ALASKA STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS ONLINE GRANT SYSTEM
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September 6th, 2010
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Recovery Act Guidelines

AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT FUND GUIDELINES AND ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) received $50 million Federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) appropriation to support the preservation of jobs in the arts. State arts agencies and regional services organizations are responsible for subgranting these funds. There are three ways to apply for ARRA funding support for retention or recovery monies for jobs in the arts: the NEA, the Alaska State Council on the Arts (ASCA) and the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF).

Alaska arts organizations with an NEA grant history were encouraged to apply directly to the NEA for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants by April 2, 2009. Organizations that applied to the NEA are also eligible to apply for ASCA Art WORK American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding.

Eligible applicants may apply to each of the three agencies (one to NEA, one to ASCA and one to WESTAF), but will only receive funding from one of the three. The granting agencies (NEA, ASCA, WESTAF), not the applicants, will control duplication in the final awards.

To simplify the application process ASCA and WESTAF have created a combined ASCA Art WORK and WESTAF Recovery Act application. Four WESTAF questions are included in this application. If your organization is applying only to WESTAF you MUST complete the entire ASCA/WESTAF application. If your organization is only applying to ASCA you are not required to complete the WESTAF portion of the application. ASCA will review all applications, and forward to WESTAF those applications that meet WESTAF criteria.

Organizations with no NEA grant history or who missed the NEA deadline and who meet the following eligibility requirements may apply to the Alaska State Council on the Arts and WESTAF directly.

Arts organizations may apply to all three agencies (NEA, ASCA and WESTAF) but will ONLY BE FUNDED BY ONE OF THE THREE AGENCIES.



GRANT AWARDS
MINIMUM: $5,000
MAXIMUM: $21,000
MATCH: None required

APPLICATION AVAILABLE: June 29, 2009

DEADLINE: July 24, 2009, 9:59 pm Alaska Daylight Time

PANEL REVIEW: August 21, 2009, Fairbanks, Alaska

AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT: September 1, 2009

GRANT AWARD FUNDING PERIOD: September 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010



ASCA Art WORK FUNDS ELIGIBILITY

Alaska State Council on the Arts (ASCA) Art WORK Grants are competitive 2009/10 one-time only art organization grants funded by NEA ARRA 2009 economic stimulus monies and distributed by the Alaska State Council on the Arts and WESTAF. Organizations applying for ASCA Art WORK funds must;

1. be an Alaska 501c3 organization or unit of state, local or tribal government whose program has arts and culture as a core part of its mission.

2. have received a grant from ASCA since September, 2004.

ASCA Art WORK FUNDS LIMITATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

Art WORK funding is only available for organizations which have legitimate job losses, actual or anticipated, to their organizations because of loss of revenue directly related to the economic downturn. In keeping with the American Recovery and Reinvestment in the Arts Act and NEA requirements, funds will be awarded to eligible organizations for the following:

SALARY SUPPORT, full or partial, for one or more positions that are critical to an organization’s artistic mission and that are in jeopardy or have been eliminated as a result of the current economic climate.

FEES for previously-engaged artists and/or contractual personnel to maintain previously planned programming during which such persons would be engaged.

EMPLOYEE POSITIONS (full time or part time), hours or hourly wages of employees (full time or part time), or artists’ and/or other independent contractors’ fees. Funds may not be used to support fundraising or fund development positions (NEA requirement), support jobs or contracts related to capital improvements or facility construction, or to create new positions or contracts or extend the length of time on existing contracts. Nor may funds be used to pay for positions your organization created in the last six months or for positions that have been vacant for longer than six months.

ASCA Art WORK REPORTING will be strict and frequent and required by all ASCA Art WORK grant recipients. Grantees will provide reports to ASCA to help meet the agency's required reporting to the NEA within 10 days of the close of each quarter. Organizations that have been previously funded by the Alaska State Council on the Arts must fullfill all final reporting obligations (including FY09 grantees) before new grant funds will be distributed. Grant funds will be withheld until outstanding prior final reports have been completed and filed with the Alaska State Council on the Arts.

