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VISUAL ARTS: Access to Artistic Excellence |
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These application guidelines provide all of the information that you need to submit an application. We urge you to read these instructions in their entirety before you begin the application process.You may also wish to print a copy (see "Printing Tips"). Organizations are required to submit their applications electronically through Grants.gov, the federal government’s online application system. Applications in paper format will not be accepted. There are two application deadlines for the Access to Artistic Excellence category; you must apply to the one that is appropriate for your project (see "Access to Artistic Excellence Application Deadlines").
The Grants.gov system must receive your application no later than 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on the deadline date. The Arts Endowment will not accept late applications. We encourage you to apply well in advance of the deadline. In addition, you may have a better experience if you submit your application outside of Grants.gov’s hours of heaviest usage, generally 12 noon to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time. Please be aware that the Grants.gov Customer Service hours are 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday to Friday. Should you encounter any difficulty submitting your application right before the deadline, the Arts Endowment will not accept your inability to contact Grants.gov after hours as a valid excuse for a late application. If you are unable to submit your application electronically, you may request a waiver from this requirement. A waiver will be granted for the following reasons only:
Your waiver request must be in writing and must be received (not postmarked) at the Arts Endowment at least three weeks before the application deadline. Click here for more information on waivers.
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A complete application consists of:
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NOTE: All asterisked (*) items and yellow fields on this form are required and must be completed before you will be able to submit the form. Do not type in all capital letters when completing the form. Enter information directly into the form. Do not copy from an old application package or another document and paste into the form.
1. Name of Federal Agency: Pre-populated.
2. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: Pre-populated.
3. Date Received: This will be filled automatically with the date that you submit your application; leave blank.
4. Funding Opportunity Number: Pre-populated.
5. Applicant Information:
Check the "Applicant Eligibility" section of the guidelines for eligibility information for this category.
a. Legal Name: Enter the legal name of your organization. The name provided here must be the applicant's legal name as it appears in the current IRS 501(c)(3) status letter or in the official document that identifies the organization as a unit of state or local government, or as a federally recognized tribal community or tribe. (Do not use your organization's popular name, if different.)
If you are a parent organization that is applying on behalf of an eligible component, do not list the name of the component here. You will be asked for that information later.
b. Address:
Use Street 1 for your street address or post office box number, whichever is used for your U.S. Postal Service mailing address. Street 2 is not a required field and should be used only when a Suite or Room Number or other similar information is a necessary part of your address. Do not use Street 2 to give a second address for your organization.
In the Zip/Postal Code box, organizations in the United States should enter the full 9-digit zip code that was assigned by the U.S. Postal Service. If you do not know your full zip code, you may look it up at www.usps.com/zip4/.
d. Type of Applicant: Select the item that best characterizes your organization from the menu in the first drop down box. Additional choices are optional.
e. Employer/Taxpayer Identification Number (EIN/TIN): Enter the 9-digit number that was assigned by the Internal Revenue Service; do not use a Social Security Number.
f. Organizational DUNS: All organizational applicants for federal funds must have a DUNS number, which is recognized as the universal standard for identifying organizations worldwide. The number that you enter here must agree with the number (either 9 or 13 digits) that you used with the CCR (Central Contractor Registry) as part of the Grants.gov registration. Otherwise, your application will not be validated by Grants.gov and will be rejected.
g. Congressional District: Enter the number of the Congressional District where the applicant organization is located. Use the following format: 2 character State Abbreviation-3 character District Number. For example, if your organization is located in the 5th Congressional District of California, enter "CA-005." For the 12th district of North Carolina, enter "NC-012." If you do not have a Congressional District (e.g., you are located in a U.S. territory that doesn't have districts), enter 00-000. If you need help determining your district, please visit the House of Representatives Web site at www.house.gov and use the "Find Your Representative" tool.
6. Project Information:
a. Project Title: Provide a brief descriptive title for your proposed project.
b. Project Description: In two or three sentences, briefly describe your specific project, not your organization. Use clear language that can be understood readily by readers who may not be familiar with your discipline or subject area. Indicate the target population to which this project is directed and the potential impact of this project on that population.
c. Proposed Project Start Date/End Date: Enter the beginning and ending dates for your requested period of support, i.e., the span of time necessary to plan, execute, and close out your proposed project. The Arts Endowment's support of a project may start on or after: 1) For applicants under the March 10 deadline, January 1, 2009; or 2) For applicants under the August 11 deadline, June 1, 2009. Generally, a period of support of up to two years is allowed.
