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Table of Contents

Guidelines

Introduction

Welcome to the Division of Cultural Affairs General Program Support (GPS) Guidelines. We're glad that you are considering applying for a General Program Support grant from the Division. These guidelines are incorporated by reference into Rule 1T-1.001, Florida Administrative Code, and detail policies and requirements for the application, receipt, and administration of General Program Support grants.

These guidelines only apply to General Program Support. For information about Specific Cultural Project, State Touring, Individual Artist Fellowship, Cultural Facilities, or Cultural Endowment grant programs, visit http://www.florida-arts.org/grants/.

Basic Eligibility

All applicants must meet the following basic eligibility requirements at the time of application.

  1. Have submitted no other applications for the General Program Support or Specific Cultural Project programs in the current application cycle (see application restrictions)

  2. Have the required legal status (detailed below)

  3. Match the grant amount requested, at least 1:1 (see match requirements)

  4. Agree to comply with all application requirements and the grant administration requirements

In addition to these basic eligibility requirements, there are specific eligibility requirements for Local Arts Agencies, State Service Organizations, and Museums.

Application Restrictions

"In order to equitably distribute limited state funding," the legislature mandated, in section 265.286(9), Florida Statutes, that each grant applicant may only submit one application each annual grant cycle. The legislature defined applicant or grantee as a "nonprofit, tax-exempt, Florida corporation" or a "local or state governmental entity, school district, community college, college, university, agency of state government, or artist engaged in or concerned with arts and cultural activities."

Based on this, an organization may only submit one (1) Specific Cultural Project or one (1) General Program Support application for each annual grant cycle (July 1 - June 30). The Division will use Federal Employer Identifications Number (FEINs) to identify an applicant organization.

This restriction includes applicant organizations that formerly submitted multiple applications from different departments. Such organizations must coordinate to decide on a single application for each annual cycle. If the Division receives more than one application from any applicant, the Division will ask the applicant to identify a single application for review.

To meet the legal status requirement, an applicant organization must be either a public entity or a Florida nonprofit, tax exempt corporation as of the application deadline.

Public Entity
A Florida local government, entity of state government, school district, community college, college, or university. Private schools, private community colleges, private colleges, and private universities are not public entities and must be nonprofit and tax exempt to qualify.
Nonprofit, Tax Exempt
A Florida organization that is both:

  1. Nonprofit: incorporated as an active nonprofit Florida corporation, pursuant to Chapter 617 or Chapter 623, Florida Statutes; and

  2. Tax exempt: designated as tax exempt as defined in section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended.

The Division of Cultural Affairs will verify that all fees are current and that the applicant was in "active" status with the Division of Corporations, as of the application deadline.

For more information on corporate status, visit http://www.sunbiz.org or call the Division of Corporations, profit and nonprofit information line at (850) 245-6054. To verify corporate status, you can review your corporate record online through the sunbiz.org document search tool.

For more information about tax exempt status, see Exemption Requirements - Section 501©(3) Organizations on the the Internal Revenue Service website.(http://www.irs.gov).

Public entities are not required to provide documentation of legal status.

Nonprofit, tax exempt applicants must provide a letter from the IRS stating that the applicant is tax exempt under 501(c)(3) or 504(c)(4). This letter should be included in the application package and must be postmarked by the application deadline.

The Division will notify the applicant if the letter is not received or if the applicant is in inactive status with the Division of Corporations. The Division must receive the letter and/or the status must be corrected within 10 calendar days of notification or the application will be ineligible.

Program Description

General Program Support (GPS) funding is designed to support the general program activities of an organization that is realizing its stated mission and furthering the state's cultural objectives by:

Activities must take place during the grant period (July 1 - June 30).

Note: Grant funds may not be used for indirect or overhead expenses (see the Indirect and Overhead Expenses section of these guidelines). Expenses must be directly related to the programming detailed in the application.

Overview of Program Support Types

The Division offers three types of General Program Support (GPS).

Each program support type and funding category has specific eligibility requirements.

Request Amount

Use the following table to determine the maximum request amount.

  1. Choose the program support type and funding category (column 1 and 2) that fits your organization. Use this information to find the appropriate percentage (column 3).

    Program support types and funding categories (levels) are described in detail in the Program Support Types section of the guidelines.

  2. Calculate the appropriate percentage (column 3) of your Total Operating Income*.

  3. Compare the number from step 2 to the maximum request in (column 4). The number that is less is the maximum request amount for your organization.

