Iowa Arts Jobs Preservation Grant

Grant Program Description

The Iowa Arts Jobs Preservation Grant (IAJPG) is made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Co-sponsored by the Iowa Arts Council and Arts Midwest, this program seeks to preserve Iowa jobs in the arts threatened by declines in philanthropic and other support during the current economic downturn. This program will be carried out through one-time, non-matching grants to eligible nonprofit organizations including arts and presenting organizations (See “Applicant Eligibility”).

Application Deadline

Mail to:
Department of Cultural Affairs, State of Iowa, 600
East Locust, Des Moines, Iowa, 50319-0290

Applications must be received in the IAC offices no later than 4:30pm June 1, 2009. This is not a postmark deadline.

Grant Amount

Organizations may request up to $25,000.

Period of Support

The funding period for this grant program is July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010. No expenses incurred before July 1, 2009 are allowable in the application budget.

Important note:  While the period of grant support can begin as early as July 1, applicants should NOT expect to be informed of a grant decision until mid-July, due to IAC, Arts Midwest, and NEA administrative timelines.  Please plan accordingly.

Request Eligibility

Requests are limited to:

1. Salary support, full or partial, for one or more existing positions that are critical to an organization's artistic mission and that are in jeopardy or have remained unfilled or been eliminated as a result of the current economic climate.

AND/OR

2. Fees for previously engaged* artists and/or contractual personnel to maintain or expand the period during which such persons would be engaged.

*Funding is to provide fee support for artists and/or contractual personnel already involved in activities that: 1) are underway, but threatened; 2) could benefit by being extended beyond the period that present finances allow; or 3) not underway but have received serious planning and have been put on hold or have been cancelled due to economics (in which case contracts would not yet have been signed). The intention is NOT to support the engagement of personnel for new projects.

Salaries, wages, fringe benefits, and fees that are incurred in connection with fundraising are not allowable requests for this program; however, requests are allowed for costs that represent the non-fundraising portion of a person’s time.

An organization may request funds for an existing critical position that is currently unfilled due to reasons related to the economic downturn.

Applicant Eligibility

Applicant must:

1. have operated in Iowa as an arts organization or arts presenting organization for at least three (3) years;
2. have submitted timely final reports for all previous grants received from the IAC, DCA, or Arts Midwest;
3. either:
   

   a. operate in Iowa as an arts organization, with its primary mission and purpose centered in the arts, either as a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization or a unit of city or county government (These applicants may request salary support AND/OR fees for artists.)

   OR

   b. operate in Iowa as an arts presenting organization, either as a tax-exempt and nonprofit organization, or as a unit of state, county, local, or tribal government. (These applicants may NOT request salary support but MAY request fees for artists.)

Not eligible to apply:

1. Individuals
2. Organizations that have an outstanding late Final Report to the IAC, DCA, or Arts Midwest for a previously funded grant
3. Organizations applying through a fiscal agent

Additional Limitations:

• Organizations may submit only one IAJPG application to the IAC.
• Organizations eligible to apply for ARRA funds directly from the NEA are encouraged to apply to both the NEA and the IAC/Arts Midwest, but are limited to receiving ARRA funds through only one source. The deadline for applying directly to the NEA is April 2, 2009. See the NEA’s eligibility requirements for their program.
• Application to the IAJPG program does not disqualify an organization from applying to other NEA, IAC, DCA, or Arts Midwest grant programs. In each case, the request must be for a distinctly different project.
• A grantee may not receive more than one NEA, IAC, DCA, or Arts Midwest grant for the same project during the same period or an overlapping period of support. For example, an orchestra might request support for a portion of an arts education coordinator’s time through this program (one project). That same arts education coordinator may work on programs related to another grant (a second project), as long as the same time is not charged to both projects.
• Funds awarded through this grant program may not be used as matching funds for other IAC, DCA, or Arts Midwest grant programs.

Application Review Criteria

The following criteria are considered during the review of applications:
The artistic excellence and artistic merit of the proposed hiring/s, which includes the:

• Quality of the organization.
• Potential of the hiring/s to have a significant and immediate impact on the arts work force.
• The degree to which the position(s) are in jeopardy of being lost without additional funding support.
• Significance of the position(s) to the mission and core work of the organization.
• Likelihood that the proposal will enhance the organization’s ability to realize its artistic and public service goals.
• Feasibility of the proposal, including the organization’s ability to carry out the proposal, the appropriateness of the budget, the quality and clarity of the proposal’s goals and design, the resources involved, and the qualifications of the proposal’s personnel.

Review, Approval, and Notification Process

All applications will be reviewed by advisory panels. Panel recommendations will be forwarded to the directors of Arts Midwest and the Iowa Arts Council. Final decisions on all grant awards, and determination of the specific funding source for each grant (either Arts Midwest or the Iowa Arts Council) will be made by the directors. Pending the availability of funding, applicants will be notified of award or denial in mid July 2009.

The Iowa Arts Council and Arts Midwest are offering this application process jointly, but funding streams are separate.  Grantees will be notified as to whether their grant will be made by the IAC or Arts Midwest.

A contract between applicant and the IAC is included in the IAJPG application. If no grant is awarded this contract is void. If grantee is funded through the IAC, the contract will be in force. If grantee is funded through Arts Midwest, a new contract will be sent to the grantee when awards are announced and the IAC contract will be void.

Reporting Obligations

“We cannot overstate the importance of this effort.  We are asking the American people to trust their government with an unprecedented level of funding to address the economic emergency.  In return, we must prove to them that their dollars are being invested in initiatives and strategies that make a difference in their communities and across the country”
- Memorandum from Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel to Heads of Departments and Agencies, February 9, 2009,

Because these grants are made as part of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, awardees will have substantial reporting obligations, including quarterly (or possibly monthly) reports on each position funded with IAJPG monies. When applying, consider that there will be a reporting load for each funded position, or partial position.

Grantee organizations will be required to:

• Report on the use of NEA American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds as outlined in Section 1512 (c) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Public Law 111-5 ("Recovery Act"). This will include regular reports to the IAC/Arts Midwest in a pre-determined format.
• As applicable, maintain personnel activity ("Time & Effort") reports for any employee whose salary is charged, in whole or in part, to the award. See an example.
• For grants that engage artists and/or contractual personnel to whom you propose to pay fees, maintain written contracts that outline the employment terms.
• Obtain a DUNS number (www.dnb.com) and register with the federal Central Contractor Register (CCR, www.ccr.gov)

The federal Web site to track how money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act how it is being spent is http://www.recovery.gov. The State of Iowa has set up a similar site to track its portion of ARRA funds at: http://recovery.iowa.gov

Crediting Requirement

Grantees must clearly acknowledge support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Iowa Arts Council or Arts Midwest (as applicable) in their programs and related promotional material including publications and Web sites. Organizations that receive grants may be provided with specific requirements for acknowledgment of this initiative.

Definitions

Arts presenting organization: An organization that has at least a 3-year history of regularly presenting publicly available exhibitions or performances featuring professional artists.

Arts Midwest:  one of six regional arts organizations in the United States, serving the primary region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Supported with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, State Arts Agencies, and private sources.  More information at www.artsmidwest.org.

ARRA: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; federal legislation enacted in order to stimulate the U.S. economy.  More information at www.recovery.gov.