ArtSTART

March 24, 2023 | Agency Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra with Mark Thress. Image by Lindsey McCutchan General Project Support for Organizations The ArtSTART program provides flexible, accessible funding to help organizations complete short-term projects addressing a wide variety of goals and objectives. Most awards support the programming of new or emerging organizations, including first-time OAC applicants, as well as new or established organizations in areas not served by other arts providers. GRANT AWARDS Applicants may request up to $5,000. All awards require a 1:1 cash match. ArtSTART 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, 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. Organizations receiving support through the Sustainability or Statewide Arts Service Organizations programs are ineligible to apply. HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS ArtSTART grants are one-year awards for organizational project support. Funds may be used for a wide variety of expenses in an organization’s overall operations, or in the execution of a given activity or suite of related activities. Many grantees use ArtSTART funds to support artistic expenses, but other allowable expenses include marketing, program planning, education, administrative expenses, and evaluation. The budget section of the ArtSTART application provides a full list of allowable expense areas. Please refer to Appendix A for other OAC funding restrictions that may affect your project’s eligibility. Sample activities might include: dance performances at a community arts festival exhibition costs for a seasonal visual arts show/exhibition printing costs for a community theatre’s large print programs and a sign language interpreter a weekly summer concert series production of a new literary journal an annual theatre production featuring local performers the yearlong suite of arts programming of a non-arts organization 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 award 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 ArtSTART program applications 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 award through this program. EVALUATION AND SCORING A panel of arts and cultural professionals, educators, artists, and other community members evaluate and score ArtSTART 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 funding recommendations. 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 (10 points) Artists, educators, and organization staff/contractors are qualified and reflect the demographic diversity of the community(s) being served Activities of high artistic, educational, and/or cultural value will be offered Community Engagement (15 points) Promotional methods to engage the community will be appropriate and effective Intentional efforts will be made to engage with historically underrepresented populations Community will benefit from the proposed project Defining and Measuring Success (20 points) Programming is guided by careful planning in line with the organization's size and capacity Planning is inclusive of a diverse range of perspectives including members of the community(s) being served Project goals are defined Plans are in place to determine how successfully the project achieved established goals Resource Management (15 points) Organizational leadership has appropriate skills and knowledge to administer the project and reflects the demographic diversity of the community(s) being served Income and/or in-kind contributions will come from a mix of sources appropriate to the community Planned spending is aligned to proposal narrative TIMELINE The following timeline outlines the ArtSTART grant lifecycle. Any deadline falling on a Saturday, Sunday, or state holiday, is extended until the next business day. FY 2026 Application