Program Support Type Funding Category % of Income * Maximum Request
Discipline-Based Level 1 10% $25,000
Level 2 10% $90,000 **
Level 3 10% $150,000 **
Local Arts Agency Level 1 25% $40,000
Level 2 15% $90,000
Level 3 10% $150,000
State Service Organization N/A 20% $150,000

*To determine request amount, use the Total Operating Income from the applicant's most recently completed fiscal year as reported in the application. The Grant Application (Form CA2E145, effective 10/2009), is incorporated by reference and available through the Division's online grant system.

Note: Public entities that are applying for funding for a specific department, center, gallery, or other unit with a distinct budget, must use only the budget of that unit when determining request amount, instead of the budget of the entire entity.

** Applicants to Discipline-Based program support must have at least one completed grant from the Division of Cultural Affairs if requesting over $25,000 and must have at least 3 years of programming history and at least one full time staff person if requesting over $50,000.

Match Requirements

Grant request amounts must be matched at least 1:1 ($1 provided by the applicant for every $1 requested from the Division) with cash and in-kind (donated goods or services).

No more than 25% of the Total Proposal Expenses may be in-kind (see In-Kind Services and Contributions).

The following may not be used as match:

Matching funds may be anticipated at the time of application, but must be received by the grant period end date (June 30). All expenses (both state grant and match) must be paid out (not merely encumbered) by the grant period end date.

Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI) match waivers are not available for General Program Support grants.

Program Support Types

Discipline-Based

Discipline-Based program support is intended to provide financial support for the programs of eligible organizations that conduct cultural programming, realize their stated mission, and further the state's cultural objectives.

The Discipline-Based program support type has three funding categories based on budget size.

Funding Category Requirements / Request
Level 1
  • meet basic eligibility requirements
  • have a Total Operating Income* of $250,000 or less

Maximum request is 10% of the applicant's Total Operating Income* or $25,000 whichever is less.
Level 2
  • meet basic eligibility requirements
  • have at least one completed grant from the Division of Cultural Affairs, if requesting more than $25,000
  • have a Total Operating Income* of at least $250,001 but no more than $900,000
  • have at least 3 years of programming history and one full time staff person, if requesting more than $50,000

Maximum request is 10% of the applicant's Total Operating Income* or $90,000 whichever is less.
Level 3
  • meet basic eligibility requirements
  • have at least one completed grant from the Division of Cultural Affairs, if requesting more than $25,000
  • have a Total Operating Income* of $900,001 or more
  • have at least 3 years of programming history and one full time staff person, if requesting more than $50,000

Maximum request is 10% of the applicant's Total Operating Income* or $150,000 whichever is less.

* To determine eligibility and request amount, use the Total Operating Income from the applicant's most recently completed fiscal year as reported in the application.

Discipline Categories

Discipline-Based applicants must select one of eleven (11) discipline categories.

  1. Community Theatre
  2. Dance
  3. Folk Arts
  4. Literature
  5. Media Arts
  6. Museum
  7. Multidisciplinary
  8. Music
  9. Professional Theatre
  10. Sponsor/Presenter
  11. Visual Arts

The discipline category of the application will determine which review panel will evaluate and score the application. Applicants should select the discipline that best fits their proposal. Applicants should consider whether they are presenting (sponsoring) or producing the activity when choosing a discipline category.

Applicants that produce festivals should select the discipline category for the festival activity. For example, an organization producing a film festival should apply to the Media Arts discipline while a cultural festival that is producing music, visual art, and dance activities should apply to the Multidisciplinary category. For more information, contact a program manager.

Dance

The Dance discipline is for organizations that promote excellence in dance. This includes producing dance companies and other organizations with dance programming.

Folk Arts

The Folk Arts discipline is for organizations that preserve and present traditional arts. This includes performances, exhibitions, festivals, and other programming featuring traditional artists and their work.

Folk Arts are traditional cultural expressions through which a community maintains and passes on a shared way of life. These communities can be job-related, ethnic, religious, age-related, or based on location. Folk art expresses a sense of the community's values and aesthetics. Folk art expressions are usually learned informally through a relative or the community and are maintained without formal teaching.

The Folk Arts discipline includes many forms and processes of expression, such as:

Note: The Folk Arts panel does not generally recommend funding for programming that focuses primarily on the following activities:

Applicants with such programming should consider applying to one of the other disciplines. Contact the Folk Arts program manager with any questions.

