The NEA Mayors' Institute on City Design
25th Anniversary Initiative
How to Prepare and Submit a Statement of Interest
Organizations are required to submit their Statements of Interest electronically through Grants.gov, the federal government’s online application system.
The Grants.gov system must receive your Statement of Interest no later than 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on March 15, 2010. We strongly recommend that you submit at least 10 days in advance of the deadline to give yourself ample time to resolve any problems that you might encounter. The Arts Endowment will not accept late Statements of Interest. In addition, you may have a better experience if you submit outside of Grants.gov’s hours of heaviest usage, generally 12 noon to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time.
You must submit a COMPLETE application package that includes the:
- Completed Application for Federal Domestic Assistance/Short Organizational Form (SF-424).
- Attachments Form, with your Statement of Interest attached.
Details on each of these items appear below.
 Register or Renew/Verify Registration with Grants.gov
It is your organization's responsibility to create and maintain a regularly updated registration with Grants.gov. This includes registration with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR), where your organization's information must be renewed annually. Finalize a new or renew an existing registration at least two weeks before the application deadline. This should allow you time to resolve any issues that may arise with Grants.gov or CCR. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in your inability to submit your application.
If your organization is not yet registered, go to Grants.gov's Get Registered. Allow a minimum of two weeks for this multi-step, one-time process. If your organization already has registered, renew your registration with CCR at Update or Renew Registration and verify that your registration with Grants.gov is current.
If you have problems with registration:
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CCR Assistance Center: call 1-888-227-2423, send a message through the Web site at www.ccr.gov, or see the information posted on the CCR Web site at Help.
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Grants.gov Contact Center: call 1-800-518-4726, e-mail support@grants.gov, or consult the information posted on the Grants.gov Web site at Help. The Contact Center is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Maintain documentation (with dates) of your efforts to register or renew at least two weeks before the deadline.
You do not need to complete the registration process to download the application package and begin to prepare your material (see below). However, you will need your Grants.gov Username and Password that you obtain in the final step of the registration process to submit your application.
Download the Application Package
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Verify your software
You must have a version of Adobe Reader that is supported by Grants.gov (a small, free software program) installed on your computer before you download your application package from Grants.gov. Non-compatible versions of Adobe Reader or other Adobe products will lead to errors and prevent you from submitting your application. If more than one computer will be involved in the preparation of the application package, ensure that the same version of Adobe Reader is used.
Please go to "Download Software" to see the compatible versions of Adobe Reader or to download and install Adobe Reader.
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Access the application package on Grants.gov by clicking on the link
[Funding Opportunity Number 2010NEAMICD] Download the application package and follow the instructions below. It is not necessary to download the instructions from Grants.gov as you will merely be directed back to the instructions in this document.
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When you download the application package, the Grants.gov "Grant Application Package" screen will open. Click on the "Save" button at the top of the form and save the application package to a location on your computer or network where you can find it readily. Save your application each time that you work on it. You will get the message: "The File already exists. Replace existing file?" Click "Yes" to ensure that you always save the most recent version.
- In the "Mandatory Documents" box, you will see two forms. You must move these forms to the "Mandatory Documents for Submission" box before you can open them. Once moved, the two forms merge into a single document. You can access each form by clicking on it to highlight it and then clicking on the "Open Form" box OR you can scroll down your screen and you will come to each form in succession.
The Two Mandatory Forms are:
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Application for Federal Domestic Assistance/Short Organizational Form (SF-424): This form asks for basic information about your organization and project.
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Attachments Form: This is not a form in the conventional sense, but rather a place to attach your Statement of Interest.
Submit Your Electronic Application
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Check the size of your electronic application. The total size should not exceed 10 MB.
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To begin the submission process, click the "Save & Submit" button. [This button will not become active (and turn from light to dark gray) until you have saved your application with all required fields completed. Clicking this button will prompt you to save your application package one last time. When asked if you want to replace the existing file, click "Yes." You will then be reconnected to Grants.gov and the Internet.] You will be prompted to provide your Grants.gov Username and Password that you obtained during registration. (REMINDER: You must have successfully completed the registration process in order to receive your Grants.gov Username and Password.)
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Click the "Login" button. This will bring you to the "Application Submission Verification and Signature" screen, which provides a summary of the Funding Opportunity for which you are applying. Click the "Sign and Submit Application" button to complete the process. Be certain that you are satisfied with your application before you click this button. No revisions to your application are possible through Grants.gov once it is submitted.
If you have difficulty submitting, go to Adobe Reader Error Messages or Applicant Resources for several tools and documents to help you.
- Ensure that your application was validated and accepted by the Grants.gov system. Go to Track
My Application to track the validation and progress of your application submission through Grants.gov. After the Arts Endowment retrieves your application from Grants.gov, log in to the Grants.gov system by using your Username and Password to receive your Agency Tracking Number (this will be the Arts Endowment-assigned application number).
Instructions for the Application for Federal Domestic Assistance/Short Organizational Form (SF-424)
NOTE: All asterisked (*) items and yellow fields on this form are required and must be completed before you will be able to submit the form. Do not type in all capital letters when completing the form. Enter information directly into the form. Do not copy from an old application package or another document and paste into the form.
1. Name of Federal Agency: Pre-populated.
2. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: Pre-populated.
3. Date Received: This will be filled automatically
with the date that you submit your application; leave blank.
4. Funding Opportunity Number: Pre-populated.
5. Applicant Information:
a. Legal Name: Enter the legal name of your organization 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.
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,enter your full 9-digit 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 CCR (Central Contractor Registration) as part of the Grants.gov registration or 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 two-digit state/territory abbreviation and "-000." If you need help, visit the House of Representatives Web site at www.house.gov and use the "Find Your Representative" tool.
6. Project Information:
a. Project Title: Enter a short title for your project.
b. Project Description: Provide a two or three sentence summary description.
c. Proposed Project Start Date/End Date: Enter a start date between July 1 and December 31, 2010. Your proposed project period should not exceed one year.
7. Project Director:
Provide the requested information for the Project Director. Select a Prefix (e.g., Ms., Mr.) even though this is not a required field.
8. Primary Contact/Grant Administrator:
Provide the requested information for the individual who should be contacted on all matters involving this application. Select a Prefix even though this is not a required field.
If this individual is the same as the Project Director, 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 Authorizing Official, please complete all items under both 8 and 9 even though there will be some repetition.)
9. Authorized Representative:
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.) The "Signature of Authorized Representative" and "Date Signed" boxes will be populated by Grants.gov upon submission of the application.
How to Use the Attachments Form
This "form" is not a form in the conventional sense. Rather, it is a place to attach your Statement of Interest that you have completed and saved elsewhere on your computer.
To the Attachment 1 button attach your Statement of Interest (3-page maximum). The file name should indicate the name of your organization or a recognizable acronym followed by “Statement” (e.g., “ABCCityStatement”).
Leave all remaining Attachment buttons blank.
January 2010
OMB No. 3135-0112 Expires 11/30/2010
National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal agency
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20506 |
