2015 Panelist Orientation

WELCOME2014-15

Grant Panelist Orientation

INTRODUCTIONS ALL AROUND

Who Are We?

Board of Directors

President

Public Art

Public Art Collection & Projects

Arts Council

Grants, BVA Program, Worthgoing.com,

Advocacy, Development

Community Arts Center

Galleries, events, offices, theaters,

building maintenance

Our Mission

The mission of the Arts Council of Fort Worth is to create

an environment that promotes, nurtures, and supports

the arts in our community.

GRANTS PROGRAM

2014 Grants

Over $972,000 disbursed

42 organizations received 79 grants

Total numbers served

over 1 million adults and 600k youth

Estimated total economic impact of funded programs: In

excess of $45 million

Who we fund – a partial list:

Fort Worth Symphony, Fort Worth Opera, Van Cliburn

Foundation, Casa Manana, Stage West, Texas Boys Choir,

Modern Art Museum, Kids Who Care, Classic Guitar Society,

Lone Star Film Society, Arts Fifth Avenue, 619 Productions,

DVA Productions, Trinity Shakespeare, Trumpets4Kids…

…and many, many more!

Who is eligible for funding?

Must be a registered 501(c)(3) organization

Ineligible to apply under the “umbrella” of another organization’s 501(c)(3)

501(c)(3) arts organization for Operating Support

501(c)(3) organizations providing arts programming eligible for Cultural Project Grants and Neighborhood Arts Program Grants

Be able to show at least 2 years of Fort Worth programming

Have prior-year operating expenses of at least $5,000

For any previous grantee – have met all reporting deadlines

For college- or university-sponsored programs, they are eligible as long as the programming is open to the public, reaches a significant non-student population, and has a community-based board of directors or advisory board.

We do not fund:

Debt retirement, endowments, capital improvements, etc.

Interest on loans, fines, penalties, litigation fees

Benefits or special events planned primarily for fundraising

Scholarships, cash awards or prizes

Sub-granting programs

Individual artists, or groups not incorporated as a 501(c)(3)

non-profit

Expenses included on any other current Arts Council grant

applications

Types of Grants

Operating Support

Cultural Project Support

Neighborhood Arts Project Support

Travel and Training, Equipment and First Time Applicant These are reviewed and approved by a

committee of the Board of Directors of the Arts Council.

Requirements of ALL grants

1:1 cash match required to be shown at the end of the

grant period

A Final Report is required from ALL grant recipients for

ALL grant types. This report includes:

budget vs. actuals comparison

approximate numbers of audience members served,

divided into Youth and Adults

demographics information, including approximate ethnic

breakdown of audience served and council districts served

Acknowledgement of Arts Council funding in appropriate

programs, promotional materials, website, etc.

Operating Support

Provides unrestricted funding for general and administrative costs.

Maximum amount of request based on Previous Year Expenses (“PYE”):

$1 million or greater 5% of PYE max request

$450,000 - $999,999 10% of PYE max request

$50,000 - $449,999 15% of PYE max request

Additional eligibility requirements:

Must show at least $50,000 in PYE on financial statements

Must have at least 1 paid staff member (full or part-time)

Base of operations must be within the city of Fort Worth

Cultural Project Support

Provides funding restricted to a single, defined project

to be completed during the grant year

Requests are limited to $8,000, and may not exceed 50%

of project budget

Projects can be recurring from year to year

Application budgets are required to be project-specific;

the budget should not include any administrative or

programmatic funds not directly related to the project.

Neighborhood Arts Program

(“NAP”) Support

Provides funding restricted to a single, defined project

to be completed in an NAP-designated venue during the

grant year

In general, locations are eligible if more than 50% of the

user population falls below the poverty line

Applicants have a list of NAP-eligible venues online

Just as with Cultural Project grants, NAP Project

application budgets should be project-specific

Requests have no maximum dollar limit, but can not

exceed 50% of the project budget

Travel and Training, Equipment,

and First Time Applicant Support

Travel and Training

Open to Fort Worth working artists, arts administrators, and arts educators

Limited to one per year

No more than 3 per organization

Maximum of $500 and requires 1:1 cash match

Equipment

Open to Fort Worth arts organizations

Must support mission of programming for the arts

Maximum of $2,000 and requires 1:1 cash match

First Time Appliant

501(c)(3) organizations wishing to receive project support, either Cultural Projects or NAP

Organizations must go through one on one interview with Arts Council staff prior to requesting grant

Maximum of $2,000 and requires 1:1 cash match

What’s in an application? Organizational information (including mission statement and budget

size)

Project summary, attendance projections

Application narrative addressing:

Managerial ability of the organization (How well are they run?)

Artistic merit (Why does their programming matter?)

Service to the community (Who is their audience and how well do they reach them?)

Attachments, including:

Project or organization budget

Financial statements for the last fiscal year

Organizational information, including programming history & bio of leadership

Demographics information, outlining audience make-up and location(s)

Applicants may also submit attachments such as DVDs, press clippings, Playbills, flyers, etc. This material is passed around during the review session.

DUE DATES

All Grant Applications

Friday, October 3rd @ 11:59 pm

THE REVIEW PROCESS

Review Panels

Panel 1: Operating Support, Level I Organizations (PYE

>= $450,000)

Panel 2: Operating Support, Level II Organizations (PYE

$50,000 - $449,999)

Panel 3: Cultural Project Support

Panel 4: NAP Project Support

Mini Grants – reviewed by Board of Directors committee

The actual number of applications reviewed by each panel

varies from year-to-year and is based solely on the number

of applicants for each grant.

The Role of Staff

Arts Council staff assists organizations with the

application process, reviews applications upon

submission for technical errors & to ensure

eligibility, and helps facilitate the review sessions.

Staff do not participate in the reviews themselves

Dividing the Workload

All panelists are expected to be familiar with all applications assigned to their panel, BUT…

In order to divide the workload, each panelist will be assigned 2-4 applications that they are responsible for reviewing IN DEPTH

Each application will have 2 panelists assigned

You are expected to have attended at least 1 of the organizations performances – the arts organizations are responsible for sending out invitations.

You are expected to have met with management to discuss managerial ability, artistic merit and service to the community. The arts organizations are responsible for contacting you to set up a meeting.

On review day, the Panel Chair will ask the 2 reviewers assigned to an application to give a summary and their thoughts on the application. Other panelists are then invited to share their questions, comments, or concerns.

Dividing the workload, cont.

Each panelist will receive a list of assignments as soon

as possible after applications have been received.

Sample: Organization Reviewer 1 Reviewer 2

Carp Hall Organa Calrissian

Fort Worth Music Group Solo Organa

Museum of Stuff Madine Mothma

Project DANCE! Calrissian Skywalker

Youth In Action Theater Kenobi Solo

Getting to know the

applicants

All applicants have panel roster with your contact information.

ALL PANELISTS: every applicant is asked to invite their panel members to select programming and provide 2 complimentary tickets

GENERAL OPERATING PANELISTS (Panels 1 & 2): applicants hold “site visits;” basically, informal meetings at which the applicant gives a short presentation on the organization and its programming.

Applicants are responsible for invites & setting up site visits!

Programming & Site Visits

Programming invites

ALL applicants

ALL panelists

In-school, nights, weekends

lectures, concerts, exhibits,

festivals, plays, etc.

Site Visits

Panel 1 & 2 ONLY

Operating grant applicants

ONLY

usually during lunchtime

Pre-review session workload

Before convening in January, you and your fellow

panel members will need to:

Attend programming and site visits (site visits are

for Operating grant reviewers ONLY)

Review the applications assigned to your panel

(available online)

Fill out the evaluation forms for applications to

which you’ve been assigned (also online)

Notify grants program staff of any questions you

have for the applicant

On the actual review day… Panels meet from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm; breakfast and lunch are

provided

Locations and dates are TBD!!!!!

All panelists are required to complete a Conflict of Interest statement

If you do have a Conflict of Interest, you are asked to recuse yourself during deliberations for that particular applicant

Applications are reviewed in alphabetical order

The panel chair (a member of the Board of Directors of the Arts Council) – moderates discussion, calls for votes & approval of recommendations

Staff – keeps track of panel scores, tracks time for each review, provides factual information

Applicants can be contacted via speakerphone for last-minute questions

WE ASK ALL PANELISTS TO PLEASE BRING A LAPTOP/TABLET

We will not have printed materials the day of the review sessions. If you would like to have the materials printed please print yourself and bring with you.

Your assigned applications:

The Panel chair will have a list of organizations and

assigned reviewers.

When it’s your turn, give a summary of the group, your

thoughts on site visits or performances, a description of

the project (if it’s a project application), and any

thoughts or concerns you might have.

Other panel members may then voice their thoughts and

answer any questions.

Scoring & Funding

Recommendations All grants scored on a 100-point scale

Applications are reviewed according to overall:

Managerial Ability

Artistic Merit

Service to the Community

Possible point totals vary by grant type

Scores are averaged to determine their panel score

Funding recommendations are completed by a committee of the Board of Directors of the Arts Council which is made up of all panel chairs plus a few other members.

The recommendations are based on the scores you provide during the review sessions and funding is then mathematically determined by: average score, amount of request, total amount of funding allocated to the panel, number of applicants.

Scoring & Funding cont.

The funding recommendations determined by the

committee of the Arts Council Board will be presented

to the full Board of Directors who will then vote on

whether to approve the recommendations.

IMPORTANT: The Board may also adjust awards as they

see fit: awards are not final until approved by Board

vote.

Comments, Feedback,

Questions

If you have a question, concern, or general feedback for

an applicant, you can simply type that question into the

appropriate area of the Evaluation form.

Alert Grants Program staff, who will then send your

question to the applicant & give them a chance to

respond.

Arts Council staff will also be taking notes during the

review sessions to provide feedback to applicants.

ALL FEEDBACK/QUESTIONS/ETC. ARE ANONYMOUS. AT NO

TIME WILL YOUR NAME BE ATTACHED TO YOUR COMMENTS!

In summary… Once applications are submitted & reviewed by staff,

you’ll receive login information and a list of the applications assigned to your panel

Review applications online & use the Evaluation forms to ask questions, voice concerns, and organize your thoughts

Attend programming throughout the fall (enjoy!)

If you are on a Operating panel, attend site visits

Attend the review session in January (exact date TBD) at which time the entire Panel will convene, review, and score.

Attend the Grant Awards Presentation – date in February TBD.

USING THE ONLINE SYSTEM

Account Information

All grant panelists will have accounts created for them

by the program administrator – you cannot register on

your own!

Default login information:

User name: email address

Password: Password1

We can reset passwords if you get stuck!

How to review

applications

The Basics…

Be as objective as possible

Applications should stand on their own merits

We fund on MERIT, not NEED

Evaluation Criteria for all grants is a combination of:

Managerial Ability

Artistic Merit

Service to the community

Keep in mind – the applicants have access to the Evaluation

Criteria – they know what it is you will be looking for

Remember – your job as a panelist is to be a good

steward of public funds.

In general…

Does the application give a clear picture of the applicant?

Who, What, When, Where, Why

For projects – is the project description clear? What would

we be funding?

Is the programming proposed in the application reasonable

given the applicant’s mission, programming history, and

abilities?

Can you tell what the organization does? Who they serve?

What type of programming they produce?

Managerial Ability

Overall effectiveness of the organization

Presentation of a clear and realistic budget

Organizational stability

Effective marketing of programming

Evidence of / or potential for financial support from the

community

Long-range/strategic plan?

Administrative efforts effective?

Good Staff-Board relationship?

Diverse Board of Directors?

Artistic Merit

Artistic product perceived to be high quality by

audience

Innovation and creativity in programming and artistic

selections

Strong leadership and vision in artistic staff

Programming is appropriate to and supports the mission

of the organization

Artistic staff effective?

Service to the Community

Diversity in the audience (appropriate to the mission

and programming)

Diversity on the board of directors

Efforts to reach and education current & potential

audience members

Programming attracts an audience appropriate to the

organization’s activities (locals vs. visitors, children vs.

adults, etc.)

Activities have local, regional, national or international

impact

Budgets & Financials

For Operating budgets, are variances of +/- 20% from

year-to-year explained?

Deficits/surpluses? If so, are they explained?

Audits – is there a Qualified Opinion? If so, why? Is

there a “Going Concern”?

Cultural & NAP Project budgets:

Appropriate to the scope of the project?

Are they predicting a surplus/deficit?

How diverse is their income stream?

NAP Projects – usually NO earned income

How NOT to review:

Your job is not to judge the artistic product itself, but how effectively is that product being produced and presented to its intended audience.

Your job is not to dictate to the organization how they should present their product. Instead, it is to judge the effectiveness of the manner in which they present their product to their intended audience.

Letting emotion into the equation – no matter how much you may love the organization, you need to be as objective as possible.

Everyone has a bad day – don’t let one performance influence your overall judgment too much.

Remember – you will be reviewing organizations with widely divergent budget & staff sizes! Be careful not to make apples-to-apples comparisons.

And finally…

If you need to drop off for any reason, please let us know

ASAP!

No hard feelings – you will be welcome back next year!

and…THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THE ARTS!