Literature

The Literature discipline is for organizations that promote excellence in the literary arts. This includes small presses, noncommercial publishing houses, professional literary groups, and other organizations with literary programming.

Media Arts

The Media Arts discipline is for organizations that promote excellence in film, video, radio, and television. This includes film and video festivals, and media art exhibitions, conferences, and seminars.

Multidisciplinary

The Multidisciplinary discipline is for organizations with programming that presents two (2) or more separate artistic or cultural disciplines.

Artistic and cultural disciplines include, but are not limited to:

Museum

The Museum discipline is for organizations that are primarily educational and aesthetic with proposals focused on the applicant's collections and/or exhibits.

To be eligible to apply to this discipline, a museum must:

Museums are encouraged but not required to participate in the American Association of Museums' Museum Assessment Program (MAP) and to pursue or maintain national accreditation through American Association of Museums (AAM), American Zoological Association (AZA), or Zoological Association of America (ZAA).

Museums may include but are not limited to the following:

Non-museum organizations conducting visual art exhibitions should apply to the Visual Art discipline. Multidisciplinary museums may also apply to the Multidisciplinary discipline.

Music

The Music discipline includes both vocal and instrumental music and is for organizations that promote excellence in music performance and creation.

The Music discipline includes but is not limited to chamber or jazz ensembles, choral groups, community bands, orchestras, opera, and world music ensembles.

Producers of musical theatre should submit their application to the appropriate Theatre discipline (professional or community). Presenting organizations should apply to the Sponsor/Presenter discipline.

The Sponsor/Presenter discipline supports the sponsorship or presentation of performing arts groups, individual artists, or other cultural providers.

A Sponsor/Presenter is an organization that enters into agreements to provide performances or other cultural activities. The organization generally does not create, rehearse, cast, or have artistic control over the performance or activity.

Applicants producing, rather than presenting, should apply to the appropriate discipline for their activities, such as Music, Theatre, or Dance.

Theatre (Community and Professional)

The Theatre disciplines support producing theatres and other organizations that promote excellence in theatre performance. Musical theatre can be included in this discipline. Organizations producing opera should apply to the Music discipline.

Community Theatre

The Community Theatre discipline is for producing community theatres.

The majority of the artistic production talent of a community theatre is not compensated at fair-market value, however, personnel may be hired as needed to perform administrative, artistic, or production duties. Community theatres tend to be operated for local recreation and education, and commonly seek to obtain the patronage and production participation of the community as a whole.

Community theatres should be very specific when describing how artists are compensated. Although it is assumed that most community theatres will not be compensating most actors, applicants should address whether or not technical staff (directors, designers) are compensated and if any actors receive financial compensation.

If a community theatre is in the process of becoming a professional house, the application should describe where the applicant is in the transition and when the applicant expects to be offering full compensation to artistic staff.

Professional Theatre

The Professional Theatre discipline is for producing professional theatres.

Organizations applying to the Professional Theatre discipline must compensate their artistic staff and actors at fair market value on a regular and continuing basis. Professional Theatre panelists strongly emphasize the importance of payment to actors.

Companies should be very specific when describing the financial compensation and/or benefits that are offered to its artistic staff. If a national standard wage exists for certain services, that may be noted rather than repeating details commonly understood in the profession.

Visual Arts

The Visual Arts discipline is for organizations that promote excellence in the visual arts through activities such as:

Local Arts Agency

A Local Arts Agency (LAA) is a public or private nonprofit organization located in Florida and operating on a permanent basis for the primary purpose of strengthening, supporting, and stabilizing the activities of arts and cultural constituencies that operate in the county or counties designated to the LAA.

To be eligible for funding as an LAA, one or more county commissions must officially recognize the applicant as the local arts agency. This recognition must be documented through a letter, proclamation, or official meeting minutes. County arts councils established pursuant to section 265.32, Florida Statutes must also provide documentation of recognition. For funding purposes, the Division recognizes only one Local Arts Agency per county.

The purpose of the LAA program support type is to assist in the development of local arts agencies and to strengthen and stabilize the statewide network of local arts agencies by providing general program support for their activities. This helps further both local and statewide cultural goals and objectives.

This program support type has three (3) funding categories.

