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>> Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for joining us on this webinar today. My name is Michael
Orlove. I am the director of Artist Communities, Presenting, and Multidisciplinary Works and
International Projects. I'm joined by my colleague and Artist Communities specialist pepper Smith.
We have prepared a brief presentation for this webinar in order to share some of the
updates to the application process. Our goal is is to inform you of the recent changes
to the guidelines and our discipline, specifically. And hopefully we will do that without putting
you to sleep. Here goes. One quick note: Please do not use the raise hand function to ask
a question. Simply type them into the Q&A box. And also to remind you, this webinar
will be archived on our website. A question I get a lot about Artist Communities
is simply, what is an artist community? Basically artist communities do three things; provide
time, space, and resources to artists for incubation, thought, or creativity in a retreat
setting in an urban or rural location; foster and support the creative process of art making
by providing studio facilities and assistance with living accommodations to enable artists
to live and work concurrently; and utilize a competitive application process to recruit
and select participants, and rotate a wide range of artists in order to encourage the
highest standards of creativity. You can read more about this at the link listed on the
screen. Before we dive into all the updates, it is
important to know if your organization is indeed eligible. This may seem rudimentary,
but it is often a step that new or perspective applicants overlook. Basically, you will need
to be either a not-for-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) U.S. organization or a unit of state
or local government, or a federally recognized tribal community. You will also need to show
at least three years of programming history. And the last is really paperwork. You need
to meet reporting requirements on any previous NEA awards. If you are eligible, it is important
to understand how often you can apply to the NEA. The general rule of thumb is one bite
out of the apple each year. So either one Art Works or Challenge America application
per calendar year. However, there are some exceptions. Some organizations qualify as
parent or related organizations, also known as independent components, which would allow
for more than one application year. We are still accepting secondary applications to
the Media Arts discipline, the July deadline only. You are eligible to apply to our Our
Town program, whose deadline just passed, as well as one of the other funding streams.
If you have further questions on this, please visit the guidelines on our website for additional
information on application limits. Also worth covering is overall grant amounts. The majority
of grant requests range from $10,000 to $100,000. No grants will be made less than $10,000.
A one-to-one matches is required for all project budgets. No exceptions. Worth noting that
most grants do not receive the full amount requested. As an example, our average grant
request last year was approximately $32,000. I will just mention what the NEA does not
fund. General operating or seasonal support. Individuals. Individual schools. Facility
construction, purchase, or renovation. Commercial, for-profit enterprises. Creation of new organizations.
Academic degrees. And re-granting. Again, more information about this is on our website
in the guidelines section. Now that we have covered the basic eligibility
requirements, let's start to discuss the changes for this year. The main one being new application
deadlines. There will also be a new format for submitting information about the project.
We will review that later in the webinar. And this year, letters of support are mandatory.
So here is a chart with our new deadlines and key dates in our process which, as you
know, as you can see, is a long one. Instead of the old deadline of March, everything has
been moved up two weeks to February. For Art Works I, the new deadline is February 20th.
Our new deadlines have two parts: part one is the Grants.gov deadline, where you fill
out the SF 424 form, your organization's basic information and be registered with Grants.gov
and S.A.M. - a reminder, SAM stands for System for Awards Management. We're going to take
you through the deadlines later in the webinar. After the February 20th deadline, you will
have about two weeks before part two, the March 6th to March 20th deadline where you
will upload the bulk of your application. After you have finished with the second deadline,
you will wait for about seven months as your application goes through the evaluation and
adjudication process. Once you have decided to apply into the Artist
Communities, you will need to choose one or more outcomes. An outcome is a goal for your
project. In Artist Communities, there are four types of outcomes. The first is Creation.
Under creation, stipends and living accommodations for professional artists where the primary
purpose is to create new art. The expansion of the pool of artists encourages the participation
of artists from a wide variety of aesthetic viewpoints, ethnic backgrounds, or geographic
areas where the primary purpose is to create new art. Access to facilities or technology
to meet the needs of interdisciplinary or new genre artists where the primary purpose
is to create new art. Innovative approaches to serving as an incubator for the creation
of art. Innovative collaborations between artists and those from sectors outside of
the arts. As an example, science, to create new art. The next two outcomes are Engagement
and Learning. Engagement, innovative uses of technology, media, and or new models and
activities with the surrounding community that provide the public with direct experiences
with practicing artists and increase the visibility of the work of artists and the organization.
Innovative approaches to collaboration with outside organizations and disciplines were
the primary purpose is public engagement with art. Under Learning, activities with the surrounding
community that provide educational and related activities for youth, adults, intergenerational
groups, and schools. Residency exchange programs with artists and artist communities in other
countries where the primary purpose is the acquisition of knowledge or skills in the
arts. The fourth outcome is Livability. Under Livability, the development of artists live-work
spaces. The enhancement of public space through commissioning and/or installation of works
created by the members of artist communities. The engagement of artist communities and plans
and processes to improve community livability. Community-based partnerships that integrate
artist communities with livability efforts. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact
staff if they are considering Livability as a primary outcome. Once again, service projects
that focus on a single discipline should apply through that discipline. Applicants such as
arts and business councils, or lawyers for the arts organizations are included here.
Under Learning, education, and related activities for youth, adults, intergenerational groups,
and schools. Training programs for professional artists, and professional development for
artists and arts organizations. Before you can attempt to apply, you must
be registered with Grants.gov and SAM. We recommend you do this 10 days before the February
20th deadline. We are not exaggerating. There are often glitches with Grants.gov and S.A.M.
registration so please give yourself and your organization plenty of time in case there
are problems. Another note. There is no charge for SAM or Grants.gov registration. In the
past applicants have been approached by phone and online unethical companies offering to
register them with SAM or Grants.gov for a fee. These are free government registrations.
Once again, there is no fee for this service. Please note that the NEA does not administer
or manage the Grants.gov process. All questions should be directed to their staff. Once you
are good with S.A.M., you're ready to apply, so any and all technical questions should
be directed to their staff. Once you are good with SAM and Grants.gov
you are ready to apply. Step one is to submit your SF-424 via Grants.gov. This is the only
item you submit through Grants.gov. If it is not successfully submitted by the deadline,
you will be unable to submit your other materials in NEA-GO.
Now you are ready for step two of two. You will submit through NEA-GO. This includes
the bulk of the application process: NEA Grant Application Forms, including answers to narrative
questions, financial information, bios, all going through the Grant Application Form,
also know as GAF. In addition, the items to upload, which includes programmatic activities
lists, statements of support, special items, and work samples. We will go into greater
detail in a moment. Instead of submitting information about your project through PDF
attachments, you will enter most of the information on the Grant Application Form. The GAF form.
The GAF is a web form you will have access to only through NEA-GO. You can find a static
copy of the GAF in the guidelines section of the website. You'll have to enter your
information directly into the GAF. Prepare your responses in advance in a plain text
document and then cut and paste into this form. There are strict character limitations
for each section, and due to the nature of the form no exceptions will be made. So please
adhere to the limitations given and note that there is a character counter included in the
web form to assist with accuracy. As in previous years, you will upload work samples into NEA-GO.
Panelist often prefer to see the work samples uploaded directly into the system as opposed
to links on a PDF. Although both are perfectly acceptable. The following items must be uploaded
as PDF documents to NEA-GO: Programmatic activities list, leadership statement, letters of support,
and other relevant special items. Letters of support are now required for all applications.
You must include at least one and no more than three. Letters should be relevant to
the project. The page limits are strictly enforced; please play close attention to this.
You will submit the Grant Application Form and electronically upload other items using
the NEA-GO system two weeks after your Grants.gov application deadline. Prepare these materials
well in advance of the application deadline and please have them ready to upload once
NEA-GO becomes available to you. To access the the NEA's Grants Online system,
follow these steps. Go to Track My Application on the Grants.gov website. The Notes box will
have a link to NEA-GO and information about when the system will be open. Your username
will be your Grants.gov tracking number. Your password will be your NEA application number.
This information is available two days after you submit your SF-424 to Grants.gov. But
no earlier than 10 days before the application deadline. Again, we do not control Grants.gov
so please refer any questions to their website or you can call their hotline, which is 1-800-514-4726.
They also have a support e-mail address which is support at grants.gov. Since we have designed
the NEA website, we thought it would be helpful to walk you through the sections pertinent
to applying for a grant. Step one, find our guidelines at www.arts.gov in the Apply
for a Grant section, as you see on the slide. Step two: select Grants to Organizations.
Nest, select Art Works to learn more about this category. And you can browse through
Key Information for Applicants for other important information.
After you have read about the Art Works category, you can select a discipline to apply and in
this case you would select Artist Communities. Read about the project types supported at
each deadline. In this case, under Artist Communities then you would select How to
Prepare and Submit an Application as well as the instructions to get started. From the
How to Apply page, you can access a static version of the GAF, the Grant Application
Form. This is a PDF version that will allow you to see information collected on the Grant
Application Form. On each page, there is a box with Art Works Resources. From here, you
can access helpful resources such as Recent Grants, an accessibility checklist, program
evaluation resources, and sample application narratives. This is extremely helpful, especially
if this is your first time applying to the NEA. As a reminder, the NEA does not fund
general operating or seasonal support. Your project should be a distinct selection of
your programming activities. The only exception is for organizations that undertake only one
activity per year such as a festival. You'll have a chance to ask questions about this
later. Please, please, be specific. Applications
that are clear about the planned project activities do well. All your artists do not need to be
committed at the time of application - even providing artists being considered ora wish
list is better than listing nothing at all. Some other helpful tips. CHoose strong work
samples. WOrk samples are a vital part of your proposal, they can bring an application
to life and illustrate the overall quality of the project's artistic excellence. Work
samples should include any proposed artists and/or examples of previous similar activities
at your organization. In addition to artist work samples, you can also submit material about
your organization. Don't assume panelists know what your organization does. You can
contact staff to receive panel feedback and advice. Our discipline specialists are fantastic
and I know Pepper is eager to give you detailed panelist feedback on your most recent application.
Once a decision has been announced, of course. This can help both recommended and rejected
applications and improve their future submissions to the NEA. We strongly recommend you reach
out to us for feedback. Additionally, you can contact us for guidance before you submit
and application. Remember, we are here to help. I think I have stressed that many times
in talking to all of you individually. Some final reminders, register and renew with
Grants.gov and SAM. as early as possible. The registration and renewal process for
Grants.gov and SAM can be time-consuming and may not always proceed smoothly. I will
pause for a collective sigh. Make sure you are in the clear well before the deadline.
Along those same lines, submit your application early so that if you do run into any trouble,
it can be dealt with in time for you to successfully complete the application process. If you do
run into trouble during this process, please document your correspondences with Grants.gov.
OK, we are in the home stretch here. The full guidelines are available at the link you see
on the screen. \ Before I conclude, let's review the changes
for this year. The deadlines have changed. Now February and July instead of March and
August. For Artist Communities, we are just dealing with February. Our website arts.gov has a
new look. I assume most of you have perused through it but if you haven't please do so
as there are many improvements and enhancements. Most application materials are now submitted
online via NEA-GO. Please see the How to Apply instructions for details. No grants will be
made under $10,000. For the most part, this has always been the case, but we are re-emphasizing
the point. Letters of support are required, and please remember a minimum of one and a
maximum of three letters of support will be a accepted. Program evaluation resources among
others are available and that can be found on our website under Art Works resources.
On the screen is our contact information. Should any questions come up in the future
and I hope they do. Let me thank all of you who took time out of your day today to join
us for this webinar and thank my colleagues at the NEA for making this all technologically
possible. Now it is time to hear from all of you who are tuned into the webinar. Hopefully,
if I put you to sleep, I can wake you up now as we get into the question-and- answer period.
