Application & Budget Form;
  • Completed narrative questions (no more than three pages);
  • Organizational staffing chart and brief biographies of key staff;
  • List of current board members with addresses and occupations;
  • Job description, contract and a copy of the employment or contract notification letter of the most recent employee (with personal information redacted) for which funds are being requested OR a copy of the contract or contract notification letter for the artists or other contracted personnel you are unable to contract with due to the fiscal downturn; and
  • Most recently filed 990 Form.

Two samples:

  • Brochures or program books that provide an overview of your arts programming over the past two years.

One copy:

NOTE: The State of New Hampshire requires registration of IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofits every five years (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 form and write responses to narrative questions (no more than three pages). You will submit one original (please mark) and 10 copies.
2. Include 11 copies of all supporting materials.
3. Collate the original signed application form and copies with the answer to the narrative questions, completed budget form, brief biographies, list of board members, organizational staffing chart, job description and employment notification or contract and most recent 990 Form, resulting in 11 sets.
4. The original application and one set of collated support materials are for State Arts Council files. Add to this set the New Hampshire Non-Profit Checklist.
5. Do not use binders or folders for the 11 separate sets of materials. Staples and clips are acceptable. It is helpful if you use post-it notes or label the application cover sheets to indicate original, set 1, 2, 3, etc.
6. Make one copy of everything for your files!
7. Put everything together in one package, putting the set with the application form with original signature on top. Cover letters are unnecessary. 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 originals are for the State Arts Council files. The remaining copies of materials are for the panelists who will read your application prior to discussion at the panel meeting. The Council’s set of support materials will also be available for the panelists to review 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 by 4:15 p.m. on the deadline date noted above (May 8, 2009). 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 State Arts Council cannot accept applications transmitted by facsimile (FAX) or e-mail. It is not responsible for applications lost in transit.

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

Payment
The State Arts Council 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 four to six weeks. If a grantee is awarded $5,000 or more or has received other State Arts Council funds that bring the cumulative total received within the state’s fiscal year (July 1 – June 30) to $5,000 or above, grants need to be approved by Governor and Council; consequently, payment can take up to 10 weeks. All awards are subject to availability of state and federal funds. Therefore, we ask grantees to plan cash flow accordingly.

IMPORTANT: The grant agreement for this special grant must be returned by August 28, 2009 to be processed at the earliest possible Governor & Executive Council meeting. Failure to return the grant agreement by that date could result in cancellation of the grant and reallocation of funds.

Payment of a grant will be withheld if final reports for previous grants are not in compliance with policy below.

Grant Period & Reporting Requirements
The grant period for this grant may cover up to two fiscal years, but only one payment will be made.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  The National Endowment for the Arts will require, at a minimum, a quarterly report from each organization that receives an Arts Jobs grant. Applicants need to have the ability to collect data over time that demonstrates the Arts Jobs grant has made a difference in either stabilizing or expanding the work of the organization. To enhance transparency and public accountability, reports will also be posted for public information on the New Hampshire Office of Economic Stimulus website and the National Endowment for the Arts website as required.

Report Deadlines
The reporting requirements will be established by the National Endowment for the Arts. It is expected that no extensions will be allowed. Grant recipients will be fully informed of the reporting requirements at the time the grant agreement is issued.

Failure to file a required report will result in being ineligible to submit any application for any type of State Arts Council funding for the two years following the date the report was due.

 

 

Last updated: September 3, 2009

 
 
 
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