Funding Category Requirements / Request
Level 1
  • meet basic eligibility requirements and be a designated local arts agency
  • have at least one paid part-time staff member
  • have a Total Operating Income* of $160,000 or less

Maximum request is 25% of Total Operating Income* or $40,000 whichever is less.
Level 2
  • meet basic eligibility requirements and be a designated local arts agency
  • have at least one paid full-time staff member
  • have a Total Operating Income* of at least $160,001 but less than $999,999
  • be in operation for at least three years at the time of application

Maximum request is 15% of Total Operating Income* or $90,000 whichever is less.
Level 3
  • meet basic eligibility requirements and be a designated local arts agency
  • have more than one paid full-time staff member
  • have a Total Operating Income* of at least $1,000,000
  • be in operation for at least five years at the time of application

Maximum request is 10% of Total Operating Income* or $150,000 whichever is less.

* To determine eligibility and request amount, use the Total Operating Income from the applicant's most recently completed fiscal year as reported in the application.

State Service Organization

A State Service Organization (SSO) is a public or private nonprofit organization located in Florida operating on a permanent basis for the primary purpose of implementing statewide programs that:

SSOs are typically dedicated to specific disciplines or subject areas (for example: music, dance, museums, theatre, leadership, arts administration, etc.). SSOs work to strengthen and support cultural organizations and individuals working in the cultural community.

The purpose of SSO program support is to support state service organizations and to encourage collaborative work between the Division and these organizations to achieve state goals and objectives.

To be eligible to apply as a State Service Organization, the organization's services and activities must reach at least 50% of the state's population, or at least 34 Florida counties.

The maximum request amount for SSOs is 20% of the Total Operating Income from the applicant's most recently completed fiscal year or $150,000 whichever is less.

Culture Builds Florida's Future (Our Strategic Plan)

The Division's Strategic Plan, (Culture Builds Florida's Future), is a statewide cultural plan designed to redefine the role of the arts and culture in Florida. It has four vision areas:

  1. Strengthening the Economy
  2. Promoting Learning and Wellness
  3. Building Leadership
  4. Advancing Design and Development

All General Program Support proposals must incorporate at least three (3) of the four (4) vision areas. With this valuable information, the Division can demonstrate to the legislature and the public how our grantees are implementing a unified message and strategy for arts and culture.

For more information about Culture Builds Florida's Future visit http://www.florida-arts.org/about/strategicplan/.

Application Requirements

Accessibility and Non-Discrimination

The Florida Council on Arts and Culture and the Division of Cultural Affairs are committed to making the arts and culture accessible to everyone, including:

Applicants may receive up to 10 points for accessibility efforts through the accessibility review criterion.

Organizations seeking support for activities that will not be open and accessible to all members of the public, regardless of sex, race, color, national origin, religion, disability, age, or marital status are not eligible for this publicly funded grant.

Allowable Expenses

Expenses that are directly related to the proposal shall be allowed provided that they are:

Grant and matching funds may only be used for travel outside the continental United States with prior approval of the Director or when specifically contained and approved in the grant application. The cost of the travel must be clearly and separately identified within the Application Proposal Budget.

The grantee may be asked to provide documentation such as cancelled checks, paid invoices, or other financial documents verifying grant related expenses. Grantees must comply with all provisions of the award agreement.

State grant funds may only be spent on allowable program or project expenses that are included in the application Proposal Budget. If a grantee wishes to spend state grant funds on program or project expenses that are not specifically detailed in the Proposal Budget, the grantee must submit a Grant Amendment Request (GAR). The Division must approve the GAR before the grantee is permitted to spend state funds. Spending state grant funds on expenses that have not been approved by the Division, even if directly related to the program or project, will be disallowed and could result in a legal demand for the return of grant funds.

Non-Allowable Expenses

The following are non-allowable expenses for grant and matching funds. Non-allowable expenses should not appear anywhere in the Grant Proposal Budget.

Indirect and Overhead Expenses

No state funds may be used toward indirect or overhead expenses such as phone, utilities, general supplies, property improvements, fixtures, maintenance, and other overhead and indirect costs. These expenses may only be used as match.

In-Kind Services and Contributions

The maximum amount of in-kind allowed in the Proposal Budget is limited to 25% of the Total Proposal Expenses.

Maximum allowable in-kind - Proposal Budget
  • = 25% of the Total Proposal Expenses
  • = Total Cash Expenses divided by 3

The amount of in-kind allowed in the Operating Budget depends on the applicant's Total Cash Income as defined in the application.