ASCA Art WORK REVIEW CRITERIA

1. Significance of the position to the mission and the core work of the organization.

2. Administrative capacity of the organization and the organization's impact on the community and/or economy.

3. Potential of the funding to have a significant and immediate impact on the organization.

4. Method of measuring outcome.

5. Ability of the organization to carry out the project, including the appropriateness of the budget, the quality and clarity of the organization goals, the resources involved, and the qualifications of personnel.

6. Where applicable, potential to reach underserved populations, such as those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics or disability.

ELIGIBILITY FOR WESTAF STIMULUS FUNDS

If your organization is applying only to WESTAF you MUST complete the entire ASCA/WESTAF application.
To be eligible for a WESTAF award of NEA stimulus funds, applicants must meet the following requirements:
  • Applicants must meet the eligibility requirements of, and submit an application to, their state arts agency's funding program for NEA stimulus (or ARRA) funds.
  • Applicants must seek funds only for full-time staff positions that have either 1) been recently laid off; or 2) are in imminent danger of being laid off. Requests for funding for new positions are not eligible.
  • Applicants must be able to document that they meet this eligibility requirement.
  • Applicants must be a nonprofit, tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization or the equivalent.
  • Applicants must be incorporated in and currently conducting business in one or more of the following states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, or Wyoming.
  • Applicants must be arts organizations.
  • Applicants must seek funding only for full-time professional positions. Contract positions and fees to artists are not eligible for funding.
WESTAF funding will be limited to the following:
  • Organizations that exhibit robust community participation;
  • Full-time professional administrators working in nonprofit arts organizations of color or arts organizations that are rooted in racially and ethnically diverse communities; and/or
  • Full-time professionals working in the area of creative technologies and the arts in nonprofit arts organizations; and/or
  • Recently hired full-time professionals of great promise whose continued employment or reemployment would benefit their careers and the field.
Please note that applications for WESTAF funds will be very competitive. Applications that do not fit explicitly within the WESTAF criteria and guidelines will not advance to the WESTAF review panel for consideration.

Funding Levels

Awards for WESTAF's stimulus funding will be made in amounts of up to $50,000 per organization. No match is required. WESTAF strives to provide funds to organizations that exhibit an ability to sustain the staff position beyond the grant funding.

WESTAF anticipates frequent and comprehensive reporting requirements for this grant program. As such, payments to grant recipients will be made incrementally, possibly monthly or quarterly. Grant award payments will only be processed upon receipt of all required reporting documentation. Failure to submit timely reports will endanger grant award payments.

Criteria for WESTAF funding

All applications will be evaluated on the first criteria listed below. Criteria number Two through number Four will be applied to applications depending upon which type of position an organization is seeking funding.
  1. The degree to which the organization engages its community and the public through robust and inclusive participation in its activities.
  2. The effectiveness with which the organization supports communities of color and/or expresses and serves the cultures of the diverse peoples of the region. (This criterion applies only to applicants seeking support for a position in an organization of color or an organization rooted in a racially and/or ethnically diverse community.)
  3. The degree to which the organization or staff position supports the development and use of innovative digital technology in the arts. Technology positions that promote sustainability for the organization through new approaches to audience development or diverse revenue streams will be advantaged. (This criterion applies only to applicants seeking support for a full-time creative technology position.)
  4. The degree to which the position for which funding is being sought is for the retention of a promising employee who was hired within the past two years and who has recently lost their job, or is in danger of doing so. Funding for individuals who exhibit great promise for an exemplary career in the arts field will be advantaged. (This criterion applies only to applicants seeking support for a full-time position to retain or retain a recently hired person of great promise.)
WESTAF grants will be awarded with the following priorities in criteria: Priority #1) organizations rooted in communities of color or in culturally diverse communities; Priority #2) innovative technology positions; and Priority #3) retention of newly-hired promising employees.

Please contact staff@westaf.org with questions regarding WESTAF's arts stimulus program.

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