Traditional Arts Sustainability Grants
In November 2010, ACTA awarded $210,000 in grants to eight nonprofit organizations in Monterey, Merced, Fresno, Kings and Kern Counties. These grants will provide core operating support and capacity building training and coaching over three years. These organizations focus their work in a wide array of ethnic communities and cultural expressions, including traditional Mexican dance, mariachi music, Hmong traditional music, Chicano theatre, and the preservation of native Kawaiisu languages and knowledge. Executive Director Amy Kitchener expressed, "We are honored to be the only arts organization chosen to regrant funds through the statewide Community Leadership Project cohort of 27 intermediaries. The TAS grants will not only provide operational support for these often undercapitalized exemplary organizations working in the folk & traditional arts, but the program will also enhance their staff’s ability to sustain their vital artistic programs in their communities for years to come.” ACTA's Traditional Arts Sustainability Grants are supported by a joint partnership between the David & Lucile Packard, James Irvine, and William & Flora Hewlett Foundations as part of their Community Leadership Project. | |
NOTE: The application cycle for the current round of Traditional Arts Sustainability Grants is now closed. The information below is provided for reference only. Please return to ACTA's website often for information about future iterations of the program. |
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Guidelines and Application:GUIDELINES APPLICATION
DescriptionThe Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA) has been selected by the Community Leadership Project (CLP)* as an intermediary organization to offer Traditional Arts Sustainability Grants (TAS) to support a diverse cohort of small and midsized culturally-driven organizations and community groups in the Central Coast and San Joaquin Valley who incorporate traditional arts or traditional artists† in their work. TAS support includes operational grants of up to $15,000 per year over three years, organizational development with nationally recognized consultants, and participation in an ongoing peer-learning cohort. The cohort is a three-year learning community focused on developing strategies to sustain participating organizations and their cultural work through renewable annual streams of income that come from grassroots fundraising and/or small business ventures. For more information, contact us at (415) 346-3800 or sherwood@actaonline.org.
GuidelinesWho can apply?• Nonprofit organizations primarily serving low income communities of color AND Who cannot apply?• Current grantees of the Community Leadership Project and the James P. Irvine Criteria• Commitment to and history of supporting traditional arts within the community Selection ProcessThe competitive selection process will occur in two stages. First Stage Applications—due on August 25—will be reviewed by local community advisors and ACTA staff based upon the above criteria. Finalists will be asked to be interviewed by ACTA staff over the telephone and submit full proposals (supplementary materials and any updates) by September 30. Notification will occur in October. Grantees will be required to attend the first cohort gathering in Fresno on December 4, 2010. Key Dates 2010• August 25 – First Stage Application Extended Deadline
ApplicationFirst Stage ApplicationExtended Deadline: August 25, 2010 Application must be submitted online (via Survey Monkey) by clicking here. If you have difficulty accessing the application online, please contact us at (415) 346-3800 or sherwood@actaonline.org. Once you access the online application, in addition to providing organizational information, you will be asked to answer the following questions: • What is your organization's track record and commitment for supporting Artistic Work Samples Artistic work samples play an important role in understanding your application. Send (by e-mail or online links) examples that best demonstrate the proposed artists’ skills and clearly show the details of the work. Choose samples that also best illuminate the traditionality of the artist and/or artist’s work. Approximately five minutes total of viewing or listening time will be allocated by the review panel to the artistic work samples that you submit. All work samples should be sent to sherwood@actaonline.org as links or attachments, with clear descriptions of what the samples represent. Include what the relationship of the sample is to the project you are proposing. For example, “This artist will be featured in the proposed exhibit, concert, festival, etc.” or “This is an example of the cultural programming our organization does.” Include when and where the sample(s) were created or performed. If your documentation includes ensemble work or other individuals, please identify the key people. For example, “The proposed artist is wearing a red shirt and enters from stage left,” or “The second voice on the selection is that of the lead artist,” or “The quilt in the middle is an example of our collective’s work.” For craft and visual arts projects: E-mail up to 12 jpegs. Please include an index with a brief description of the work. For music projects: Send via e-mail or as a link audio recordings. Provide a brief description of each selection along with its length and featured performers. For dance projects: Send via e-mail as a link (to YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) a work sample with a brief description of each selection. Letters of Support (Optional) You are invited to e-mail by PDF (scanned) up to three letters of support from the community or communities your organization serves, dated no later than August 25, 2010. Please mail us original hard copies to: ACTA, The Presidio, PO Box 29096, San Francisco, CA 94129 Full Proposal (Second Stage)Second Stage Postmark Deadline: September 30, 2010 In the event that you are selected to submit a full proposal, ACTA staff will set up a time to interview you by telephone, and you must submit by mail the following: • Organizational budget information
Hypotheses• The ways in which communities sustain and pass on their traditions, heritage and art forms offer compelling and instructive models of organizational sustainability can provide methods from which the non-profit and philanthropic sector can learn. • Contrary to the argument: “If activity is happening already without our funding, it doesn’t need our funding,” strategic funding to bolster existing traditional arts efforts is vital to develop, increase and sustain community-based traditional cultural activity. • Building capacity for traditional cultural activities is a vital strategy which positively impacts civic engagement, community organizing, community health, youth development, urban planning, leadership development and quality of life. • Investments in small organizations yield higher returns on investment. Smaller amounts of money can accomplish substantial outcomes.
* The Community Leadership Project (CLP) is a joint effort funded by three California foundations to strengthen grassroots organizations that serve low-income communities and communities of color. The David and Lucile Packard, James Irvine, and William and Flora Hewlett Foundations have long traditions of supporting diverse and low-income communities and, despite the impact of the current economic downturn on their assets, believe that such grantmaking remains critical to their missions. ‡ In some cases, TAS can support organizations or community groups who do not have a 501(c)3 but do have a fiscal sponsor. Please contact us at (415) 346-3800 or sherwood@actaonline.org to discuss this. Previous TAS ActivitiesOrganizational Sustainability WorkshopsOne of the intentions of ACTA’s Traditional Arts Sustainability Initiative is to increase the capacity of Central Coast and San Joaquin Valley-based traditional arts organizations to secure earned and contributed income from within and from outside their communities. As part of CLP efforts, ACTA offered a free workshop in Salinas, Fresno and online, available to all Central Coast and San Joaquin Valley organizations and community groups who integrate traditional arts and culture in their work. Central Coast Fresno Webinar The half-day workshop (or 90-minute webinar) is intended to be of value even for those groups who have struggled with seeking grants, are developing sustainable funding, or who choose not to pursue grants to develop alternate sources of earned and contributed income. Everyone participating will gain new skills that can be deployed immediately to increase revenues. The Obama Campaign was an inspiration to all (no matter your political affiliation) of the importance and strength of small and modest contributions from large numbers of people. We’ll discuss why these and similar methods are available to organizations and can be easily put to use. We recommend that, if possible, organizations have at least two people participate in the workshop, and that one of those people feels comfortable using tools available on the internet. |
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