Maximum allowable in-kind - Operating Budget
If Total Cash Income is $150,000 or less

  • = 25% of the Total Operating Income
  • = Total Cash Income divided by 3

If Total Cash Income is over $150,000

  • = 10% of the Total Operating Income
  • = Total Cash Income divided by 9

Applicants may include a list of the in-kind that is over the allowed percentage as a support material demonstrating community support.

To calculate the fair-market value of in-kind services, the time of a volunteer may be calculated at the federal minimum wage (see http://www.wagehour.dol.gov). If the volunteer is professionally skilled in the work provided (such as a photographer donating photography services or a Certified Public Accountant providing a pro bono audit), the wage rate the individual is normally paid for providing the service may be used.

All in-kind services must be documented in writing by the provider of the service. Donated materials require similar documentation and should not be inflated. Records of such documentation must be available upon request.

Review Criteria

All applications will be evaluated and scored using the following four criteria.

Excellence and Innovation

Applicants must demonstrate excellence and innovation in all aspects of the proposal. Panelists will consider the following application information.

(Up to 40 points)

Impact

Applicants must demonstrate the expected impact of the proposal. Panelists will consider the following application information.

(Up to 30 points)

Management

This criterion covers all aspects of administration, planning, and evaluation. Panelists will consider the following application information.

(Up to 20 points)

Accessibility

Points will be awarded based on efforts towards making the proposal inclusive for all participants. Panelists will consider responses to the Americans with Disabilities Act questions as well as the Accessibility narrative response.

(Up to 10 points)

Scoring

Applications must earn a minimum average score of 80 to be recommended for funding.

The maximum number of points an application can earn is 100. Panel members will individually score each application. The average of the individual panelist scores will be rounded to three decimal places. When the fourth decimal is a 5 or greater, the score will be rounded up in favor of the applicant. For example, 79.9995 will be rounded to 80.0 but 79.9993 would remain 79.999. All applications that meet the minimum score and are approved by the Secretary of State will be fully or partially funded contingent upon Legislative appropriation.

Review Process

The application review process includes the following:

  1. Division Staff Review for Basic Eligibility
  2. Grant Panel Review and Scoring
  3. Florida Council on Arts and Culture Recommendations
  4. Secretary of State Approval

Staff Review

Division staff will review all applications that meet the deadline for basic eligibility. Staff does not make subjective evaluations or comments on the content or quality of any grant application. Only applications that meet eligibility requirements will be made available to the grant review panel.

Staff will contact the applicant during the staff review to resolve the following problems.

Applications may only be amended at the request of Division staff. Only changes that are approved by the Division will be provided to the review panel.

Panel Review

After Division staff review, the Division will release eligible applications to the grant panel for review and scoring.

The Division is always seeking panelist nominations. Anyone may nominate a panelist (themselves or someone else) at any time using our panelist nomination form.

Panelists must be practicing artists or other professionals actively involved in the specific discipline or program for which the panel will be appointed. Panelists will be appointed by the Secretary based on the foregoing and the following considerations (in no particular order):

The Secretary may appoint review panels consisting of members from various art and cultural disciplines and programs to assist the Council in the grant review process. Review panels shall meet at the call of the Division. Panels shall be chaired by a Council member who shall be appointed by a Council chair, but shall not vote on application being reviewed. In the absence of a panel chair, a Division staff member will serve as the non-voting panel chair.

Panelists shall serve for a 1-year term but may be reappointed for up to three successive years. Panelists are not paid but are reimbursed for travel and per diem expenses when attending in-person panel meetings in accordance with section 112.061(2)(e), Florida Statutes. All panel members must comply with the Standards of Conduct for Public Officers and Employees of Agencies as set forth in section 112.313. Florida Statutes, and voting conflict of interest laws as set forth in sections 112.3143 and 286.012 Florida Statutes.

Once appointed, panelists will independently evaluate each application based on the review criteria detailed in these guidelines. After each panel member has evaluated the applications, there will be a public panel meeting to review, discuss, and score the applications.

Panel Meetings

Panel meetings are a public process (usually conducted by teleconference) and anyone can participate by attending in person or by calling in via a toll-free number. Participation instructions will be emailed to applicants and posted on the Division's web site. Applicants do not need to inform the Division that they will participate in the panel meeting teleconference. Although the Division strongly encourages applicants to participate in the grant panel meeting, it is not required. Participating in the panel process can be very helpful for those that intend to apply for future grants.

A typical panel meeting will include the following:

  1. Call to Order

  2. Introduction of Panelists, Staff, and Call-In Participants/Audience

  3. General Program Comments from the Chair

  4. Application Review:

    1. Preliminary scoring of applications;

      For each application:

      • the Chair will announce the application number and applicant name
      • applicants may provide a brief update on the application. Updates may only include new proposal information
      • applicants will be permitted to respond to panelist questions
      • each panelist will voice his or her score
      • Division staff will calculate and voice the total points and the average panel score.

  5. Public comment prior to panel consensus on scores;

    During public comment, anyone (including applicants) may speak about the applications under consideration. After public comment, panelists may adjust their scores before the final vote to accept all scores.

  6. Panel Recommendations

  7. General discussion from the panel (policies, procedures)

  8. General comments from the public

  9. Closing remarks from the Chair

  10. Adjournment

Florida Council on Arts and Culture Review

After the panel meeting, the Division will report the panel recommendations to the Florida Council on Arts and Culture in the form of a ranked list. The Council may amend panel recommendations based on new or existing information about the applicant or panel proceedings.

Information that will allow recalculation of the average score by the Council includes, but is not limited to:

Information that may result in the Council recommending zero funding includes:

The Council may also amend typographical errors in the panel recommendations.

Council Recommendations

All General Program Support applications recommended by the Council will be merged into one ranked list in accordance with section 265.286(3), Florida Statutes, using the following system.

  1. Applications will be ranked by average score (highest to lowest)
  2. Applications with a tied average score will be ranked using their totals for each criterion point in the following order:
    1. Excellence and Innovation
    2. Impact
    3. Management
    4. Accessibility
  3. If there is still a tie after the score for each criterion has been compared, the applications will be ranked in application number order (lowest to highest).

This ranked list will be submitted to the Secretary of State for review and approval as described below.

Secretary of State Review and Approval

The Secretary of State may approve, amend, or recalculate scores or amend the recommendations of the Council as described under the Council Review section above.

Funding

Subject to legislative appropriation, all applications approved by the Secretary of State will be funded using the following method:

  1. If the Legislative appropriation is equal to the total amount requested by applicants on the list, all applicants will be awarded their full request amount.

  2. If the appropriation is less than the total amount requested by applicants on the list, award amounts will be determined by a score-based formula that proportionally distributes the appropriation.

    1. request amount
    2. score as a percentage (average score of application / 100)
    3. adjusted request = request amount (A) x score as a percentage (B)
    4. total appropriation
    5. proportional ratio = appropriation (D) / total of all adjusted requests (C)

    award amount = adjusted request (C) x proportional ratio (E)

Beginning with the 2011-2012 grant period (and subject to appropriation by the Legislature), the Department of State's Legislative Budget Request (LBR) will include the Secretary of State's approved ranked list of General Program Support applications. The Legislature may use this list to appropriate an amount in accordance with section 265.286 (3), Florida Statutes.

Grant Administration

Noncompliance

Any applicant that has not submitted required reports or satisfied other administrative requirements for previous Division of Cultural Affairs grants or grants from any other Office of Cultural, Historical, and Information Programs (OCHIP) division will be in noncompliance and subject to the OCHIP Grants Compliance Procedures. These procedures are incorporated by reference and available from the Division of Cultural Affairs. (OCHIP divisions include the Division of Cultural Affairs, the Division of Historical Resources, and the Division of Library and Information Services.)

Grant compliance issues must be resolved before grantees can:

Panels will be advised of each applicant's compliance history (up to 6 years prior to review) for consideration and scoring in the Management Review criterion. Panelists may adjust the Management review criterion score within the allowable range. In the past, otherwise competitive applications have received lower scores due to noncompliance.

The Council may decline to recommend for funding an otherwise eligible application if the applicant is included on the Department's Noncompliant Grantees List at the time of review by the Council.

Grant Forms

The following forms must be used in the administration of all grants in these guidelines and are hereby incorporated by reference and available from the Division at http://www.florida-arts.org.

  1. Grant Application (Form CA2E145), effective 6/2010
  2. Grant Report (Form CA2E004), effective 6/2010
  3. Grant Amendment Request (Form CA2E002), effective 6/2010
  4. Grant Award Agreement (Form CA2E142), effective 6/2010

Grant Award Agreement

The Grant Award Agreement is the contract between the grantee and the Division. It includes the requirements for the administration of the grant. Grantees must sign and return this agreement to the Division within 30 days of the date on the agreement. Failure to return the agreement within 30 days of the date on the agreement will result in the grant being rescinded by the Division. Payments will not be released and grantees cannot spend state funds until the Grant Award Agreement has been executed. The Division will send grantees a fully executed copy of the agreement for their files.

