Arts Education Award Opportunity - Due April 4

The College Board Announces Award Application Process

The College Board is pleased to announce the 2014 College Board Award for Excellence and Innovation in the Arts. This annual award recognizes and celebrates the achievements of arts initiatives that serve students in grades 6–12 and that promote student learning and creativity in exemplary and innovative ways.

Awards will be given to model programs in three categories:

• Arts Integration
• Equity through Arts
• Civic Engagement/Professional Partnerships

Visit the College Board's website for deadlines and more information.

NEA Applications for 2015 Art Works Grants

NEA Accepting Applications for 2015 Art Works Grants

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is accepting applications for Art Works 2015, a signature program supporting a variety of artistic disciplines through projects meeting the highest standards of excellence, while engaging the public and enhancing the livability of communities nationwide.

Fields such as arts education, design, dance, visual arts, museums, music and opera -- among others -- are incorporated into projects such as commissions, residencies, workshops, performances, exhibitions, publications, festivals and professional development programs. Grants generally range from $10,000 to $100,000, and a 1:1 match with non-federal funds is required.

Eligible organizations include nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), U.S. organizations such as arts organizations, local arts agencies, arts service organizations and local education agencies (LEAs). This year’s proposal deadlines are February 20 and July 24, 2014, depending on the type of project submitted for consideration.

To learn more, visit http://arts.gov/grants-organizations/art-works, or sign up for one of the Guidelines Webinars.

DCASE Opening grant cycle for CityArts Program - Due March 5

DCASE Announces Grants

The City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE)
is opening the grant cycle for the CityArts Program. The program encourages the attainment of artistic excellence and financial stability through general operating support for artistic, administrative and program activities including expenses such as salaries, marketing, insurance, supplies, professional services, fees, and training incurred to programming.

Arts organizations with annual budgets under $5M are eligible to apply and can request a one-year grant. Grant awards range from $2,000 to $15,000. Grants can be no greater than 10% of an organization’s annual operating budget from the most recently completed fiscal year.

Visit www.ChicagoCulturalGrants.org or e-mail APortillo@cityofchicago.org for additional information.

Illinois Arts Council Agency FY15 Grant Opportunity

Guidelines and applications are now available online for

Fiscal Year 2015 (FY15) Program Grant,

Grants to Arts Service Organizations,

and Partners in Excellence Programs.

The FY15 deadline is 5:00 PM Monday, March 17, 2014.

Program Grant funds provide support to established not-for-profit organizations that make a significant local, regional, or statewide impact on the quality of life in Illinois.  Grants recognize arts programming of high quality that is appropriate to and reflective of the communities served and that broaden opportunities for the public to participate in the arts.  All FY15 grant programs support activities occurring between September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015 

Follow these links to access the FY15 Program Grant Guidelines and information regarding the FY15 Grants to Arts Service Organizations and Partners-in-Excellence programs. Contact the appropriate Illinois Arts Council Agency Program Staff member with questions. 

IMPORTANT DETAILS:  

• Deadline: The FY15 deadline for the above programs is Monday, March 17, 2014, 5:00 PM CST for online submission of eGrant application and hand-delivery of required hard copy material. 
• Illinois Cultural Data Project requirements for FY15 are as follows: 
• Applicants must submit an IACA Funder Report which contains data for three consecutive fiscal years, one of which must be 2012.  All years must have "Review Complete" status.     
• Recently established organizations with less than three years of financial data must submit an IACA Funder Report with at least one year of data reflecting the most recently completed fiscal year. For organizations in operation in fiscal year 2012, data for 2012 must be submitted. Submitted data must have received "Review Complete" status from the CDP.      
• Colleges and Universities and organizations housed within a larger institution must limit the CDP information to arts activities in their division or department. 

The IACA Funder Report will be available to generate in early February 2014.  As a reminder, the process for completing an Illinois Cultural Data Project data profile and receiving "Review Complete" status can take time.  Applicants should be sure to begin the process early to allow enough time to complete the steps necessary to achieve "Review Complete" status before the application deadline.  It is highly unlikely for applicants who wait until the day of the deadline to complete the process to achieve this status.

