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General Operating Support for Arts Organizations

• Purpose
• Description
• Eligible Applicants
• Eligible Activities
• Deadlines
• Amount of Assistance
• Criteria for Evaluating Applicants
• Application Review and Payment Procedure
• Application

Purpose
To assist organizations of artistic merit in fulfilling their missions by providing funds to maintain their stability and encourage their advancement.

Description
These grants provide general operating support to Virginia arts organizations to continue, strengthen, and expand their programs.

Eligible Applicants

• Virginia organizations whose primary purpose is the arts (excluding units of government and educational institutions and their private companion foundations), that have an independent governing board, and that meet the Basic Eligibility, and that are exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.
• Organizations must be incorporated for at least a year before applying for General Operating Support and must have completed a season of programs.
• A Virginia arts organization is defined as one whose primary purpose is the arts, that is incorporated in the state, and that has its headquarters and home season, or activities equivalent to a home season for non-producing organizations, in the state.
• Priority in this funding program will be given to organizations that pay artists. Avocational organizations may be funded in this program if they provide specific services or programs that would otherwise not be available in that particular geographic area. Avocational organizations are welcome to apply in the other grant programs of the Commission.
• In order to be eligible for General Operating Support a festival should be a separately incorporated Virginia organization with a year round administrative staff and a year round presence in the community, have as its primary purpose the arts, spend the majority of its budget on arts activities, last longer than three consecutive days, hire professional artists, and include education and outreach programs as part of the festival. Other festivals are welcome to apply for Project Grants, Touring Assistance, and Writers in Virginia grants.
• Organizations that exist primarily to provide arts education should meet the following criteria. The instructors should be professionals or former professionals in their fields. Classes should be aimed at acquiring skills at everincreasing levels of difficulty. Classes should be focused on development of skills rather than being primarily rehearsals for a performance. The organization should have a diversified funding base, beyond tuition and ticket sales for public performances, that shows wide spread community support. Scholarships should be available for low income students. There should be an active effort to recruit students from all segments of the community. In addition to instruction, there should be regular opportunities for students to perform or exhibit for the public.
• Vocal ensembles that perform primarily pop, Broadway, or barbershop music are not eligible for General Operating Support but are eligible to apply for Project Grants for new initiatives or for Technical Assistance.
• Applicants for General Operating Support are expected to present at least three different programs or services for the public each year.
• Applicants that are serving racially, ethnically, and/or culturally diverse communities are expected to actively seek racial, ethnic, and/or cultural diversity in their artists, audiences, boards, and staff. Applications for funding should fully describe all efforts to create this diversity.
• Applicants that are at least three years old must have a previous year’s income of at least $10,000 in cash. Organizations with smaller budgets may be eligible to apply for Project Grants or Technical Assistance.
• Applicants are expected to earn as much income from ticket sales/admission fees as possible, while seeking contributions from individuals, corporations, foundations, and government, as well as income from special fundraising activities. This philosophy recognizes that government resources are limited while demands for services are high and that the arts are healthier when open to diverse influences and not financially dependent on any single source of support.

Eligible Activities

• General operating expenses
• Special projects
• Construction or renovation costs
• Reserve funds

Deadlines
The Commission awards all General Operating Support Grants for a one year period. Organizations must apply no later than March 3, 2008, for expenses occurring between July 1, 2008, and June 15, 2009.

The Commission uses staggered, multi-year review for the General Operating Support grants. While each grantee is required to submit an application annually, those organizations that are determined to meet all of the criteria are required to submit the full application, including all material necessary for panel review, every other year. In the other years the application requirements are simpler. Any organization applying to the Commission for the first time in this category must submit a full application by the March 1 application deadline. Organizations that have been funded by the Commission in the General Operating Support category in past years will be notified by the Commission in early January what information will be required for the upcoming application deadline of March 1. If the grant is awarded, the organization must submit a year end report no later than June 15th of each year in order to receive the second payment for the grant. If an organization undergoes a substantive change in its mission, its artistic leadership, or its management during the grant period, the Commission must be notified. If in the opinion of the Commission such changes alter the purpose for which the grant was awarded, the Commission may require the organization to submit justification for continuing to receive the grant funds.

Amount of Assistance
Organizations approved for funding will receive no more than 10% of their previous year’s cash income, less Commission support, money paid to the organization for out-of-state trips or tours by the people taking the trips or tours, and money raised for capital purposes in the previous year. Most organizations will receive less than the maximum, and no organization is guaranteed a specific funding amount. Minimum grant awards will be $500 per year; maximum grant awards will be $150,000 per year.

Criteria for Evaluating Applications

• Artistic excellence
• Effective management
• Service to the community

The first and most important standard of review is artistic excellence, based on the stated artistic mission of the organization. The Commission supports organizations with a wide variety of artistic programs, including both the preservation of an artistic heritage and the presentation of new works and new artists.

Management effectiveness is measured by appropriate organizational structure, evidence of planning, and fiscal responsibility.

Service to the community includes activities in addition to public performances, exhibitions, or other formal presentations of the art. Service to the community is evaluated by a clear explanation of the people to be served, of why the organization provides this service, and of how the service fits into the overall mission of the organization.

In evaluating the applications the Commission will take into account whether the requested grant will result in significant programs for the community that could not be provided within the applicant’s existing financial resources. The Commission will also evaluate the general merits of each application relative to others being considered.

NOTE: The Commission requires General Operating Support grantees that have income of over $300,000 for at least two consecutive years to submit an opinioned, independent audit of their financial records every year.

Application Review and Payment Procedure

1. Applicants submit the information requested by the Commission each year. The Commission staff is available for consultation on applications and to review drafts of applications before the application deadline. If
   assistance is needed, contact the Commission office at least four weeks before the deadline. Organizations planning to apply to the Commission should put the panelists and Commissioners on their mailing lists.
2. Applicants submit completed application forms by the deadline (not a postmark deadline). NO EXCEPTIONS. The Commission will not accept any application materials via facsimile transmission or other electronic means (e.g. e-mail).
3. The Commission staff reviews each application for completeness and eligibility. Incomplete or ineligible applications will not be reviewed and will be returned to the applicant with a brief explanation.
4. Copies of the applications are sent to the members of the appropriate advisory panels.
5. The panelists independently review each application prior to the panel meeting.
6. Each advisory panel meets with the Director and Program Coordinator. Commissioners attend each panel meeting as observers. Applicant representatives may attend panel meetings as observers but may not make a presentation to the panel. The panels make their recommendations after group discussion. Names of Commissioners and advisory panelists, as well as dates and locations of Commission and panel meetings, are available from the Commission office and on the Commission website.
7. Following the panel meetings, the Commission staff makes a recommendation on each application.
8. The board of the Commission then reviews the recommendations of the panels and staff and takes final action on the applications.
9. Applicants are notified of Commission action by mail. The appeals process for applications not awarded funds is described on page 33.
10. The Commission will pay 85 percent of each year’s grant amount at the beginning of the state’s fiscal year. The final 15 percent will be paid within 30 days after the Commission receives the final report on the grant. Final reports must be submitted after the completion of all funded activities and before June 15th.