IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Electronic application through Grants.gov is MANDATORY

a. Legal Name: The name provided here must be the applicant's legal name as it appears in the current IRS 501(c)(3) status letter or in the official document that identifies the organization as a unit of state or local government, or as a federally recognized tribal community or tribe. (Do not use your organization's popular name, if different.)

b. Address:

Use Street 1 for your street address or post office box number, whichever is used for your U.S. Postal Service mailing address. Street 2 is not a required field and should be used only when a Suite or Room Number or other similar information is a necessary part of your address. Do not use Street 2 to give a second address for your organization.

In the Zip/Postal Code box, organizations in the United States should enter the full 9-digit zip code that was assigned by the U.S. Postal Service. If you do not know your full zip code, you may look it up at www.usps.com/zip4/.

d. Type of Applicant: Select the item that best characterizes your organization from the menu in the first drop down box. Additional choices are optional.

e. Employer/Taxpayer Identification Number (EIN/TIN): Enter the 9-digit number that was assigned by the Internal Revenue Service; do not use a Social Security Number.

f. Organizational DUNS: All organizational applicants for federal funds must have a DUNS number, which is recognized as the universal standard for identifying organizations worldwide. The number that you enter here must agree with the number (either 9 or 13 digits) that you used with the SAM (System for Award Management) as part of the Grants.gov registration. Otherwise, your application will not be validated by Grants.gov and will be rejected.

g. Congressional District: Enter the number of the Congressional District where the applicant organization is located. Use the following format: 2 character State Abbreviation-3 character District Number. For example, if your organization is located in the 5th Congressional District of California, enter "CA-005." If your state has a single At-Large Representative or your territory has a single Delegate, enter your 2 character state/territory abbreviation and "-000." If you need help determining your district, go to www.house.gov and use the "Find Your Representative" tool.

a. Project Title: Provide a brief descriptive title for your proposed project.

b. Project Description: In two or three brief sentences, clearly describe your specific project, not your organization. Begin the first sentence with "To support" and include the name of the project. Follow this with up to two more sentences that describe the type of project, the target population that will be served, and where the project will take place. For examples, see Recent Grants.

Please note:

This field on the form has a character limit of 1,000. Even if you have less than 1,000 characters, Grants.gov may translate special characters (e.g., apostrophes) in a way that will cause your application to be rejected. This can happen if you copy from an old application package or another document and paste into the form. We strongly encourage you to write a succinct project description and double check the number of characters.

c. Proposed Project Start Date/End Date: Enter the beginning and ending dates for your requested period of support, i.e., the span of time necessary to plan, execute, and close out your proposed project. The start date should be the first day of the month, and the end date should be the last day of the month. The Arts Endowment's support of a project may start on September 1, 2013, or any time thereafter. A grant period of up to two years is allowed.

Provide the requested information for the Project Director. Select a Prefix (e.g., Ms., Mr.) even though this is not a required field.

Provide contact information, including an e-mail address, that will be valid through the announcement date for your category.

Provide the requested information for the individual who should be contacted on all matters involving this application and the administration of any grant that may be awarded. The Primary Contact/Grant Administrator identified here will be the person who will receive information for accessing NEA-GO to upload your electronic work samples. For colleges and universities, this person is often a Sponsored Research, Sponsored Programs, or Contracts and Grants Officer. Select a Prefix even though this is not a required field. For the Telephone number field, use the following format: 000-000-0000.

In some organizations, particularly smaller ones, this individual may be the same as the Project Director. If this is the case, you may check the "Same as Project Director" box and not repeat information that you have already provided in Item 7. (If the Primary Contact/Grant Administrator is the same as the Authorized Representative, please complete all items under both 8 and 9 even though there will be some repetition.)

Enter the requested information for the AOR (Authorized Organization Representative) who will be submitting this application to Grants.gov. Select a Prefix even though this is not a required field. The AOR must have the legal authority to obligate your organization. By clicking the "I Agree" box at the top of Item 9, this individual will be certifying compliance with relevant federal requirements on your organization's behalf. (These requirements can be found in the "Assurance of Compliance" section of these guidelines.) The "Signature of Authorized Representative" and "Date Signed" boxes will be populated by Grants.gov upon submission of the application.

To this button, attach a one-page Organizational Background statement. The file name should indicate the name of your organization or a recognizable acronym followed by "OrgBackground.pdf" (e.g., "ABCDanceCoOrgBackground.pdf" or "StateUnivPerfArtsCenterOrgBackground.pdf").

