FY19-20 YOUTH ARTS ACTION
Grant Application Instructions
Application Instructions
DEADLINE: November 8, 2019 by 11:59 PM
New applicants to this program are highly encouraged to contact the designated staff to confirm eligibility before starting an application.
All grant applications must be submitted in the California Arts Council online grants management system, calartscouncil.smartsimple.com.
Registration and Certification
An authorized representative of the Applicant Organization must be registered, and organizational information must be certified, in advance. The following information and documentation should be prepared prior to beginning this process:
Applicant Organization Federal EIN (or that of Fiscal Sponsor, if applicable)
Applicant Organization DUNS Number (or that of Fiscal Sponsor, if applicable), obtainable from the Dun and Bradstreet Request Service website (requested, but not mandatory at the time of certification)
Applicant Organization contact information, including business address, mailing address (if different), county name, phone and fax number (if available), and website
Number of years Applicant Organization has engaged in arts programming
Year Applicant Organization began arts programs and/or services
Organizational mission statement and purpose
Brief summary of Applicant Organization’s core programs and services
Please refer to CAC Registration Information for additional guidance.
Application Checklist
Required Support Materials:
Artistic Work Samples: Include up to two samples of artist work providing evidence of talent and capacity both as artist(s) and as instructor/facilitator(s). Video samples featuring interaction with youth are highly recommended. Images, audio, and video (links) should be recent, relevant and related to your proposed project.
Youth Work Samples: Provide up to two samples that best portray youth work created under the instruction of the project artist(s).
Additional Work Samples: Provide up to two PDF documents that best portray your organization and its work. These may include press materials, flyers, brochures, programs, newsletters, and other marketing pieces generated within the past two years.
Letter of Support or Testimonial: Letter of Support or Testimonial: Provide a signed statement from a key stakeholder, partner, or community member. The statement should substantiate the quality of the organization and affirm the organization's impact on the community it serves.
Support Materials Notes: Provide brief descriptions of artistic work samples and other support materials. For video or audio samples, provide specific start and end times for the portion you would like the panel to review. Be sure to clearly indicate which specific files your notes are referencing.
Payee Data Record (STD 204) – a fillable PDF is available to download, complete, and upload within the application.
Required Support Materials for Fiscally Sponsored Applicant Organizations:
Legal name of Fiscal Sponsor Organization
Fiscal Sponsor Organization Federal EIN
Fiscal Sponsor Organization DUNS Number
Fiscal Sponsor Organization executive leader’s name, phone number, and email
Fiscal Sponsor Organization mailing address
Number of years the Fiscal Sponsor Organization has been engaged in arts programming and/or services
A brief description of the history of the Fiscal Sponsor Organization’s arts programming and/or services
An IRS 990, 990-EZ or 990-PF form for the Fiscal Sponsor Organization; no other types of 990 forms will be accepted
A Letter of Agreement between the Applicant Organization and the Fiscal Sponsor Organization confirming their understanding of and compliance with the CAC Fiscal Sponsor Policy
Payee Data Record (STD 204) – available to download, complete, and upload within the application
Please refer to the CAC Fiscal Sponsor Policy for additional information.
Application Questions
The following questions will be asked on the application:
Narrative Questions:
Provide a detailed description of your proposed project, including the hands-on learning to occur and the specific artistic and/or cultural discipline(s) youth will engage in. Identify the activity locations, providing the name of the artistic venues, community settings, and/or school sites involved. Be sure to include how your project will accomplish one or more of the Youth Arts Action (YAA) program goals:
- Provide social-emotional creative experiences in safe and nurturing environments.
- Foster creative abilities of youth through culturally and linguistically responsive arts learning.
- Support arts programs that seek to activate youth voices, narratives, and perspectives.
- Utilize cultural assets of the local community to support positive self- identification and respect for diverse cultures.
- Empower youth through the preservation, revitalization, and/or reclamation of cultural practices.
- Cultivate the development of transferable life skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, leadership, and collaboration. (3000 characters)
Provide Project Start Date and Project End Date.
Provide a detailed timeline of all key arts programming and/or services that will occur within the Grant Activity Period. (3000 characters)
Describe the community of youth who will participate in the project, including ages or age ranges served. (2000 characters)
Describe how youth participants will develop creativity and/or gain artistic skills and knowledge over the course of the project. (2000 characters)
Describe how the project design provides for safe, healthy, and appropriate learning environments for the youth participants. (2000 characters)
In what ways will the artistic and/or cultural providers measure the artistic and developmental outcomes of the youth participants? (2000 characters)
Is your project tuition-based? If indicating “Yes,” the applicant must include a robust equity and accessibility plan that includes scholarships and reduced fees. (2000 characters)
Quantitative Questions:
Artistic disciplines to be taught
Duration and frequency of sessions (e.g. one hour, twice a week for 12 weeks)
Number of sites served
Number of total individuals to benefit directly (individuals participating in the core program activities)
Number of individuals to benefit indirectly (audience members, beneficiaries of public art installations, etc.)
Estimated number of participants to receive full scholarship
Key Personnel Bios:
Provide a brief biography for each key individual (artistic, technical, or administrative) involved in this project. Include name, title, whether to be supported by CAC funds, relevant experience as it relates to this project, and role within the proposed activities.
If proposing therapeutic outcomes, applicants must establish the qualifications of service providers, how strategies are appropriate to the clinical and/or community
arts setting, and how support is culturally responsive to participants. (1000 characters)
Equity:
Describe how your project design and implementation reflects a commitment to include and represent the communities to be served. (2500 characters)
Accessibility:
Describe your approach to ensuring the physical accessibility of programs and services for this project, as well as the accessibility of print and online materials. Consider personnel of the Applicant Organization and any partnering organizations, as well as program participants, and potential audience members in your response. (1500 characters)
Accessibility Contact Details: Identify the primary individual who will be responsible for managing aspects of accessibility as it relates to this proposal. This may be a program manager, accessibility coordinator, or other staff member of the Applicant Organization.
Budget Tables
A Budget Snapshot is required, providing basic financial information (revenue and expenses) for a minimum of two and up to three years. Budget Notes must be provided for any noticeable increases or decreases (surplus or deficits) in line items from one year to the next.
A line-item project budget is required, including anticipated matching funds. Please refer to What the CAC Does Not Fund within the program Guidelines to ensure that all line items are eligible expenses.
You will also be required to fill out a Matching Funds table, indicating sources for the required matching, and the status of those funds (i.e., Projected, Pending, Confirmed).
Application Assessment
Panelists may consider any aspect of an application when ranking for each review criteria, including but not limited to the Areas of Assessment indicated below.
Review Criteria #1 Project Design and Implementation
Areas of Assessment
Narrative and quantitative questions
Project budget
Review Criteria #2 Artistic Merit
Areas of Assessment
Artist(s) bio(s)
Artistic work samples
Youth work samples
Review Criteria #3: Community Impact
Areas of Assessment
Narrative and quantitative questions
Organizational history and mission
Letter of support or testimonial
Additional work samples
Youth work samples
Review Criteria #4: Management and Leadership
Areas of Assessment
Narrative and quantitative questions
Key personnel bio(s)
Organizational history and mission
Budget Snapshot
Project budget
Overall completeness and accuracy of application submission
Review Criteria #5: Equity and Accessibility Areas of Assessment
Narrative questions
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