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SC Arts Commission Grants Programs

Purpose

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Public Law 111-5, recognizes that the nonprofit arts industry is an important sector of the economy. In accordance with this Act, the South Carolina Arts Commission will receive funds from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to help preserve jobs in the nonprofit arts sector that are threatened by declines in philanthropic and other support during the current economic downturn. As part of this important investment, the Arts Commission has designed a plan to help South Carolina arts organizations preserve jobs in the arts.

 

• Read more about the Arts and the Economy >>>

 

Eligible Activities

Use of these special, one-time grants is limited to:

• Salary support, full or partial, for one or more positions that are critical to an arts organization's mission and that are in jeopardy or have been eliminated or reduced as a result of the current economic climate. New positions are not eligible.

And/or

• Fees for planned engagements with artists and/or contractual personnel, to maintain or expand the period during which such persons would be engaged.

NOTE: Salaries, wages, fringe benefits, and fees that are incurred in connection with fund raising are not allowable expenses, in accordance with NEA restrictions.

 

Eligibility Requirements

Applicant must be a current (FY09) Annual Operating Support or Long Term Operating Support grantee (view the list).

 

Application Deadline

May 8, 2009

Applications must be postmarked, or hand-delivered to the South Carolina Arts Commission offices before 5:00 pm, no later than the stated date.

 

Grant Period

Projects may begin as early as July 1, 2009 and must be completed by June 30, 2010.

 

Funding Range

Up to $15,000 for salaries, fringe benefits, and/or fees for artists and/or other contract personnel. A maximum of 25 to 30 awards is projected. Note: We originally projected a maximum of 20 awards, but feedback during the April 7 and 8 conference calls convinced us that funds could be spread further and still be effective.

 

Match

No match is required.

 

Filing Fee

None

 

Grant Payments

Payment will be on an expense reimbursement basis only. Grantees may submit quarterly interim payment requests, totaling no more than 80% of the grant award. Final grant payment will be released upon receipt and approval of grantee's final report.

 

Reporting

Grantees will be required to:

• Report on the use of SCAC/NEA American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds as outlined in Section 1512 (c) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Public Law 111-5. This will include quarterly reports in a pre-determined format.
• As applicable, maintain personnel activity ("Time & Effort") reports for any employee whose salary is charged, in whole or in part, to the award.
• For grant activities that engage artists and/or contractual personnel to whom you propose to pay fees, maintain written contracts that outline the employment terms.
• In addition, all grantees are required to file a Final Report (PDF) (How To Use PDFs) at the end of the grant period. Failure to file the Final Report by the due date may result in cancellation of the award and repayment of funds received. SCAC will not fund applicants who have outstanding Final Reports.

 

Review Process

A preliminary review of applications will focus on eligibility of the applicant, accuracy and detail of budget, clarity of narrative, completeness of package, and compliance with grant requirements. A staff/board panel will then evaluate the applications on the basis of the following criteria and make recommendations to the Arts Commission board, which will make the final awards.

 

Review Criteria

Recommendations will be based on four criteria:

• Eligibility of the proposed salaries/fees
• The organization's last panel rating for Operating Support
• The unemployment rate (as of March, 2009) of the applicant's county: Applicants in counties with 150% or more of the state's average unemployment will receive 15 additional points (on a 100 point scale); applicants in counties with unemployment rates between 125% and 150% of the state average will receive 10 additional points; applicants in counties below 125% of the state average unemployment rate will not receive additional points. (View current unemployment statistics by county)
• In addition to these criteria, geographic distribution of awards will be a consideration for funding.

 

How to Apply

Before applying, we strongly advise that you discuss your plans with your SCAC county coordinator to determine whether your organization and salaries/fees meet the guidelines.

 

Please review the following steps carefully in preparing your application materials. Failure to include the required application materials may result in disqualification of your application. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.

 

 

Required Application Materials

Each page/item of materials must be labeled with the name of the applicant organization and be submitted in a format suitable for copying (8½ x 11). Typeface must be legible, no less than 12 point. Do not submit copies or fax your application. Do not use 3-ring binders, folders, or bind the application materials in any way other than with binder clips or paper clips.

 

Forms are in portable document format (PDF). (How To Use PDFs)

 

The application package must include one complete collated set of the following items:

 

1. Grant Application for Organizations
Under Grant Program Category, select "Other" and enter "Arts Recovery Grant." The application form must be signed by the applicant organization's authorized official.

 

2. Detailed Budget Form
Use this form to itemize all expenses and sources of revenue for the proposed salaries/fees.

 

3. Narrative
Provide a one-page narrative that provides a succinct description of your request in accordance with the instructions below.

 

Organizational background: Provide a two or three sentence statement about your organization. Summarize its mission / purpose and characterize the community / region / audience it serves.

 

Key statistics, as relevant: Provide the following information in the format shown here:

Total organizational operating expenses for the most recently completed fiscal year which ended ______	Total number of current paid employees	Number of jobs in this request	Salary (or salary range) of job(s) affected by this request	Fees to artists / contractual personnel (or fee range) included in this request

Your proposed activities, as relevant:

1. Note the job position(s) for which you are seeking support. Provide job title, description, salary, and the number of weeks of employment. Discuss the significance of this position to the mission and core work of your organization. Describe the effect on your organization if this position were curtailed or eliminated. Is this position currently filled?
2. Describe the artists and/or contractual personnel to whom you propose to pay fees. Describe the work for which these individuals would be paid, the position(s) and fees for these individuals, and the number of weeks of employment. Discuss the significance of this work to the mission and core work of your organization. Describe the effect on your organization if this activity were curtailed or eliminated.

 

4. IRS tax-exempt letter
Submit a copy of applicant's IRS tax-exempt letter
OR, IF APPLYING THROUGH A FISCAL AGENT:

• A copy of fiscal agent's IRS tax-exempt letter, along with
• A letter of agreement, signed by both the applicant and the fiscal agent, that outlines the working relationship and responsibilities of both parties.

 

 

Use this optional grant application checklist to ensure a complete Arts Recovery Grant application package.

 

Incomplete applications will not be accepted. Mail to:
Arts Recovery Grant Program
SC Arts Commission
1800 Gervais Street
Columbia, SC 29201

 

NOTE: The SC Arts Commission will no longer require a copy of an applicant's current SC Charities registration letter. Instead, applicant information will be provided to the SC Office of the Secretary of State. In accordance with the SC Solicitation of Charitable Funds Act, charitable organizations must maintain current registration with the SC Office of the Secretary of State. Failure to register and renew the registration annually may result in severe fines by the SC Office of the Secretary of State.

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