This document should describe the lead applicant and its primary partner. Other partners can be described in the project narrative and in the statements of commitment.

This statement should cover the points below; use the following headings and letters to organize your response.

• Date organization was incorporated. If not applicable, omit.

• Mission/purpose of your organization: Briefly summarize the mission and purpose of your organization. For organizations whose work extends beyond the cultural sphere (e.g., universities, human service agencies), summarize your mission as it pertains to your public cultural programs or services.

• Organization overview: Address the following:

  1. An overview of your organization's activities.

  2. Some specific examples of previous activities that demonstrate your organization's ability to carry out the project for which you are requesting support

  3. The size and general demographics (e.g., ethnicity, income, age) of the community/region/audience that you serve. If you are a membership organization, indicate the number of individuals or organizations that you serve.

  4. A description of any special efforts that your organization is making to reach a broad segment of the community.

To this button, attach your Project Narrative of no more than three pages. (Excess pages will be removed and not be reviewed.) The file name should indicate the name of your organization or a recognizable acronym followed by "Narrative.pdf."

Your narrative can be a maximum of three pages, but keep in mind that the Arts Endowment and its panelists prefer succinct descriptions. Organize your response a), b), c), etc., and use the boldfaced language below as headings for each item. For example, "a) Major project activities. The ABC city's project type is..."

The information that you provide will be reviewed in accordance with the "Review Criteria. "Your narrative should address each of these "Review Criteria" and include information on the following, as relevant to your project. Ensure that your descriptions are consistent with the information that you provide on the NEA Organization & Project Profile form.

If any of this activity is included in a current NEA application or award, include the applicable application or award number, and clearly state that you are not requesting funding for the same activity. NOTE: You may not receive more than one Arts Endowment grant for the same expenses. There can be no overlapping project costs within the submitted budget with other federally sponsored projects.

Include information on:

1. Major project activities. Begin your narrative by stating one project type or activity from the list below that best describes your project:

• Creative asset mapping.
• Cultural district planning.
• The development of master plans or community-wide strategies for public art.
• Creative entrepreneurship.
• Creative industry cluster/hub development.
• Spaces for artists.
• Cultural spaces.
• Public spaces.
• Community engagement design activities.
• Innovative arts programming that fosters community interaction.
• Festivals or performances in spaces not normally used for such purposes.
• Public art.

Follow your project type with a detailed description of the project activities that will take place during the requested period of support. Be as specific as possible about actual activities and describe them in full. Do not merely describe the vision or long-term goals for the project. Discuss your action plan and the creative placemaking strategies that will be implemented, including the approach to civic development. If available, provide evidence of community demand for the project. Include information on the location(s) of the proposed activity and any special resources that will be used. Describe the process and criteria for the selection of artists, design professionals, organizations, and/or artworks if they are not already identified. If your project will involve physical objects, spaces, or facilities, provide information about how they will be managed and maintained during the project's development and after the project is complete. You may present information about a broader initiative, if applicable, but be very specific about the phase(s) of your project that are included in your request for funding (e.g., “funding is being requested for 'B' of 'ABC' activity).

2. Goals and impact. Describe your goals in undertaking the project and what you hope to achieve. Discuss the anticipated impact on the community's livability, and, if possible, how the project can serve as a model for other communities. If this is a continuing project, include evidence of the impact achieved for the community. Include any social, cultural, and/or economic impact data so far collected and analyzed.

3. Outcome(s) and Measurements. Discuss how your project directly addresses the NEA outcome for Livability: Strengthening communities through the arts. You may also address a secondary NEA outcome (Creation, Engagement, or Learning) and/or any additional outcomes of your own that you have established for the project. Ensure that the outcome(s) you address here is the one you select on the NEA Organization & Project Profile form.

   Detail the performance measurements that you will use to provide evidence that the NEA outcome was achieved.

4. Budget. State the amount that you are requesting ($25,000, $50,000, $75,000, $100,000, $150,000, or $200,000). If your project budget is more than your operating budget, discuss your capacity to undertake the project. Provide a general outline of the project budget, and describe community funding support for the project and your strategy for maintaining the work of the project. Remember that all grants require a nonfederal match of at least 1 to 1, which must be reflected in your total project budget. For example, if you request a $50,000 grant, the total eligible project costs must be at least $100,000 and you must provide at least $50,000 toward the project from nonfederal sources.

5. Schedule of key project dates by month, quarter, or year. Include benchmarks or deliverables as appropriate to your project. A grant period of up to two years is allowed. If you include activities that occur before the earliest allowable project start date, make sure you note that those activities and costs are not included in the project request on the Project Budget form.