7. Project Director:
Provide the requested information for the Project Director. Please leave the Social Security Number box blank. Select a Prefix (e.g., Ms., Mr.) even though this is not a required field.
Provide contact information, including an e-mail address, that will be valid through the announcement date for your category. To make sure this individual receives e-mail from the Arts Endowment, please have AppProcessing@arts.endow.gov added to his or her approved list of senders. Also ask your organization's e-mail administrator to ensure that messages from arts.endow.gov are accepted for delivery.
8. Primary Contact/Grant Administrator:
Provide the requested information for the individual who should be contacted on all matters involving this application and the administration of any grant that may be awarded. For colleges and universities, this person is often a Sponsored Research, Sponsored Programs, or Contracts and Grants Officer. Please leave the Social Security Number box blank. Select a Prefix even though this is not a required field.
Provide contact information, including an e-mail address, that will be valid through the announcement date for your category. To make sure this individual receives e-mail from the Arts Endowment, please have AppProcessing@arts.endow.gov added to his or her approved list of senders. Also ask your organization's e-mail administrator to ensure that messages from arts.endow.gov are accepted for delivery.
In some organizations, particularly smaller ones, this individual may be the same as the Project Director. If this is the case, you may check the "Same as Project Director" box and not repeat information that you have already provided in Item 7. (If the Primary Contact/Grant Administrator is the same as the Authorizing Official, please complete all items under both 8 and 9 even though there will be some repetition.)
9. Authorized Representative:
Enter the requested information for the AOR (Authorized Organization Representative) who will be submitting this application to Grants.gov. The AOR must have the legal authority to obligate your organization. By clicking the "I Agree" box at the top of Item 9, this individual will be certifying compliance with relevant federal requirements on your organization's behalf. (These requirements can be found in the "Assurance of Compliance" section of these guidelines.) The "Signature of Authorized Representative" and "Date Signed" boxes will be populated by Grants.gov upon submission of the application.
Provide contact information, including an e-mail address, that will be valid through the announcement date for your category. To make sure this individual receives e-mail from the Arts Endowment, please have AppProcessing@arts.endow.gov added to his or her approved list of senders. Also ask your organization's e-mail administrator to ensure that messages from arts.endow.gov are accepted for delivery. If appropriate, you may want to provide an e-mail address that can be accessed by the organization, rather than a personal e-mail address.
NOTE: All asterisked (*) items and yellow fields on this form are required and must be completed before you will be able to submit the form. Do not type in all capital letters when completing the form. Enter information directly into the form. Do not copy from an old application package or another document and paste into the form.
This form has a new OMB expiration date of 11/30/2010.
1. Applicant
Legal Name: This item has been pre-populated with information that you provided on the Application for Federal Domestic Assistance/Short Organizational Form (SF-424).
Popular Name: If you use a popular name that is different from your legal name, note that in the space below the IRS name.
For this application, the applicant is serving as: If applicable, choose one of the items below from the drop down box. Otherwise, choose "Not Applicable." Refer to the "Application Limits" for definitions.
Lead member of a consortium. Choose the "Lead Member of a Consortium" box and list your one primary consortium partner in the space provided. Do not list more than one partner here; other organizations may participate in the project without being listed. Use the official IRS name of the primary consortium partner. If your primary partner is a component of a parent organization (e.g., an art museum located on a university campus), note the official IRS name and place the component's name in parentheses, e.g., State University (ABC Museum).
Total organizational operating expenses for the most recently completed fiscal year: Unaudited figures are acceptable. If you are the lead applicant for a consortium, provide this information for your own organization. If you are a parent organization, provide this information for the component on whose behalf you are applying.
2. Application Information
Project Field/Discipline: Choose the one discipline that is most relevant to your project. This selection will aid the Arts Endowment's application review. If you have questions, refer to "Agency Contacts."
Choose your field/discipline carefully. In limited cases, Arts Endowment staff may transfer an application to a field/discipline other than the one that was selected by the applicant to ensure appropriate panel review.
