FY 2007 SUMMER SCHOOLS IN THE ARTS

Instructions for Submitting Your Statement of Interest

All organizations that are interested in applying must submit a Statement of Interest through Grants.gov, the federal government's online application system. The Grants.gov system will accept Statements of Interest through 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on May 22, 2006.

We recommend strongly that you REGISTER WELL IN ADVANCE OF THE MAY 22 DEADLINE (Step 1 below). We also encourage you to COMPLETE AND SUBMIT YOUR STATEMENT OF INTEREST EARLY (Steps 2 and 3 below); do not wait until the last minute. Grants.gov can slow down during periods of high usage, which most often occur between 12 noon and 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, particularly on days near a deadline. You will have a better experience if you submit your application outside of these hours and in advance of the deadline. In addition, we urge you to read these instructions in their entirety before you begin the application process.

Step 1: Register with Grants.gov

All applicants that have not yet done so must register with Grants.gov prior to submitting their Statement of Interest. This multi-step, one-time process cannot be completed in a single day; we recommend that you allow at least two weeks. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE DAY OF THE STATEMENT OF INTEREST DEADLINE TO REGISTER. Once you have registered to submit your Statement of Interest, you will not have to register again if you are invited to submit a formal application (or if you wish to apply for any other federal grant through Grants.gov).

The Arts Endowment has created an easy-to-follow checklist for registering. Step-by-step instructions for registering also are available at www.grants.gov/GetStarted. If you have problems registering, call the Grants.gov help desk at 1-800-518-4726, e-mail support@grants.gov, or consult the information posted on the Grants.gov Web site at www.grants.gov/CustomerSupport. The Grants.gov Customer Service hours are 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday to Friday.

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 UserID and password that you obtain in the final step of the registration process to submit your Statement of Interest.

Step 2: Prepare your Statement of Interest

NOTE: Because Grants.gov uses the term “application” for all submissions, you will find that term (rather than “Statement of Interest”) in the instructions below.

To access the application package:

1. Access the application package on Grants.gov. by clicking on the link below:

   (If you do not follow this link and go to Grants.gov directly, enter 2006NEA02SS as the Funding Opportunity Number to download the application package.)

2. This will bring you to the "Selected Grant Applications for Download" screen.

   Download the application and follow the instructions below. It is not necessary to download the instructions from Grants.gov as they are the same as the instructions in this document. You may find it helpful to print out these instructions so that you will have them available for easy reference as you complete the forms. You also may want to keep these instructions open in a window in your computer as they contain helpful links to information that you will need as you complete your application.

   This screen contains a link to PureEdge Viewer, a small, free software program. You must have PureEdge Viewer, with its most recent upgrade, installed on your computer in order to access, complete, and submit applications. If you do not already have the most recent version of this software installed on your computer, please download and follow the installation instructions. (NOTE: PureEdge Viewer runs only with Windows or Windows emulation software. Non-Windows users can now use the free Citrix server to work on PureEdge forms. )

3. 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. You will see the following warning: "One or more of the items in this form contains an invalid value. Do you want to proceed anyway?" Click "Yes" to proceed, and save the application package to a location on your computer or network where you can find it readily. Close the saved application package before you start to work on it for the first time. Always open and work on your application from this location. You do not need to be connected to Grants.gov or the Internet until you are ready to submit your completed application. By saving changes each time you close your application, you will capture and save your most current data.

To work on your Statement of Interest:

1. Open the application package that you have saved to your computer and the Grants.gov "Grant Application Package" screen will appear. In the "Application Filing Name" field, enter your organization's legal name.

2. Next, open and complete the two forms that appear in the "Mandatory Documents" box. To open an item, click on it to select it, and then click on the "Open Form" button that is beneath the Mandatory Documents box. You cannot open a form by double clicking on it.

   When a form is more than one page, navigate between pages by using the "Next" or "Previous" button at the top of the screen.

3. After working on a form, click the "Close Form" button at the top of the screen to capture your information and return you to the "Grant Application Package" screen. Before closing the "Grant Application Package" screen, click on the "Save" button. Until you have completed all of the required fields in all of the mandatory forms, clicking on the "Save" button will generate the invalid values message referred to in Item 3 above. Click "Yes" to proceed.

   If asked if you want to update an existing file ("File Already Exists. OVERWRITE?"), clicking "Yes" will save your most recent changes to the existing file.

4. When a form is completed, click on the form name in the Mandatory Documents box to select it, and then click the => button. This will move the form to the "Mandatory Completed Documents for Submission" box. All forms must be in the "Mandatory Completed Documents for Submission" box before you will be able to submit your application. (You can open and work on a form in either the Mandatory Documents or Completed Documents box.)

You will see that there are two forms in the Mandatory Documents box that you must fill out before you can submit your application. They are:

1. Application for Federal Domestic Assistance/Short Organizational Form (SF-424): This form asks for basic information about your organization and project.

2. Project Narrative Attachment Form: This is not a form in the conventional sense, but rather the place where you will attach your Statement of Interest as a PDF (portable document format) file.

Detailed instructions on how to fill out each of these forms are provided after Step 3 below.

Step 3. Submit your application

1. In the top left corner of the Grants.gov menu screen you will see buttons for Submit, Save, Print, Cancel, and Check Package for Errors.

2. When you have completed your application (i.e., the Mandatory Documents have been completed and moved to the Completed Documents box), click the Check Package for Errors button. This will alert you if you have left any required fields on the forms incomplete. This will not check the accuracy of the information in your Statement of Interest.

3. Click the Save button one last time to make sure that all of your most current information is saved. (At this point, you should not receive the invalid values message.)

4. If you want to print out a hard copy of your completed application for your files, clicking the Print button will print out the completed Application for Federal Domestic Assistance/Short Organizational form. You will have to print out your Statement of Interest separately from your computer.

5. Click the Submit button. (The Submit button will not become active until you have saved your application with all required fields completed. Clicking this button will reconnect you to Grants.gov and the Internet.) You will be prompted to provide your Grants.gov User ID and password that you obtained during registration.

6. 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. If everything looks accurate, 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 do not want to submit the application at this time, click the "Exit Application" button. You will be returned to the previous page where you can make changes in your material or exit the process.

   Grants.gov will put a date/time stamp on your application after it is fully uploaded. The time that it takes to upload an application will vary depending on a number of factors including the size of the application, the speed of your Internet connection, and the number of other applications (for grants from a variety of federal agencies) being sent to Grants.gov at the same time. Your application must be stamped no later than 11:59 p.m. on May 22, 2006.

7. Upon submission of your application to Grants.gov, a Confirmation that includes the Grants.gov Tracking Number assigned to your application will display on the screen. Keep a copy of this notification for your records. The Tracking Number also will be e-mailed to your Authorized Organization Representative (AOR).

8. After the Statement of Interest deadline for this category, Grants.gov will notify you via e-mail when the Arts Endowment retrieves your material from Grants.gov.

Additional Help

For additional help on how to use Grants.gov, please see the help material on the Grants.gov website at www.grants.gov/CustomerSupport. You also can send e-mail to the Grants.gov helpdesk at support@grants.gov or call them at 1-800-518-4726 from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday to Friday.

When you contact Grants.gov for assistance, your question will be assigned a case number. This number only documents your inquiry to the help desk. It is in no way related to the tracking number that Grants.gov will assign your application once it has been successfully submitted.

For specific help on how to complete your Summer Schools in the Arts Statement of Interest, please consult the guidelines or contact the Arts Endowment staff at 202/682-5579.

Detailed Instructions for Each Form in Your Grants.gov Application

Before you start to complete the required forms, activate the Help tool by clicking on the Help button (outlined in green below) in the Tool Bar. On each form, you will then find instructions by positioning the cursor over each item or, where relevant, over the radio button (the circle to the left of the text) for an item. More detailed instructions for certain items are provided below.

How to fill out 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 this form.

Items 1, 2, and 4 have been pre-populated. Item 3, Date Received, will be filled automatically with the date that you submit your application; leave blank.

5. Applicant Information:

Check the "Applicant Eligibility" section of the guidelines for eligibility information for this category.

a. Legal Name: Enter the legal name of your organization. If you are a parent organization that is applying on behalf of an eligible component, list your name here and identify the component in your Statement of Interest.

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 part of your address.

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 CCR (Central Contractor Registry) 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." For the 12th district of North Carolina, enter "NC-012." If you do not have a Congressional District (e.g., you are located in a U.S. territory that doesn't have districts), enter 00-000. If you need help determining your district, please visit the House of Representatives Web site at www.house.gov and use the "Find Your Representative" tool.

6. Project Information:

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

b. Project Description: In two or three sentences, provide a brief summary of your specific project, not your organization.

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 Arts Endowment's support of a project may start on or after April 1, 2007, and must end no later than May 31, 2008.

7. Project Director:

Provide the requested information for the Project Director. Please leave the Social Security Number box blank. 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 and the administration of any grant that may be awarded. For colleges and universities, this person is often a Sponsored Research, Sponsored Programs, or Contracts and Grants Officer. See also the instructions under Item 7 above.

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 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 Statement of Interest to Grants.gov. 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 the Grants for Arts Projects guidelines.) The "Signature of Authorized Representative" and "Date Signed" boxes will be populated by Grants.gov upon submission of the application.

How to use the Project Narrative Attachment Form

This "form" is not a form in the conventional sense. Rather, it is a place to attach your Statement of Interest as a PDF (portable document format) file. You should:

1. Create your Statement of Interest, following the instructions in the Summer Schools in the Arts guidelines, using any word processing software. Be sure to follow the instructions on formatting and labeling as well as the instructions on information to include.

2. When you have completed your Statement of Interest, save it to your computer with a file name that includes the name of your organization or a recognizable acronym followed by "Statement of Interest" (e.g. ABC Arts Org Statement of Interest).

3. Convert this document to a PDF (portable document format) file. Using PDFs allows you to preserve the formatting of your document so that it can be presented to reviewers exactly as you intend. If you don't already have software to convert files to PDF, there are many low-cost and free software packages that can do this. To learn more, go to Converting Your Documents to PDFs.

4. Attach the PDF file (e.g. ABC Arts Org Statement of Interest.pdf) to the Grants.gov Project Narrative Attachment Form.

BE SURE YOUR STATEMENT IS IN PDF BEFORE ATTACHING. Do not include any additional material (e.g., cover letter, budget) in your submission; such items will not be reviewed.

National Endowment for the Arts
webmgr@arts.endow.gov