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SC Arts Commission Grants Programs

What is the Statewide Arts Participation Initiative?

Purpose

To help South Carolina arts providers develop initiatives that will broaden, deepen or diversify public participation in the arts.

The participation project grant is intended to fund arts projects that meet one or more of these goals:

• Broaden participation of audience, creators, or stewards
• Deepen participation of audience, creators or stewards
• Diversify participation of audience, creators or stewards

South Carolina arts organizations, individual artists and independent arts programmers* may apply for funding for participation grants (up to $15,000). Applicants that receive funding will demonstrate best cases for broadening, deepening and/or diversifying participation in the arts.

* An independent arts programmer is any person within the state of South Carolina, who is not employed by any organization, but whose work includes the creation and/or implementation of arts events, art exhibits, and/or arts programs that are open to the general public.

Individual artists and arts programmers will be required to partner with a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization for their projects.

Because this is a highly competitive process, anyone considering this grant application is strongly encouraged to attend the seminars and should contact their county arts coordinator.

PLEASE NOTE: Applicants whose proposals are funded in this statewide initiative will commit to attending up to two additional meetings (to be determined) between September '07 and March '08 in order continue a dialogue about participation. For organization-initiated projects: the chief executive and one other key staff member or board member will be expected to participate. For artist- or arts programmer-initiated projects: the artist or arts programmer and one key staff person of the partner organization will be expected to participate.

Funded projects may also be selected to be showcased at an upcoming statewide arts conference.

Grant Eligibility Requirements

Open to arts providers in South Carolina interested in building participation in the arts. Applicant must be:

• a charitable organization currently registered with the Office of the Secretary of State of South Carolina AND have its own federal tax-exempt status with the IRS or is applying through a qualified fiscal agent; OR
• a unit of government; OR
• an individual artist or independent arts programmer who resides in South Carolina, working in partnership with a qualified organization (see #1 above).

K-12 schools are not eligible for funding in this program.

Deadline

June 1, 2007

Applications must be postmarked or hand-delivered to the SC Arts Commission offices before 5:00 PM, no later than the stated date, or, when the deadline occurs on a weekend or holiday, no later than the next business day.

Grant Period

September 1, 2007 to September 1, 2008

Grant Awards

Up to $15,000

Match

1:1 (applicant: SC Arts Commission); 50% of the applicant's match must be cash.

Filing Fee

None

Grant Payments

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

Review Process

Please contact your SC Arts Commission county coordinator for guidance on completing the application form.

 

The initial staff review of applications focuses on eligibility, accuracy and detail of budget, clarity of narrative, completeness of packet, compliance with grant requirements, and confirmation of required support materials. Individual panelists (Arts Commission program staff and management) review and rate grant applications on the basis of specific criteria listed in the guidelines. Staff will then develop funding recommendations based on panel ratings for the SC Arts Commission Board of Commissioners, which makes final award decisions.

Review Criteria

Projects that receive funding will demonstrate best cases for broadening, deepening and/or diversifying participation in the arts. Projects will be selected based on the applicant's demonstration of understanding arts participation issues for their communities, organizations and/or art forms; the quality of design and potential for success and long-term impact of the proposed project; the capacity to complete the project successfully and track the results long term; and relevance of the project to their organization, community and/or art form.

Final Report

All grantees are required to file a Final Report (PDF) (How To Use PDFs) at the end of each grant year. The Final Report Due Date is printed on the contract. Failure to file the final report by the due date will result in cancellation of the award and repayment of funds received. SCAC will not fund applicants who have outstanding final reports. Submit only original final report forms with original signatures. Do not submit copies or fax your final report form.

Required Application Materials

Each page/item of materials must be labeled with the name of the applicant and be submitted in letter size (8½ " x 11") format suitable for copying. Typeface must be legible, and no less than 12 point with one inch margins.

Do not use 3-ring binders, folders, staples, or bind the application materials in any way other than with binder clips or paper clips.

The application package must include one complete collated set of items as follows:

1. Three Forms

Originals, completed and signed. Forms are in Portable Document Format (PDF). How To Use PDFs

1. Grant Application for Organizations.
   • If the project initiator is an arts organization: In Item III (Category), check "Other" and write in "Participation Round Two."
   • If the project initiator is an independent artist or arts programmer:
     • In Item I, list all the information for the partnering organization. Note: the Contact person listed in Item I will be the primary project contact for the SC Arts Commission.
     • In Item II, artists and programmers must include their names and contact information
     • In item III (Category), check "Other" and write in "Participation Round Two."
2. Organization Profile. Statistical information for the "Service Area Profile" section is available at www.census.gov. Under "State & County Quick Facts," select "SC," then select your county.
3. Detailed Budget. Itemize all expenses and sources of revenue for your project.

2. Narrative

The Narrative should not exceed four numbered pages and must address the topics below. Each item in the Narrative should be identified by the appropriate letter and boldface topic heading.

Please complete the appropriate Narrative (2a OR 2b) according to whether this is an organization-initiated project or artist/arts programmer-initiated project.

2a. Narrative for Arts Organization-Initiated Projects

1. Your Arts Organization
   Provide a brief description of your organization including mission, year founded, artistic functions and disciplines emphasized, income and expense totals for last completed year, description of staffing, leadership structure and indicators of organizational stability.
2. Your Initiative
   Provide a detailed description of the participation initiative you propose. Please include the following important information:
• What is the primary objective of this initiative: to broaden, deepen, or diversify participation?
• What is the profile of your current participants?
• Who are the people whose participation you are trying to increase? Describe their characteristics and any previous experience they have with your organization. Are they inclined or disinclined? Why is their participation important to your organization?

  Terms

  Inclined - believes in your group's type of work but doesn't attend regularly or become involved
  Disinclined - does not exhibit any current interest in your group's type of work

• Describe the barriers to participation that these people may experience between themselves and your organization
• What important, measurable changes in participation do you hope to see?
• What changes in your organization do you expect to make in order to achieve this increase in participation?
• What actions will you take to accomplish these results? How will you overcome the barriers that you have identified? Where will activities take place? Who will the key players be? What will you do to sustain and build on these results over time?
3. Tracking and Evaluation
   Describe the kinds of information (evidence) that will show how this initiative will have been successful in broadening, deepening or diversifying participation. How will you gather this information - what evaluation tools will you use? How will you continue to track your progress over time?
4. Timeline
   In the following format, please list the timeframe for major activities and elements of your initiative, and who is responsible. This timeline should extend beyond the grant period to reflect long-term tracking and follow-up activities.

Month(s)	Major Activity	Who Is Responsible?

5. Relevance
   Describe this work's relevance to your organization's mission.
6. Commitment
   Who will represent your participation project at the two follow-up meetings after the project begins and what role do they play in your organization? NOTE: The organization's chief executive must be one of the representatives. Include résumés as support material.
7. Seminar attendance
   Did anyone from your organization attend the Regional Workshops or Participation Seminar? Which date(s)? Please list their names and roles in the organization.

2b. Narrative for Artist- or Arts Programmer-Initiated Projects

1. Artist/Arts Programmer
   Provide a brief description of your work as an artist or arts programmer. Explain why this participation initiative is important to you. Attach your resume as support material.
2. Partner Organization
   Provide a brief description of the partnering nonprofit organization including mission, year founded, artistic functions and disciplines emphasized (if applicable), description of staffing, leadership structure and indicators of organizational stability. Briefly describe the partnering organization's role and responsibilities in this project. As support material, include a signed letter of agreement between both parties that enumerates the duties of each party in this partnership initiative. Note: You may partner with an organization that does not have arts as part of its mission.
3. Your Initiative
   Provide a detailed description of the participation initiative you propose. Please include the following important information as part of the summary:
• What is the primary objective of this initiative: to broaden, deepen, or diversify participation?
• What is the profile of your current participants?
• Who are the people whose participation you are trying to increase? Describe their characteristics. Do they have any previous experience with you, your art form, the art program or your partner organization? Are they inclined or disinclined? Why is their participation important to you, your art form, the art program and/or your partner organization?
  

  Terms

  Inclined - believes in your group's type of work but doesn't attend regularly or become involved
  Disinclined - does not exhibit any current interest in your group's type of work

• Describe the barriers to participation that these people may experience between themselves, the partnering organization and/or your art form or art program.
• What important, measurable changes in participation do you hope to see?
• What changes will the partnering organization make in order to achieve this increase in participation? What changes will the artist or arts programmer make in order to achieve this increase in participation?
• What actions will you take to accomplish these results? How will you overcome the barriers that you have identified? Where will activities take place? Who will the key players be? What will you do to sustain and build on these results over time?
4. Tracking
   Describe the kinds of information (evidence) that will show how this initiative will have been successful in broadening, deepening or diversifying participation. How will you gather this information - what evaluation tools will you use? How will you continue to track your progress over time?
   
5. Timeline
   In the following format, please list the timeframe for major activities and elements of your initiative and who is responsible.This timeline should extend beyond the grant period to reflect long-term tracking and follow-up activities.

Month(s)	Major Activity	Who Is Responsible?

6. Relevance
   Describe this work's relevance to the organization's mission and to the artist or arts programmer.
7. Commitment
   After the project begins, you will be asked to come to two follow-up meetings in Columbia. Who will join you from the partnering organization at these meetings and what role do they play in the organization? Include resume(s) as support material.
8. Seminar Attendance
   Did you or anyone from your partnering organization attend the Regional Workshops or Participation Seminar? Which date(s)? Please list their names and roles in the partnering organization or the project.

3. Résumés

Résumés of key project participants as requested in the narrative. Individual résumés should not exceed two pages each. Additional résumé pages will not be submitted to the review panel.

4. SC Charities Letter - for 501(c)(3) organizations

Unless applicant is a unit of government, include a copy of applicant's current SC Registration as Charitable Organizations letter. The letter must be renewed annually with the SC Office of the Secretary of State in accordance with the provisions of the SC Solicitation of Charitable Funds Act.

5. IRS Tax-Exempt Letter

All applicants must include a copy of applicant organization's IRS tax-exempt letter

OR
If applying through a fiscal agent,
a. A copy of fiscal agent's IRS tax-exempt letter AND
b. A copy of a letter of agreement, signed by both the applicant organization and the fiscal agent that outlines the working relationship and responsibilities of both parties.

6. Letter of Agreement
For artist-initiated and arts programmer-initiated projects: A copy of a letter of agreement, signed by both the artist/arts programmer and the applicant organization that enumerates the duties of each party in this partnership project.

Submit completed applications to:

Statewide Arts Participation Initiative Grants Program
South Carolina Arts Commission
1800 Gervais Street
Columbia, SC 29201

NOTE: Incomplete applications will not be accepted. Submit only original application forms with original signatures. Do not submit copies or fax your application.