Category: Select "Access to Artistic Excellence" from the drop-down box.
Intended Outcome: The Arts Endowment has identified five outcomes that it plans to achieve through Access to Artistic Excellence. Select the one outcome from the first column on the form (i.e., those beginning with an A) that is most relevant to your project. Do NOT select an outcome from the second column (i.e., those beginning with a B).
3. Project Budget Summary
NOTE: In all budget fields, round all figures to the nearest dollar.
Amount Requested: This figure must agree with "Amount requested from the Arts Endowment" in Item 1 of your Project Budget form.
Total Match for this Project: This must agree with Item 2 under Income of your Project Budget form.
Total Project Costs: This figure will autocalculate. Please double check to make certain that it agrees with Item 6 under Expenses of your Project Budget form.
In order to see definitions of individual items, place your cursor over the relevant radio button. This form is four pages long. To move back and forth among the pages use the Previous and Next buttons at the top of the screen.
This form has a new OMB expiration date of 11/30/2010.
The "Attachments Form" is not a form in the conventional sense. Rather, it is a place to attach documents that you have completed and saved elsewhere on your computer. Three of these documents are themselves fillable Arts Endowment forms. The others are narratives or lists that you develop in accordance with the instructions below and then convert to PDF (portable document format) files.
Several important points:
When submitting through Grants.gov, attach only one copy of each item.
Attachments 3, 4, and 7 are fillable forms; you will find links to them. These forms can be filled in, saved to your computer, and attached without the need for special software or conversion to PDF.
These non-form documents can be created using any word processing software. When you have completed the document, save it to your computer and convert it to PDF before attaching. If you don't already have software to convert files to PDF, there are many low-cost and free software packages that can do this. To learn more, go to PDF Conversion Programs.
Please make sure to convert your documents into PDF format in line with the guidance above. Do not create PDFs of your electronic documents by scanning. In the past, some applicants have printed their electronic documents and then scanned them, saving the scan in PDF format. PDFs created this way are much larger, and of lower quality, than PDFs created by the methods we recommend. Do not embed non-printable media files (video and/or sound) in your PDF documents. Static images (e.g., pictures) are acceptable. Please do not enable any document security settings or password protect any PDF file you submit to us.
NOTE: Next year, applications with attachments that are not in PDF format may not be accepted.
For non-form documents, label pages clearly with the name of the item (e.g., Organizational Background) and your organization's legal name. Leave a margin of at least one inch at the top, bottom, and sides of all pages. Do not reduce type below 12 point font size. Do not type in all capital letters. Number pages sequentially; place numbers on the bottom right hand corner of each page.
When you open the Grants.gov Attachments Form, you will find 15 attachment buttons, labeled "Attachment 1" through "Attachment 15." By clicking on a button, you will be able to choose the PDF file from your computer that you wish to attach. Please attach the proper file to the proper button as listed below.
ATTACHMENT 1: ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND STATEMENT
To this button, attach a one-page Organizational Background statement. The file name should indicate the name of your organization or a recognizable acronym followed by "OrgBackground.pdf" (e.g., "ABCDanceCoOrgBackground.pdf" or "StateUnivPerfArtsCenterOrgBackground.pdf").
This statement should cover the points below; use the following headings and letters to organize your response. If you are a parent organization that is applying on behalf of a component, this information should refer to the component on whose behalf you are applying.
Date organization was incorporated. If not applicable, omit.
Mission/purpose of your organization: Briefly summarize the mission and purpose of your organization. For organizations whose work extends beyond the cultural sphere (e.g., universities, human service agencies), summarize your mission as it pertains to your public cultural programs or services.
Organization overview: Address the following:
An overview of your organization's activities.
Some specific examples of previous activities that demonstrate your organization's ability to carry out the project for which you are requesting support.
The size and general demographics (e.g., ethnicity, income, age) of the community/region/audience that you serve. If you are a membership organization, indicate the number of individuals or organizations that you serve.
A description of any special efforts that your organization is making to reach a broad segment of the community.
ATTACHMENT 2: DETAILS OF THE PROJECT NARRATIVE
To this button, attach your Details of the Project narrative. The file name should indicate the name of your organization or a recognizable acronym followed by "DetailsofProject.pdf."
This narrative should provide details of your project as outlined below. Your narrative can be a maximum of three pages, but keep in mind that the Arts Endowment and its panelists prefer succinct descriptions. Organize your response a), b), c), etc., and use the boldfaced language below as headings for each item. For example, "a) Major project activities. The ABC Performing Arts Center plans to..."
The information that you provide will be reviewed in accordance with the "Review Criteria" for the Access to Artistic Excellence category. Your narrative should address each of these "Review Criteria" and include information on the following, as relevant to your project.
Major project activities. Be as specific as possible about the activities that will take place during the project period. Include information on the location(s) of the proposed activity and any special resources that will be used. For projects that will tour, provide a list of venues with dates and indicate the degree of commitment. For projects that involve publication, provide details on items such as projected sales figures, print runs, distribution plans, contributors' fees, payment policies, etc. Where relevant, include information on any educational component or activities of the project.
Your goals in undertaking the project and what you hope to achieve. Address the Arts Endowment outcome that you have identified as most relevant. Identify any additional outcomes of your own that you have established for the project.
Schedule of key project dates.
Key individuals, organizations, and works of art that will be involved in the project. (Bios of key project personnel are requested as a separate item.) Indicate whether the artists, other individuals, and organizations that are cited are committed to or merely proposed for the project. Where relevant, describe their involvement in the development of the project to date. For projects that include multiple partners, discuss each partner's participation. Describe the process and criteria for the selection of artists, organizations, and, where relevant, artworks. Where key individuals or organizations remain to be selected, describe the procedures that you plan to follow and the qualifications that you seek.
The target population (i.e., the intended audience and/or other beneficiaries to whom the project is directed). If actual figures or reasonable estimates can be secured, indicate the number of people the project will serve. Have you worked with this target population before? Has the target population been involved in the planning for and implementation of the project? Describe any underserved groups or areas that will benefit.
Plans for promoting, publicizing, and/or disseminating the project, as relevant.
Plans for monitoring the project and assessing the degree to which you achieve your goals. Include your plans for documentation, evaluation, and dissemination, as appropriate. Describe how you will measure your success in achieving the outcomes identified in b) above. If this is an ongoing project, state the results to date and the rationale for continuing the project.
Plans for making the project accessible to individuals with disabilities. This includes access accommodations for both facilities and programs, such as audio description, sign-language interpretation, closed or open captioning, large-print brochures/labeling, etc. See the Nondiscrimination Statutes in "Assurance of Compliance" for more information. (For technical assistance on how to make your project fully accessible, contact the Arts Endowment's AccessAbility Office at 202/682-5532 or 202/682-5496 Voice/T.T.Y. or the Civil Rights Office at 202/682-5454 or 202/682-5695 Voice/T.T.Y.)
Budget. If this project is being undertaken over and above your normal operations, what resources will be applied to cover these costs? What would you do if you receive less than 50 percent of your requested amount?
ATTACHMENT 3: PROJECT BUDGET FORM, PAGES 1 and 2
[DOWNLOAD FORM] [INSTRUCTIONS]
To this button, attach the Project Budget form, Pages 1 and 2. The file name should indicate the name of your organization or a recognizable acronym followed by "ProjectBudget.pdf." (If you wish to submit a copy of your own project budget for clarification, you may do so; see Attachment 8. Your own project budget may not be submitted in lieu of the required form.)
ATTACHMENT 4: FINANCIAL INFORMATION FORM
[DOWNLOAD FORM] [INSTRUCTIONS]
To this button, attach the Financial Information form. The file name should indicate the name of your organization or a recognizable acronym followed by "FinancialInfo.pdf."
ATTACHMENT 5: BIOGRAPHIES OF KEY PROJECT PERSONNEL
To this button, attach a single file that includes all of the items below that are relevant to your application. The file name should indicate the name of your organization or a recognizable acronym followed by "Bios.pdf." Label clearly each item.
For all applicants: Brief, current biographies of the key project personnel [e.g., the proposed primary artist(s), project director, artistic director, executive director, teachers, curator, editor, folklorist, conductor]. Send no more than two pages of bios; group several on each page.
For projects that involve highly technical professionals (e.g., individuals who work with new technology, art conservators): Resumes (not bios) for those individuals.
For parent organizations applying on behalf of an eligible component: A list of key staff of the component unit. Describe any overlaps in staffing with the parent organization. This documentation is required to demonstrate your eligibility.
ATTACHMENT 6: LIST OF CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS
To this button, attach a single file that includes all of the items below that are relevant to your application. The file name should indicate the name of your organization or a recognizable acronym followed by "BoardList.pdf." Label clearly each item.
For all applicants: A list of current board members including professional affiliations.
For parent organizations applying on behalf of an eligible component: A list of board/advisory group members for the component as well as the parent organization. Note how long each board/advisory group has been in existence. This documentation is required to demonstrate your eligibility.
For lead applicants applying on behalf of a consortium: A list of current board members for the primary consortium partner as well as the lead applicant.
ATTACHMENT 7: CONSORTIUM PARTNER INFORMATION FORM
[DOWNLOAD FORM] [INSTRUCTIONS]
If you are applying for an official Consortium Application, to this button attach the Consortium Partner Information form. This form must include the name of the Authorizing Official for your consortium partner, but no signature is necessary. The file name of your attachment should indicate the name of your organization (not your partner) or a recognizable acronym followed by "ConsortiumPartner.pdf."
ATTACHMENT 8: OPTIONAL PROJECT BUDGET
If you wish to submit a copy of your own project budget, attach it to this button. The file name should indicate the name of your organization or a recognizable acronym followed by "SepBudget.pdf."
ATTACHMENT 9: PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITIES LIST
To this button, attach a representative list of your Programmatic Activities for the past three seasons. The file name should indicate the name of your organization or a recognizable acronym followed by "ProgActivities.pdf."
Submit a selective representative list, in chronological order, of your organization's programming or activities for the following years: 2005-06, 2006-07, and 2007-08. For organizations that schedule activities according to a single calendar year, use programming for 2005, 2006, and 2007. You may submit up to three pages.
This list should demonstrate eligibility (i.e., your organization's three-year history of programming) and the artistic excellence and merit of your organization. Where available, include arts or cultural programming that has a relationship to the project for which you are requesting support (e.g., show examples of previous festival programming if your project is for a festival). For most applicants, this list should show selected artists/projects/exhibitions/works that your organization has or will have presented/produced/exhibited/performed. Use the bullets below as a guide to possible column headings for your list; adjust them as appropriate for your organization.
Example:
A performing arts group might fill out its representative list as follows:
Year |
Title/ |
Key |
Location |
Dates/# |
Attendance/ |
Fees |
2005-06 |
Lecture |
James Miller |
ABC Museum |
February 15, 2006 |
30/75% |
$$ |
2006-07 |
Work A/ |
John Smith, Jane Doe |
Civic Theater |
Jan 27-31, 2007 |
850/71% |
$$ |
2007-08 |
Work B/ |
Richard Jones, |
Civic Theater |
April 17-21, 2008/7 perfs. |
1,050/88% |
$$ |
ATTACHMENT 10: SPECIAL ITEMS
To this button, attach a single file that includes any items specified below that are relevant to your particular project. The file name should indicate the name of your organization or a recognizable acronym followed by "SpecReqs.pdf."
For residencies, a description of the artist selection process.
For publications, as appropriate, information regarding sales figures, print runs and circulation; a list of proposed articles and committed writers; and a description of your current payment to writers policy.
For commissions and public art, a description of the selection process and a statement of commitment regarding permission to use the site.
ATTACHMENT 11: WORK SAMPLE INDEX
To this button, attach your Work Sample Index. The file name should indicate the name of your organization or a recognizable acronym followed by "WorkSampleIndex.pdf."
For visual arts this index should be a script to accompany your digital images (see "Prepare and submit material to be mailed directly to the Arts Endowment"). Label each page of your script clearly with your organization’s legal name. Provide the following information, as applicable, for each image. Make certain that the order of your script corresponds to the order of your images.
Leave all remaining Attachment buttons blank.