Grant Amendment Request

The Grant Amendment Request form allows grantees to request changes to the approved grant. The funded grant application becomes part of the Grant Award Agreement. Changes to the approved application must be submitted using the Grant Amendment Request form.

Changes include, but are not limited to the following:

The Division will review requested changes to the grant award. Approval of the change request will be based on whether the change is directly related to the goals of the funded application. The Division must approve the changes prior to their implementation. If changes are implemented without the Division’s written approval, the organization is subject to noncompliance, and the grant award is subject to reduction or complete refund to the State of Florida, in accordance with the Grant Award Agreement.

Grant Payments

Grant funds will be available in quarterly installments. Grantees do not have to submit a request for payment. No payments will be released until the Grant Award Agreement has been executed. Payments will not be issued to grantees in noncompliance.

Florida Single Audit Act

Each nonstate entity that expends $500,000 or more in state awards during the grant recipient's fiscal year is required to have a state single audit or project specific audit for that fiscal year. A state award is defined as state financial assistance from any source provided to the recipient to carry out a state project. The audit shall include a schedule of receipts and expenditures for the entire award expended. The audit should be submitted within nine (9) calendar months following the end of the organization’s fiscal year. Additional information will be made available through the Grant Award Agreement.

For additional details on the Florida Single Audit Act, visit http://www.myflorida.com/audgen/pages/flsaa.htm.

Crediting the Division

Grantees are required to credit the Division for funding using the following sponsorship statement.

“Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.”
The logo for the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs The statement must appear when publicizing, advertising or describing sponsorship in accordance with S. 286.25, Florida Statutes.

The statement must be used on at least one promotional material even if there are no materials that publicize, advertise, or describe sponsorship.

Promotional materials for programming funded with money from the Division of Cultural Affairs should either include the sponsorship statement, or the Division logo, or both. The sponsorship statement (with or without the Division logo) should also be included on posters, brochures, catalogs, press releases, web sites, flyers, etc.

The Division's logo can be used alone on items where the complete credit statement will not fit, such as postcards, magnets, etc.

The DCA logo can be downloaded from the Division's web site at http://www.florida-arts.org/grants/getlogo.htm.

Grant Reporting

Grantees must submit a Grant Report to the Division. The grant report includes information and documentation that the proposed programming was completed in compliance with the Grant Award Agreement and these guidelines.

The Division uses the information provided in the Grant Report to:

The final Grant Report is due on July 30 following the end of the grant period (June 30). If a grant period extension has been approved by the Division, an interim Grant Report is due on July 30. Failure to submit a report on the due date will place your organization into noncompliance.

Public Records Retention

Grantees must maintain complete and accurate grant records. These records must be readily available on request for a period of five years following the approval of the grant report. If there is an audit or litigation regarding the grant, then all records should be maintained for five years from the end of the audit or litigation.

How to Apply

Grant applications to the Division will have two parts: an application form and an application package.

Application Form

The application form must be completed using the Division's online grant application and be submitted online by 11:59 pm ET on the application deadline. Deadlines will be posted on the Division's web site at http://www.florida-arts.org/grants/.

Applicants may request that a submitted application be electronically un-submitted at any point before the application deadline. An un-submitted application must be re-submitted by the application deadline to be considered.

Application Package

The application package should contain the following:

* Required with each application. Not-for-profit, tax exempt applicants only.

Do not include printed copies of your electronic application form in the application package.

The application package must be mailed to the Division and postmarked by the application deadline. If the application deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the application package must be postmarked by the following day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.

Help

For general information about the Division of Cultural Affairs and to access grant information, panel details and resources, visit our web site at: http://www.florida-arts.org.

For information about Local Arts Agency or State Service Organization program support, contact:

Megan Burke
(850) 245-6458
mcburke@dos.state.fl.us

For information about Discipline-Based program support, contact the program manager responsible for your discipline:

Folk Arts, Literature, Media Arts, Museums, Sponsor/Presenter

D. Scott Moore
(850) 245-6478
dsmoore@dos.state.fl.us

Dance, Music, Theatre (Community and Professional), Multidisciplinary, Visual Arts

Sarah T. Stage
(850) 245-6459
sstage@dos.state.fl.us

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