Title
Fiscal Year 2018-19 Community Arts Support Grant Allocations (Ordinance S-44881)
Description
Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute all necessary agreements between the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture and approved applicants for Fiscal Year 2018-19 A+CCESS Level I, Level II, A+CTION operating support, Rental Support, Collaborative Communities and Youth Arts and Culture Engagement grant categories in an aggregate amount of $915,346. Further request authorization for the City Controller to disburse all funds related to this item.
Report
Summary
The Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture has administered the Community Arts Support Grants Program since 1986. The program includes three tiers of Operating Support grants, Rental Support grants for arts organizations that are primary users of city-owned performance venues, and Project Grant requests in the Collaborative Communities and Youth Engagement categories. To be eligible for any category of funding, an organization must be a registered non-profit arts or cultural organization, must have tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and must provide a cultural service to Phoenix residents.
Funding allocations totaling $915,346 are requested for 72 grants to 60 organizations funded through A+CCESS I, A+CCESS II, A+CTION, Rental Support, Youth Arts and Culture Engagement and Collaborative Communities grants categories (Attachment A). Applications for all grant categories of the Community Arts Support Grants Program were due to the Office of Arts and Culture on March 23, 2018.
A+CCESS (Arts + Culture Community Engagement Service Support) operating support grant allocations consist of a base award and a merit award. The base awards represent a percentage of an organization's three-year average contributed and earned income. The merit award is determined by the ranking an organization receives during the panel review of the following criteria:
1) Artistic/Program Value (30 percent)
2) Public Value (30 percent)
3) Financial Position (20 percent)
4) Diversity Initiatives (10 percent)
5) Administration/Governance (10 percent)
In A+CCESS Level I, 11 organizations are recommended for funding totaling $336,934. In A+CCESS Level II, 16 organizations are recommended for funding totaling $187,347. To qualify for Level I category funding, the organization must have an operating budget of at least $2,500,000, must employ a paid professional, full-time manager, and must provide an audited financial statement for the last completed fiscal year. For Level II, the organization must have an operating budget of at least $250,000, must employ a full-time manager, and must provide a reviewed or audited financial statement for the last completed fiscal year.
A+CTION (Arts + Culture Targeted Infrastructure and Organizational Needs) operating support grantees receive a flat $7,000 award. Applicants in this category are ranked by a panel review of the following criteria:
1) Artistic/Program Value (20 percent)
2) Growth/Sustainability (20 percent)
3) Public Value (20 percent)
4) Diversity (20 percent)
5) Administration/Governance (20 percent)
A total of 13 organizations are recommended for funding totaling $91,000. For A+CTION grantees, the organization must have an operating budget of at least $25,000 and submit a Data Arts funders report.
Collaborative Communities project grants are designed to encourage arts and cultural organizations to collaborate with one or more schools, businesses, social-service organizations, parks, recreation centers, libraries, senior centers or any other community center or organization that would benefit from the collaboration. These applications were ranked by a panel using the following criteria:
1) Artistic Quality (25 percent)
2) Collaborative Engagement Quality (25 percent)
3) Project Logistics (25 percent)
4) Budget/Administrative Ability (25 percent)
Nineteen organizations are recommended for funding totaling $55,065.
Last year, City Council added $20,000 to the Community Arts Support program budget to support projects targeting youth. The Youth Arts and Culture Engagement grant category supports projects proposed by youth-led arts advisory boards, councils, groups, clubs or similar organizations within arts or cultural organizations. The program is administered by the Youth Arts and Culture Council of the Office of Arts and Culture. Applicants were ranked using the following criteria:
1) Artistic Quality (33 percent)
2) Youth Engagement Quality (33 percent)
3) Budget (33 percent)
The grant is offered bi-annually, at the beginning of the school year and mid-year. Four applications are recommended for funding in the first round for a total of $8,300. A second round of funding in the amount $11,700 will be allocated in the fall.
To qualify for Rental Support Program grants, arts organizations must use the Orpheum Theatre, Symphony Hall, or Herberger Theater for a minimum of 15 performances per fiscal year, and must demonstrate financial and/or organizational need for the support. The Rental Support Program allocations of $225,000 include $125,000 of funding budgeted in the Phoenix Convention Center Department's operating budget, and $100,000 in general purpose funds. Rental Support grant funds are released in three installments and are restricted to payment of rental costs for performances in the eligible facilities. Payments are made in installments so that adjustments can be made to allocations reflecting increases and decreases in the actual number of performances booked as the season progresses. Two new organizations joined the Herberger Theater this season as primary users, resulting in a total of nine organizations recommended for funding totaling $225,000.
Organizations without tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code may apply to the project categories using a Fiscal Agent with tax-exempt status. The organization serving as fiscal agent must be an arts or cultural organization. This policy allows the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture to broaden the reach of the grant program to small, emerging arts and cultural organizations and, through the fiscal agent partnership, establish relationships between large and small organizations in the hope that traditional partnering opportunities and resource sharing may develop.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
The Phoenix Arts and Culture Commission is scheduled to review and approve the FY 2018-19 Community Arts Grants Program allocation recommendations at its meeting on June 19, 2018. The Parks, Arts, Education and Equality Subcommittee recommended this item for City Council approval at its June 27, 2018, meeting by a vote of 3-0.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Karen Peters and the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture.