CFDA No. 45.025
2009NEA04ARRA40
3135-0125
| Application Deadline: Organizations are required to submit their applications electronically through Grants.gov, the federal government’s online application system. The Grants.gov system must receive your application no later than 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on March 13, 2009.
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Grant Program Description
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Public Law 111-5
("Recovery Act") recognizes that the nonprofit arts industry is an important
sector of the economy. In accordance with this Act, the National Endowment
for the Arts has received funds to help preserve jobs in the nonprofit
arts sector that are threatened by declines in philanthropic and other
support during the current economic downturn. As partners of the Arts
Endowment, the state arts agencies (SAAs) and regional arts organizations
(RAOs) have an important role to play in advancing the goals of this
program. The NEA will award American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds
to the SAAs and RAOs specifically for projects that focus on
the preservation of jobs in the arts.
Funds to the SAAs and RAOs must be used for subgranting to eligible nonprofit organizations in their state or region. These special, one-time subgrants to organizations must be used for:
- Salary support, full or partial, for one or more positions that are critical to an organization’s artistic mission and that are in jeopardy or have been eliminated as a result of the current economic climate.
And/or
- Fees for previously engaged artists and/or contractual personnel to maintain or expand the period during which such persons would be engaged.
SAAs and RAOs may use up to $50,000 of the NEA grant funds for their own jobs for the purposes outlined above, and/or for the administration of the subgranting programs. Priority will be given to cost-effective programs that maximize the amount of funds distributed.
Each SAA and RAO must develop a plan to distribute these critical funds quickly. SAAs and RAOs are encouraged to use, as a template for their own material, the review criteria and application information that the NEA is using for its Recovery Act competitive grant program. (SAAs and RAOs that do not want to use the NEA material should advise the NEA.) The funds should directly impact a broad constituency that the SAA or RAO serves, and reach the full geographic range represented by that constituency. As appropriate, efforts should be made to reach organizations that serve underserved populations such as those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability.
Organizations are limited to receiving NEA American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds through only one source – from the Arts Endowment directly, or directly through an entity eligible to subgrant NEA funds including a state arts agency, a regional arts organization of state arts agencies, or a designated local arts agency that is eligible to subgrant funds. To prevent overlaps in funding, the NEA will provide subgrantors with a list of organizations that receive American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds directly from the NEA (see “Period of Support” for more information).
The national service organization of SAAs and RAOs is eligible to apply for a non-subgranting project for its own jobs consistent with the purposes outlined above.
SAAs, RAOs, and their national service organization will be required to report on funding received through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (see “Administrative Requirements” for more information).
As outlined in Section 1607 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009, Public Law 111-5 ("Recovery Act"), for funds provided
to any state or agency thereof, the governor of the state shall certify
that the state will request and use funds provided by the Act.
Award Information
Matching Requirement
All grants to the SAAs, RAOs, and their national service organization under this program are non-matching.
How Award Amounts Will Be Determined:
For the SAAs serving states and jurisdictions with populations of more than 200,000:
Each SAA will receive a share of the available funds proportionate to that SAA's share of the total pool of FY 2008 State Arts Plan Component funds. Each of these SAAs may use up to $50,000 for its own jobs and/or for the administration of its subgranting programs.
For the SAAs serving jurisdictions with populations of fewer than 200,000:
Each SAA may request a grant amount of $25,000 or $50,000. Each of these SAAs may use some or all of the funds for its own jobs and/or for the administration of its subgranting programs.
For the RAOs:
Each RAO will receive a share of the available funds proportionate to that RAO's share of the total pool of FY 2008 Regional Partnership Agreement funds. Each RAO may use up to $50,000 for its own jobs and/or for the administration of its subgranting programs.
The national service organization representing the SAAS and RAOs may request a grant amount of $25,000 or $50,000 for its own jobs.
Period of Support
NEA awards will support activities that are scheduled to begin on April 1, 2009, or shortly thereafter. SAAs and RAOs should keep in mind the importance of distributing these critical funds as promptly as possible. The period of support should take into consideration the subgrantees' grant periods and requirements concerning subgrantees' submission of final reports. Generally, a grant period of up to two years is allowed.
Organizations are limited to receiving NEA American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds through only one source. To prevent overlaps in funding, following the June 2009 meeting of the National Council on the Arts, the NEA will provide subgrantors with a list of organizations that receive American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds directly from the NEA. Application deadlines for subgranting programs should be scheduled after the June 2009 meeting of the National Council on the Arts.
No pre-award costs are allowable in the Project Budget. Project costs that are incurred before April 1, 2009, will be removed from the Project Budget.
Applicant Eligibility
This funding opportunity is limited to the designated 50 state and six jurisdictional arts agencies, their six authorized regional arts organizations, and the national service organization of SAAs and RAOs. All organizations must be NEA awardees at the time of application and have submitted acceptable Final Report packages by the due date(s) for all Arts Endowment award(s) previously received.
Each organization is limited to one application.
An application in response to this announcement does not affect an organization's regular funding under its Partnership Agreements award. Requests under this opportunity cannot overlap with any costs included in a Partnership Agreement award.
How to Prepare and Submit an Application
Organizations are required to submit their applications electronically through Grants.gov, the federal government’s online application system. The Grants.gov system must receive your application no later than 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on March 13, 2009.
Renew/verify your registration with Grants.gov and make sure that all of your information is current before you apply.
If you have problems with registration, 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 Applicant Help. The Grants.gov Customer Service hours are 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday to Friday.
See "How to Prepare and Submit an Application" for further instructions.
Application Review
The following criteria are considered during the review of applications:
The artistic excellence and artistic merit of the project, which includes the:
- Quality of the organization.
- Potential of the project to have a significant and immediate impact on the arts work force.
- Significance of the project and position(s) to the mission and core work of the organization.
- Likelihood that the project will achieve the identified outcome(s) and the feasibility of the proposed performance measurements. *
- Ability to carry out the project including the appropriateness of the budget, the quality and clarity of the project goals and design, the resources involved, and the qualifications of the project's personnel.
- For subgranting programs:
- Appropriateness of the program to the organization's mission, audience, community, and/or constituency.
- Potential to reach a broad geographic range of constituents.
- As appropriate, potential to reach organizations that serve underserved populations such as those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability.
* The Arts Endowment, along with other federal agencies, collects information on the projects it funds in order to track the results -- or outcomes -- of its activities. This information is compiled and reported to Congress and the public. The outcome the Arts Endowment intends to achieve through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is: Activities supported through partnerships with state arts agencies and regional arts organizations make the arts and arts education widely available. Within the context of this outcome, we ask all applicants to define what they would like to achieve, how they will assess the degree to which it is achieved, and, upon completion of the project, what they have learned from their successes and failures.
All applications are reviewed by an advisory panel. Panel recommendations are forwarded to the National Council on the Arts, which then makes recommendations to the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. The Chairman reviews the Council’s recommendations and makes the final decision on all grant awards. Pending the availability of funding, it is anticipated that applicants will be notified of award or rejection in April 2009.
Award Administration
Crediting Requirement
Grantees must clearly acknowledge support from the National Endowment for the Arts 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. In addition, the NEA will provide detailed crediting language for SAAs and RAOs to use with their own grantees.
Administrative Requirements
Before submitting an application, organizations should review the Grants
for Arts Projects guidelines and General
Terms & Conditions for detailed information on legal requirements, financial reviews and audits,
and other administrative matters that pertain to this announcement.
Grantees will be required to:
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Report on the use of NEA American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
of 2009, Public Law 111-5 ("Recovery Act") funds as outlined
in Section 1512 (c) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
This will include quarterly reports to the NEA 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.
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For grants for projects that engage artists and/or contractual personnel to whom you propose to pay fees, maintain written contracts that outline the employment terms.
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For SAAs and RAOs, report on each subgrant to the NEA in a pre-determined format.
Grantees should ensure that these reports do not overlap with reports for their Partnership Agreements or cooperative agreements.
In addition, SAAs and RAOs should work with their subgrantees to help
these organizations obtain DUNS numbers (www.dnb.com)
and register with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR,
www.ccr.gov), as these may be requirements.
A "Recovery" section has been added to the NEA web site at www.arts.gov/recovery/ to
serve as the central information portal for the agency’s implementation
of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Public Law 111-5
("Recovery Act"). Additional reporting
requirements can be found here as they become available.
Recovery.gov is the federal portal that allows the taxpayer to track how money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is being spent.
Agency Contacts
If you have questions, please contact:
Andi Mathis
Specialist, State & Regional Partnerships
202/682-5430 or mathisa@arts.gov
John Ostrout
Director, State & Regional Partnerships
202/682-5753 or ostroutj@arts.gov
Reporting Burden
The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated at an average of 8 hours per response including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. The Arts Endowment welcomes any suggestions that you might have on improving the guidelines and making them as easy to use as possible. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Office of Guidelines & Panel Operations, Room 620, National Endowment for the Arts, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20506-0001. Note: Applicants are not required to respond to the collection of information unless it displays a currently valid U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.
March 2009
OMB No. 3135-0125 Expires 08/31/2009
National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal agency
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20506 |