6. Partners, key organizations, individuals, and works of art that will be involved in the project. Begin by identifying the two primary partners and provide details on how you will work together to provide leadership for the project. State which of the two primary partners satisfies the cultural (arts or design) requirement. List additional partners for the project and note whether they are committed to or merely proposed for the project. Describe the responsibilities of your other partners and the resources that all partners will provide. Indicate any artists, design professionals, other individuals, nonprofit or commercial organizations, or works of art that will be involved in the project, and note whether they are committed to or merely proposed for the project. Describe the process and criteria for their selection and how artistic excellence will be ensured. Where relevant, describe their involvement in the development of the project to date. Where key individuals or organizations remain to be selected, it is critical that you describe the selection procedures that you plan to follow and the qualifications that you seek.

7. The target community. Describe the target community that will benefit from the project. Provide population data for the target community; if actual figures or reasonable estimates can be secured, indicate the number of people the project will serve. Ensure that your estimates are consistent with the information that you provide on the NEA Organization & Project Profile form. Discuss in detail the ways you plan to engage the target community. Have you worked with this target community before? Has the target community been or will they be involved in the planning for and implementation of the project? Describe any underserved groups or areas that will benefit. If you are targeting underserved groups or areas, be sure to state how you plan on serving or accessing those communities.

8. Plans for promoting and publicizing the proposed project during the period of support. Be specific about the audience(s) that you want to reach and the strategies and tactics that you will use to communicate your project to them.

9. Plans for documenting and evaluating the project. Describe the methods you will use to measure progress and deliverables during the project period. If applicable, include the metrics or indicators that you will use to identify and evaluate the project's short-term and long-term impact on your community's livability.

10. Accessibility. Will the project be accessible to individuals with disabilities in compliance with federal law and regulations? Explain how you will make your project accessible through access accommodations for both facilities and programs, such as audio description, sign-language interpretation, closed or open captioning, large-print brochures/labeling, etc. See the Nondiscrimination Statutes in "Assurance of Compliance" for more information. (For technical assistance on how to make your project fully accessible, contact the Arts Endowment's Accessibility Office at accessibility@arts.gov, 202/682-5532, or 202/682-5496 Voice/T.T.Y. or the Civil Rights Office at 202/682-5454 or 202/682-5695 Voice/T.T.Y.)

11. If your organization received a Mayors' Institute on City Design 25th Anniversary Initiative grant or an Our Town grant for FY 2011, provide the grant number and a brief status report on the project to date Include your grant number. (NOTE for Mayors' Institute on City Design 25th Anniversary Initiative grantees: Your final report must be submitted by June 1, 2013, before you may receive an FY 2013 Our Town grant.)

To this button, attach the Project Budget form, Pages 1 and 2. The file name should indicate the name of your organization or a recognizable acronym followed by "ProjectBudget.pdf." (If you wish to submit a copy of your own project budget, you may do so; see Attachment 8. Your own project budget may not be submitted in lieu of the required form.)

REMINDER: All costs included in your Project Budget must be expended within your period of support.

Amount requested from the Arts Endowment: State the amount that you are requesting: $25,000, $50,000, $75,00, $100,000, $150,000, or $200,000. If you are recommended for less than the amount that you request you will be asked to revise your project budget. The Arts Endowment reserves the right to limit its support of a project to a particular portion(s) or cost(s).

Total match for this project: The Arts Endowment requires each applicant to obtain at least half the total cost of each project from nonfederal sources. For example, if you receive a $50,000 grant, your total project costs must be at least $100,000 and you must provide at least $50,000 toward the project from nonfederal sources. Matches of more than dollar for dollar are encouraged. These matching funds may be all cash or a combination of cash and in-kind contributions.

Place an asterisk (*) next to those funds that are committed or secured.

You may include matching funds that are proposed but not yet committed at the time of the application deadline. If you use in-kind contributions as part of your match, you need to maintain proper documentation. For help in doing this, see our sample format for recording in-kind (third-party) contributions (PDF).

No matching funds can be from federal sources. This restriction includes state or locally distributed funds that originate from a federal agency (such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or the U. S. Department of Transportation). While these funds may be leveraged for related activities or phases of your project, they can't appear in your Our Town project budget as either income or expenses.

Costs associated with other federal funds, whether direct or indirect (e.g., flow down through a state arts agency) can't be included in your Project Budget.