We are happy to answer any questions you have. Remember to type your questions and we will
answer them in the order received. Pepper will be joining me to answer some of the questions.
OK, w've already have a nice selections of questions. I will go with the first one.
If an organization applied in Art Works, in this case, Folk Arts in August of 2013, can
it still apply for Artist Communities in February 2014?
>> Hi, this is pepper. Yes, you can apply as long as there is no overlap with the projects.
You can apply once per year and so it is actually common for people from another discipline
to apply in Artist Communities for the next year. That is not a problem. As Mike said,
if you have any questions like that, I am always happy to speak with applicants and
so feel free to give me a call or e-mail and we can touch base to make sure. Thanks.
>> The next question: Does eligibility requirements for "three year history of programming" mean
three years of programming in a specific project area for which funding is sought or three years
of programming that demonstrates the organization's involvement in related work?
>> The three years of programming does not have to be all in Artist Communities. It
can be other arts-related activities you've had. We are looking to see that on the two
things, we are looking to see the impact of your organization and you will probably hear
this again. It is worth repeating. Our panelists are looking for two major ideas, they're looking
for artistic excellence, showing that great artists and artwork are coming through your
artist community. And the second thing is looking for artistic impact. Part of artistic impact is
knowing your ability to carry out the project and so when of the panelists review your three
years of programming in advance, they are getting a sense of this organization knows
what they are doing. They can carry out this project. And sometimes organizations are trying
something new and so whereas you might not have done the same type of residency program
in the past, the panelists can see you are a credible organization who can do the job
done.
>> Thanks, Pepper. The next question: What is the earliest date to download the SF-424?
That's an easy one. It is available now. You can download it anytime.
The next question, the program documentation states that an artist community is defined
as an organization whether focused on a single discipline or a multi-disciplinary whose primary
mission is to provide artist residencies. I work in an organization where a residency
program is one of our core functions but it is not exactly our primary purpose. Would
we still be eligible for this grant?
>> Yes, you would. The phrase "primary purpose," we have a generous interpretation of. As long
as it is the core, at the core of what your organization does, we are glad to accept your
application. Again, if you have a question about it, feel free to give me a call and
we can talk through it.
>> Great questions so far. The next question: Under the Artist Communities category, would
you consider funding a public art project that engages with communities? I think it
would go to a different discipline. I'll let Pepper answer that in more detail.
>> Sure, it would be a good thing to speak with me. Sorry, I was too loud. It would
be a good thing to speak with me about it. One, we have to make sure you are an artist
community, that the residencies you are doing is part of your core program. You also, if
it were just a public art object engaging with the community, we might want to look
at Visual Arts, since it is a sculpture or a mural. Again, a lot of these, often there
is significant details that need to be fleshed out. I am glad to speak with you about it.
Thanks.
>> Thanks, Pepper. Next question: Are you likely to receive less than requested even
if you request less than $30,000? I'm not sure I understand the question. As I had mentioned
before, very few organizations get full funding. I guess going into the application process,
first of all your request should be in line with your project budget and what you are
able to match, a one-to-one match. I think you should all assume that very few organizations
get full funding. The next question, does the 501(c)(3) have
to be a unit under the city or can we use a separate 501(c)(3) agency? I am looking
for some consultation in the room. That might be a question in terms of eligibility. We
can get back to that in a second. Sorry for the radio silence for a second.
I was consulting with my colleagues in the room here. I think it is an either-or. You
can't be both. The question about 501(c)(3) having to be a unit under the city or can
we use a separate 501(c)(3) agency, you can apply as a unit under the city or you can
apply as a separate 501(c)(3) but you can't apply as both. For all of these questions,
if you feel you need more clarification, we will go back to the slide with our contact
information and you are more than welcome to e-mail Pepper and myself.
Next question: Are there particular elements you would like to see in the letters of support?
>> Thanks. That is a good question. I think with the letters of support, we are looking
for passion and authenticity, that often what will happen is people will ask, say, the
mayor of a city to write a letter of support or recommendation and the mayor will write
from a template. It is boring and obviously a little canned. And letters of support that
work well are ones that seem to be written from the heart, often with artists that have
been there in the past or may be an underserved community in your town that someone had an
experience with your artist community with the artists. Those that kind of tug on the
heartstrings can make a real difference. Remember the panelists are reading through 70 applications
that are 20-30 pages. So they can often get glass eyes, they kind of glaze through things.
You will want to have letters of support that really stand out and that seem to be real.
That would be my advice. That's a good question. Thanks.
>> The next question is: Do cultural museums special exhibits or programs qualify. We
had a Museum's webinar on January 15, which I believe is now archived on our website.
I would suggest you visit that webinar. Most likely you would be going into that discipline
rather than the Artist Communities discipline. If you go on our website, all of the contact information
for the Museums staff is up there. Again, if you need more clarification, e-mail Pepper
or myself. The next question: As a small artist community
with four residents per year, can we request support for two of the four? Only one? Or
all four?
>> That is a good question. We do recommend that you wait until your budget is in excess
of $50,000. But if you're in excess of $50,000, we do have several smaller artist communities,
usually in rural places that are funded. So, yes, you could apply for just two. You would
really need to find something distinctive about your project and I would say that for
everyone listening today. In Artist Communities one of our challenges is that the application
are fairly similar. Most applicants are asking for support for residency programs. So finding
a way to make your residency stand apart from the others is very important. I have seen
applicants do that successfully by having an environmental residency that specifically that
focuses on an environmental problem or perhaps a residency for deaf artists, or a residency
for something that is going to be a little bit different can make a big difference. Even
if you are a small artist community, you might want to talk about what makes your place
distinctive and what make your residency program different. So those two residencies - If
you can find a way to make them stand apart from the pack, I could see you being funded.
Thanks.
>> The next question; Do you recommend only one primary outcome for our artist community?
>> As far as outcomes, you can have two if you need to. One is sufficient. I would say
it really depends on what you are doing. And if you have a project that is all about
Creation and also about Engagement, then have two. But if you just have a Creation outcome,
that is certainly OK if you only have an Engagement outcome, that's fine. The only outcome that
is a little bit -- I wouldn't say problematic - that you would need to talk to me or Mike
about would be Livability. If you decide to choose the Livability outcome we ask you
call us to discuss reporting requirements. Livability has extensive reporting requirements
so in advance you need to think about that.
>> Another question came up about the form SF-424 and the ability to download it. As
I mentioned before It is available now. If you're having problems downloading it,
make sure you have the correct version of Adobe Reader. If that is still not working,
contact us and we will get it figured out. The next question: How many applications do
you usually get for Artist Communities? What percent are usually funded? That question
always comes up. Last year we received just over 60 applications and I believe we funded
about 45% of those. That is not an exact amount but I think 45% is about the right number.
The next question: Is studio renovation an allowable cost in this program? The short
answer is no. We do not allow those costs. If you go back to the website, under allowable
costs, or what is eligible, you will find out what costs we do and do not allow for
project applications. Next question: Can the letters of support
be routine letters of thanks from artists and not specifically written for the grant
application?
>> Sure, they can be a routine thank you letter but usually it is more effective if
the artist is kind of focused and more impassioned about experience they had. In effect, that
could be a great thank you letter. That would be fine.
>> Next question: There was a question about making an exception for Artist Community grants
when it comes to requiring a central physical location. I would ask that person to e-mail Pepper
and I directly and we can address that question because it is perhaps a longer conversation.
So the question about the physical location and whether you would be eligible or not,
please email Pepper and/or myself and we will answer your question in greater detail.
The next question: Can individual artists be paid stipends through the grant?