If you try to view an attachment by clicking the "View Attachment" button on the Attachments Form but are unsuccessful, check the bottom of the screen for the message: "Pop-ups were blocked on this page." If you see this message, press "Ctrl" and "View Attachment" to see the attachment.
REMINDER: Be sure to submit all attachments as PDF files. If you work in Word initially, convert each item to PDF before submission.
Once you have completed all of the forms in your Grants.gov application package, you are ready to submit the electronic portion of your application. Make certain that:
You submit the most up-to-date version of your application package. (As long as you always open and work on your application from the same location and save your changes each time you close your application, this should be easy.)
All items required to be attached to the Attachments Form are in fact attached (Step 4 above). Again, be sure that you have attached your final version of each item (not some earlier draft) and that all of your non-form documents (e.g., narratives, lists) are in PDF format.
Follow the detailed instructions under “Submit your electronic application” above.
After you submit your application to Grants.gov, you will receive two notifications: 1) Confirmation of receipt, and 2) Notification that your application has been validated. Notification of validation may take as long as 24-48 hours, a good reason to submit your application several days in advance of the deadline. If Grants.gov fails to validate your application (e.g., because of a discrepancy in your organization’s DUNS number between registration and application), you can correct the problem and resubmit if the deadline has not yet passed. If the deadline has passed, you will not have this opportunity.
In addition to the material that you submit through Grants.gov, you must mail the following items to the Arts Endowment. Your application package will not be considered complete without these items.
A copy of the Submission Confirmation or validation e-mail from Grants.gov that includes your Grants.gov Tracking Number. (Upon submission of your electronic application material to Grants.gov, this confirmation will display on your screen.) Be sure that this is the first item in your mailed material.
Visual documentation is a critical component of your application and will be considered carefully during the review process. You must submit up to 20 images in JPEG files on a CD. Applicants for official consortium projects may submit up to 30 images. We will not accept slides.
Digital images on CD
Contact the Visual Arts staff if your project requires some other type of visual documentation.
We will not accept submissions of more than 20 images (30 for official consortium projects).
The images you provide should be recent, of high quality, and as relevant to your project as possible. Some types of projects require other material as well. Submit:
For exhibitions, digital images on CD that provide a representative sampling of the works to be shown.
For residencies, digital images on CD of work by the proposed artist(s). If the artist(s) is not yet selected, submit samples of work by artists who have participated recently.
For catalogues, one copy of a recent publication, and, as appropriate, short writing samples by contributors. Also include digital images on CD of a sampling of the works to be included.
For commissions and public art, digital images on CD of the work of the artist(s) under consideration and of the proposed site.
For conservation, digital images on CD of the work to be conserved.
For documentation, digital images on CD that support the project.
For public programs, digital images on CD of project participants' work.
Preview your samples before submitting them to ensure that there are no technical problems that might interfere with the panel's review of your work. Panelists generally spend no more than three to five minutes on the work sample(s) for each application.
The Arts Endowment may copy or digitally convert work samples to facilitate panel review. By submitting a work sample, you are giving the Arts Endowment permission for reproduction and dissemination for this purpose.
Work samples generally are not returned to the applicant, though the Arts Endowment will try to accommodate applicants that specifically request that we do so. Please do not submit a return envelope with your work samples. The Arts Endowment cannot be responsible for any loss or damage.
Label your package as noted below. All mailed material must be postmarked (or show other proof of mailing) no later than:
These dates are for Grants.gov applicants only.
VISUAL ARTS
Room 729
National Endowment for the Arts
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20506-0001
Be sure to include a complete return address on your package that includes your organization's legal name. If the delivery service that you use requires a telephone number for the recipient on the label, use 202/682-5760.
The National Endowment for the Arts continues to experience lengthy delays in the delivery of First-Class mail. In addition, some or all of the First-Class and Priority mail we receive may be put through an irradiation process. Support material (e.g., CDs, videos) put through this process has been severely damaged. Until normal mail service resumes, please consider using a commercial delivery service, particularly if you are sending time-sensitive material.
If new information that significantly affects your application (including changes in artists or confirmed funding commitments) becomes available after your application is submitted, please send that information immediately to the specialist for the field/discipline of your project. Include your organization's name and application number on any such submission. No changes in or revisions to your application can be made through Grants.gov.
National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal
agency
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20506