For line items greater than $50,000, provide details of what is included. You may do this by listing a larger heading, followed by a breakdown of what is included in the total. For example. “$50,000 for X (includes a, b, c, d, e, f, etc.)”

NOTE: The Arts Endowment does not fund the construction, purchase, or renovation of facilities. Do not include these costs in the Project Budget Form as either income or expenses.

Examples of unallowable costs:

• The purchase costs of facilities or land.
• Costs to prepare land for a facility, park, or streetscape.
• Physical construction or renovation, unrelated to the installation of public art.
• Equipment rental to build a facility or park.

Examples of allowable costs:

• Community planning.
• Design fees.
• Artist fees.
• Costs to prepare a site for an art work such as slabs or pedestals and landscaping.
• Equipment rental to set an art work.
• Space rental for an event.

To this button, attach the Financial Information form. The file name should indicate the name of your organization or a recognizable acronym followed by "FinancialInfo.pdf."

This document should reflect the financial information of the lead applicant only. In the case of a city, limit this information to the department or office that will oversee the proposed project. For cities, footnotes may be helpful to explain the relationship that the department or office has with the larger city.

To this button, attach no more than three pages that contain the biographies of key project personnel. The file name should indicate the name of your organization or a recognizable acronym followed by "Bios.pdf." Label clearly each item. Excess pages will be removed and not be reviewed.

Submit only succinct narrative biographies. Do not submit resumes or CVs.

Key personnel can be staff, consultants, advisors, artists, designers – anyone who will be a key contributor to the success of your proposed project, regardless of their organizational affiliation. It is up to you to determine which individuals will best represent your project. Biographies should demonstrate that the individuals have the experience necessary to achieve excellence in the project.

To this button, attach no more than one page that contains a list of current board members. The file name should indicate the name of your organization or a recognizable acronym followed by "BoardList.pdf." Label clearly each item.

Submit only a list. Do not submit information in any other format.

This item is not required where the local government is the lead applicant. A list of board members for the primary partner may be submitted if relevant to your proposed project, but is not required.

Do not include private information such as home addresses, phone numbers, etc.

To this button attach the Consortium Partner Information form. This form must include the name of the Authorizing Official for your partner, but no signature is necessary. The file name of your attachment should indicate the name of your organization (not your partner) or a recognizable acronym followed by "ConsortiumPartner.pdf."

Have the required primary partner complete this form as the consortium member.

All applications must have partnerships that involve two primary partners: a nonprofit organization and a local governmental entity. One of the two primary partners must act as the official applicant (lead applicant). This form is used to provide us with information about the primary partner who is not the lead applicant.

Example:

A nonprofit organization is the lead applicant and one of the two primary partners. A local government is the required second primary partner, and not the lead applicant.

In this case, the nonprofit organization as the lead applicant will complete the majority of the application. The local government as the required primary partner will fill out the Consortium Partner Information Form.

If you wish to submit a copy of a differently formatted budget (e.g., one created for your own planning purposes), attach it to this button. There is no form or format for this optional attachment. The file name should indicate the name of your organization or a recognizable acronym followed by "SepBudget.pdf." Limit this to a maximum of three pages.

To this button, attach a list of selected Programmatic Activities for the past three years. The file name should indicate the name of your organization or a recognizable acronym followed by "ProgActivities.pdf."

Submit an edited representative list, in chronological order, dating back no further than 2009. Include a collective history of programming by all partners for the proposed project in a single document. This history can include past work or activities that are relevant to your proposed project, and does not have to be arts programming in the traditional sense (exhibition, performance, lecture, etc.). Think of this attachment as an opportunity to show that you and your partners have the experience and capacity to carry out the proposed project.

You may submit no more than three pages. Excess pages will be removed and not be reviewed.

Submit only a list. Do not submit information in any other format.

Use the bullets below as a guide to possible column headings for your list; adjust them as appropriate for your organization.

• Year: 2010-11, 2011-12, or 2012-13. For organizations that schedule activities according to a single calendar year, use 2010, 2011, or 2012.
• The titles of the works/productions/exhibitions or of the program or project.
• Key Artist(s)/Personnel. This may include a creator or project head such as a choreographer, composer, playwright, performing artist, arts specialist, teacher, etc. Also list any key personnel such as director, conductor, etc.
• The location of the activity.
• Dates of the activity and the number of performances/classes/events/exhibitions.
• Attendance and, where available, percent of capacity figures.
• Fees paid to artists/companies. (Use average or aggregate fees where appropriate.)

Example:
A performing arts group might fill out its representative list as follows: