Title
Fiscal Year 2017-18 Community Arts Support Grant Allocations (Ordinance S-43805)
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 (FY) 2017-18 General Operating Support Level I, Level II and Level III, Rental Support Program, Festivals, and Arts Learning grants in an aggregate amount of $865,346. 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 levels of General Operating Support grants, Rental Support grants for arts organizations that are primary users of City-owned performance venues, and project grant requests in Arts Learning and Festivals categories. To be eligible for any category of funding, an organization must be a registered nonprofit 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. All grant category applications for the Community Arts Support Grants Program were due to the Office of Arts and Culture on March 30, 2017.
Funding allocations totaling $865,346 are requested for 63 grants to 54 organizations funded in the six grant categories (Attachment A).
General Operating Support Level I and Level II 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 Level I, 11 organizations are recommended for funding totaling $348,499. In 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.
General Operating Support Level III grantees receive a flat $5,000 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 nine organizations are recommended for funding totaling $45,000. For GOS Level III, the organization must have an operating budget of at least $25,000 and submit a Data Arts funders report.
Arts Learning Partnership grants support lifelong learning in the arts through projects by arts or cultural organizations in partnership with schools, businesses, social-service organizations, parks, recreational centers, libraries, senior centers, and more. Projects can serve youth, adults, seniors, veterans, intergenerational groups, and others who benefit from arts experiences. These applications were ranked by a panel using the following criteria:
1) Artistic Quality (25 percent)
2) Partner's Engagement Quality (25 percent)
3) Project Partnership Logistics (25 percent)
4) Budget/Administrative Ability (25 percent)
Seven organizations are recommended for funding totaling $20,350. Three first-time applicants were funded in the category.
Festival grant awards support public festivals that highlight an arts or cultural discipline, or a multi-disciplinary celebration of a specific culture. Festival applicants were ranked using the following criteria:
1) Artistic Quality (25 percent)
2) Festival Quality (25 percent)
3) Community Engagement Quality (25 percent)
4) Budget/Administrative Ability (25 percent)
Thirteen organizations are recommended for funding totaling $39,150. Two first-time applicants were funded in the category.
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's operating budget, and $100,000 in general purpose funds. Rental Support grant funds are released in three installments and are restricted to pay rental costs for performances in the eligible facilities. Payments are made in installments so that adjustments can be made to allocations reflecting increases or decreases in the actual number of performances booked as the season progresses. Seven organizations are recommended for funding totaling $225,000. Deputy City Manager Paul Blue and the Phoenix Convention Center concur with the proposed Rental Support grant allocations.
Organizations without tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code may apply to the Arts Learning or Festival 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 partnership, establish relationships between large and small organizations in the hope that additional partnering opportunities and resource sharing may develop.
The FY 2017-18 Budget approved on June 21, 2017, includes an increase of $20,000 to the grants program budget. This additional $20,000 will be allocated for youth-oriented programming through a new grant-making process in fall 2017.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
The Phoenix Arts and Culture Commission approved the FY 2017-18 Community Arts Grants Program allocation recommendations at a meeting held on May 16, 2017. The Parks, Arts, Education and Equality Subcommittee recommend City Council approval of this item on June 28, 2017, 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.