Arts Partnership

April 13, 2023 | Agency In Education Inc., Students Pottery Throwing Support for Arts Education Projects The Arts Partnership program supports arts education projects that address the needs of individual learners and their communities. Grant recipients engage in collaborative planning with partners, emphasize in-depth study of the arts, and use arts learning outcomes and standards-based arts education practices. GRANT AWARDS Applicants may request up to $25,000. All awards require a 1:1 cash match. Grantees generally receive a portion of their request relative to their application score. ELIGIBILITY All applicants must possess nonprofit status or nonprofit intent. Applicants may be: 1) arts and cultural organizations in any arts discipline (literature, performing arts, visual arts, traditional arts, music, media arts, multidisciplinary arts, etc.); 2) other organizations that provide arts programming (government entities, social service agencies, etc.); or 3) educational organizations (public, private, charter, and parochial schools from pre-kindergarten through university level) that demonstrate a commitment to arts programming in a larger community setting. Projects should supplement but not supplant an existing school program, including any after-school component of a curricular, co-curricular, or extracurricular school activity. Please refer to Appendix A for other OAC funding restrictions that may affect your project’s eligibility. HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS Arts Partnership grants are two-year awards for project-based arts learning activities. This program supports Ohio schools and organizations that plan and conduct projects with arts learning at their core. Many grantees use funding to support artistic or educational expenses. Other allowable expenses include program planning and evaluation. The budget section of the Arts Partnership application provides a full list of allowable expense areas. Ancillary activities including tickets to performances, travel, and final production expenses (e.g., costumes, fairs and festivals, awards programs, etc.) should only be included in project costs when they are integral to project goals. Sample activities might include: Enhancing skills or knowledge necessary for learners of any age to engage in the arts Developing virtual programming to better serve online learners Providing professional development that prepare educators to engage arts learners Conducting research to advance knowledge about best practices in arts education Planning work to expand access to arts learning in schools and communities Artmaking with older adults After accepting the grant award in ARTIE, grantees may request a partial payment of 50% of their total grant award. To request a partial payment, grantees must complete an online request certifying that the grant activity has been partially completed and expenses have been incurred. No partial payments will be made within two months of the ending date on the grant agreement. Final payment of the grant will be processed once a final report is received and approved. OAC staff may request additional information regarding grant activities prior to approving the final payment. HOW TO APPLY All applications to the Arts Partnership program must be submitted via the ARTIE system. Please refer to Appendix F for a step-by-step look at applying for, accepting, and managing a grant through this program. Off-Year Update Deadline: February 1 of even-numbered years only (e.g., 2026, 2028) Arts Partnership grants are two years in duration, meaning there is no application review prior to the second year of the award. However, grantees must submit a summary of upcoming programming and updated budget information for the second year of their grant by the off-year deadline. EVALUATION AND SCORING A panel of arts and cultural professionals, educators, artists, and other community members evaluate and score Arts Partnership grant applications. Panel meetings are open to the public through a free video conferencing platform. Representatives of applying organizations are strongly encouraged to listen online. For details on panel meeting dates, times, and instructions for participating, visit the OAC online grants calendar. During the panel meeting, panelists discuss how well each application satisfies the program’s evaluation criteria. Panelists highlight strengths and weaknesses, discussing all aspects of the application and its support materials. Following the public discussion, each panelist provides a final score for each application. Later, OAC staff use averages of these scores to determine funding award recommendations. The OAC Board is the only body authorized to make final funding decisions and approve grant awards. The review process is competitive, and not all applications are funded. REVIEW CRITERIA Criteria are divided into four categories: Program Quality, Community Engagement, Defining and Measuring Success, and Resource Management. Criteria evidence may be found in any portion of an application or associated support materials. Each criterion is worth up to five points, for a maximum of 60 points. Program Quality (25 points) Arts learning experiences are sequential, in-depth, and high-quality, and emphasize developing the creative abilities of learners Artistic and educational programming evolves creatively to maintain relevance and vitality over time Educational materials reflect appropriateness for the target audience Artists, educators, and project staff/contractors are qualified and reflect the demographic diversity of the community(s) being served Activities reflect best practices in arts education and address relevant academic content standards Community Engagement (10 points) Intentional efforts will be made to engage with historically underrepresented populations Promotional methods to engage the community will be appropriate and effective Defining and Measuring Success (15 points) Project planning is informed by adequate need