Applicants are encouraged to submit an IACA Funder report which shows the three most recently completed fiscal years for which data is accessible (board-approved audits or board-approved year-end financial statements).

• Eligibility Requirements: Prior to the deadline, applicants should check that they are in compliance with all eligibility requirements including Illinois Not For Profit and 501c3 status. For details, follow this link.      
• Free Application Workshops: Illinois Arts Council program staff will conduct two online application workshop webinars to provide information on completing FY15 Program Grant and Grants to Arts Service Organizations applications.

Online Webinars

(pre-registration is required): 

• Thursday,  February 6, 2014 - 5:00 PM
• Registration Link: https://cc.readytalk.com/r/3sgysqcyd7tl&eom

• Tuesday, February 25, 2014 -  12:00 PM
• Registration Link: https://cc.readytalk.com/r/jaotrc7tj5l0&eom

CityArts Program Grant

CityArts Program for Nonprofit Organizations

The goal of the DCASE CityArts program is to encourage the attainment of artistic excellence and financial stability through general operating support for 501(c)3 nonprofit arts organizations. Through this program, DCASE provides one-year general operating support grants to arts organization with vibrant artistic or cultural programming. General operating support funds may be used for artistic, administrative and/or program activities including expenses such as salaries, marketing, insurance, supplies, professional services, fees and training. All grants are one-year grants.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must meet each of the following criteria. Applicants must:

• Be a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) application incorporated in the State of Illinois for at least 12 months prior to applying (must have been incorporated as of March 3, 2013).

•  Be a resident company in the city of Chicago with a valid street address (P.O. boxes will not be accepted).

• Primarily serve the residents of the city of Chicago (able to demonstrate that at least half or 51% of programming occurs within the city of Chicago limits).

• Have had an annual adjusted income budget under $5,000,000 during the last fiscal  year.

• Have a primarily mission to create, produce, present, provide, or support arts and culture services for the public.

• Be planning programing/activities available to the public during the 2014 calendar year.

• Work in one of the following disciplines: Dance, Literature, Media, Music, Museums, Theater, Visual Arts, Architecture, Film, Interdisciplinary, OR serve as an arts service organization.

Application Opens: Friday, January 24 at 12:01 am

Application Deadline: Wednesday, March 5, 2014 at 5 pm

Grant Request Amount: Grant awards range from $2,000 to $10,000 and are based on your organization’s annual budget. Please note that we will not provide a grant that is greater than 10% of your annual operating budget from the most recently completed fiscal year.

Click here if you are a 2013 CityArts Grant recipient.

Application Assistance Workshops

Prior to the opening of the 2014 CityArts grant application period, the DCASE Cultural Grants Team will offer five workshops for potential applicants. Workshops will review updates to grant guidelines and review criteria, and provide tips and guidance to help applicants to prepare the strongest, most competitive applications possible. All applicants, regardless of having previously applied for or received a DCASE Cultural Grant, are encouraged to attend. The schedule is as follows:

Please note a few workshop dates have changed and are listed below in red.

• Wednesday, January 15, 12 pm – 2 pm: 1st floor Garland Room
• Wednesday, January 15, 5 pm – 7 pm: 1st floor Garland Room
• Thursday, January 16, 10 am – 12 pm: 1st floor Garland Room·        
• Thursday, January 16, 2 pm – 4 pm: 1st floor Garland Room
• Wednesday, January 22, 1 pm – 3 pm: 1st floor Garland Room

***Note that all workshops will take place at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington Street.

Register to attend

Grant Writing 101 Webinar: How to write a competitive fundable grant

Date: Wed, January 8 - 12:00pm Central

Price: $77

Length: 90 minutes

Course Level: Beginner

Participating in “Grant Writing 101: How to Write a Competitive Fundable Grant” will provide you with the basic knowledge and understanding of crafting the numerous components of a grant application that will be successful in securing funding.

In this live, interactive webinar we will discuss how to create compelling grant application elements that tell a story. We will focus on how to use the common key elements to create a competitive grant application that tells a story which engages the grant reviewer and clearly outlines how you will use the requested grant funds to achieve the stated goals and objectives. We will look at individual samples of previous applications and discuss how to strengthen them in order to be more competitive and more successful in securing grant awards.

Participating in “Grant Writing 101: How to Write a Competitive Fundable Grant” will give you a strong framework for your grant writing efforts to ensure that you are putting together highly competitive grant applications and ultimately achieving your desired grant funding success.

What You Will Learn from this Live Interactive Webinar:

• How grant applications vary by funder type
• What are the common key elements of a grant proposal
• How to develop an initial outline for a grant application

How to create compelling grant application elements that tells a story including:

• Cover
• Executive Summary
• Statement of Need
• Project Description
• Budget
• Organization Capacity

How grant funder research and relationship building is related to writing the grant

This Webinar is Perfect For You If…
You are new or relatively new to the field of grant seeking; or
You are looking to increase your success percentage and craft more competitive grant applications.

This Webinar Includes the Following Supporting Materials:
A proposal development tool to help create your grant outline.
A checklist for success to use before submitting all grant applications.
A free 30 minute follow-up consultation with Diane about your specific questions or concerns about writing a competitive fundable grant application.

REGISTER: http://www.charityhowto.com/nonprofit_webinar/How-to-Write-Grants 

Presented by Grant Writing Expert Diane H. Leonard, GPCDiane H. Leonard, GPC is an experienced and highly respected grant professional who has provided grant development counsel to nonprofit organizations of varying size and scope for more than a decade. Clients she serves include health care providers, advocacy organizations, social services agencies, elementary and secondary schools, and municipal corporations. Diane is an active member of the Grant Professionals Association and is proud to have earned her Grant Professional Certification, a credentialed certification conferred by the Grant Professional Credential Institute.

Author: Diane Leonard
Category: Nonprofit Grants
Course Level: Beginner

Grant opportunities from the Arts Work Fund

There are two grant opportunities available from the Arts Work Fund to support the capacity building needs small arts and cultural organizations

1. Capacity Building grant program

2. Building Capacity in Culturally Diverse Arts Organizations grant program ( for organizations that have no previously received AWF funding)

Qualifications:

·         A mission primarily focused on presenting, producing, or providing arts programming and/or on serving  artists or small arts and cultural organizations

·         A three-year operating history after incorporation as an Illinois nonprofit

·         At least one paid part-time staff and a minimum of five board members

·         Located in and serving Chicago or Cook County

·         Most recently completed fiscal year expenses between $50,000-$800,000

Full details available at www.artsworkfund.org.

Proposal deadline: January 15, 2014

Questions: call Marcia Festen @ 773-296-2601 or email marcia@artsworkfund.org

Proposal Writing 101 - January 23, 2014

When: January 23
Time: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Location: TBA
Fees: $ 150 Discounted fee for Forum Partners, Members, and Associate Members; $ 250 standard rate
Register Here

This full-day introductory workshop focuses on positioning your organization to prepare, write, and submit successful proposals to foundations and corporations. Through detailed instruction as well as small-group exercises and peer review, you'll learn how to craft each of the seven essential elements of a winning proposal. We'll also explore what it takes to build a close partnership with your funders to achieve fundraising goals. This session includes a unique opportunity to hear from, learn, and ask questions of a panel of funders.

Webinar: Using Census Data to Get Grants

Wednesday, June 26, 2013
2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
FREE
Register

The basis for any successful grant proposal is objective evidence that a vital community need exists. This is why the best American fundraisers are intimately familiar with the US Census Bureau website, including AmericanFactFinder and mapping tools.

This workshop is intended for those who either are new to the US Census site, are confused by its new format or haven't had time to learn about the wide array of data and services offered at the site.

Takeaways:

• How to efficiently conduct simple and advanced searches to quickly find the Census information that you need.
• A fundamental understanding of the array of data available on the US Census website.
• Free resources that you and your colleagues can utilize to become even more of a data expert.
• Tips on processing the data you obtain from the Census site.

Speaker: Mark Goldstein, CFRE is President and CEO of Communication Mark consulting in Arden, NC. Mr. Goldstein is most sought after as an expert proposal writer and project strategist. He is the creator of Open Communication Fundraising Model, a system that enables all nonprofit agency stakeholders to effectively work together toward organizational and fundraising goals.