>> Yes, in fact, support for artists seems to be the strongest card you can play in your
application. When the panelists meet, they tend to be the most moved by what you are
doing to help the artist have a great experience. That can be giving the artists a stipend
or it can be the mentors they get to work with or a special equipment perhaps. But I
think that does seem to be the heart of the artist community experience and what the panelists are
looking for because the panelists are people just like you. We work really hard to get
a diverse group of artist community leaders from around the U.S. and they really do make
me yes or no decision whether or not you get the grant. Michael and I do not give a comes
up or a thumbs down on your grants. But I think stipends are always a good thing to
include in your application. Thanks.
>> The next question: What does the required one-to-one match of the budget specifically mean?
I can answer this and I will let Pepper chime in as well. Basically, if you are asking for
$20,000 as an example, you have to be able to match that $20,000, either a one-to- one
match, meaning with $20,000, or more. Most organizations come in with more than a one-to-one
match. On our website, we do list all of the various types of matches that fulfill this
requirement, including cash, it could be in-kind, a variety of different in-kind matches. I
don't know if Pepper you want to add to that.
>> I think you gave a good answer. The only think I would add is, we are looking to see
you are being sponsored or supported by several different organizations. Sometimes in Artist
Communities I will see someone apply with a match from only one source. And it really
looks impressive to the panelists if they see you have several different organizations
or foundations supporting your project already. And of course you are applying usually 16
months in advance of your project so we don't expect all of those organizations do have
confirmed support for you, in which case you can list the ones you reasonably suspect
will fund you. That is by going back to the past, they funded you in the past or you
have an application in and you think you have a good chance with it. So please be
sure to have a diverse funding sources for that match.
>> Thanks Pepper. There has been some questions we have skipped over that are more general
questions about artist communities. This is a good time to plug our lone service organization, the
Alliance of Artist Communities, who really do a phenomenal job of supporting the field.
If you're not familiar with them, I'm assuming most are, they are based in Providence, Rhode
Island, and are run by our wonderful colleague Caitlin Strokosch. They have a wealth of information
on their website. That is the Alliance of Artist Communities and I would urge, if you
are new to this field or considering starting an artist community, you should use them as
a resource. The next question: Can you tell us more about
choosing Livability is a primary outcome and why we should contact NEA staff if we choose
this route?
>> This is Pepper. The reason we say to contact staff is Livability has significant reporting
requirements that for any grant you receive, you're going to have to do a final descriptive report.
You are going to tell us how things went. But with Livability, since you're trying to
impact your community and the economy of your community with Livability, you have a lot
of different economic indicators and a lot of additional advice, not advice, data you
need to submit. That is something we work with in conjunction with the Grants Office.
I'm not saying don't do it. I am saying it is going to be some extra man hours and work
if you choose Livability. So we want to go over that. It is impossible to go over it
now because it is extensive. We are happy to do that in a phone conversation or through
e-mail. I hope that helps.
>> Next question: Are there any special requirements for residencies for international artists?
>> No, not really. We do have to work with the State Department. For example, there are
a few countries the U.S. government is not allowed to fund residents from. So we would
have to make sure your residents were not there but we are seeing more and more international
residency programs where artists from the State will go to sites abroad or artists abroad will
come to work with America artist communities. >> There was a follow up question: Will the
NEA fund artist communities projects involving international artist? It is pretty much the
same answer. For the most part the answer is a resounding yes. There are a couple of
limitations and again, we can answer more specific questions if that is something you
are pursuing. The last question for now: my organization received
an Artist COmmunities grant in the 2013 cycle, can we reapply in 2014? The answer is yes.
Basically with Artist Communities, like almost all other disciplines, you are allowed one application
per organization per year, with the exceptions that I mentioned earlier in the webinar.
That looks like the end of all of the questions. I will give you maybe one more second to ask
some more. I think we are rounding out the end of this webinar. Again, I want to thank
all of you for your time and attention today and I would remind you that this webinar will
be archived on our website. My guess is by early or middle of next week. So if you were
not able to listen to the entire webinar or have other folks that would like to tune in,
it will be up there for a long period time. So thank you very much and again, Pepper and
I are here to answer questions between now and the deadline and beyond. We look forward
to serving the artist communities field. Have a good rest of your day. .