SR-305-005 (6)
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City Council Report
City Council Meeting: February 6,2007
Agenda Item: 6-D
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Barbara Stinchfield, Director, Community and Cultural Services
Department
Subject:
Funding Guidelines and Selection Criteria for 2007 -08 Cultural/Art
Organizational Support Grants
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that Council adopt the attached set of funding guidelines and
selection criteria, and authorize staff to release an application for the FY 2007-08
Cultural/Arts Organizational Support Grants.
Executive Summary
This report recommends that the City Council approve the guidelines and selection
criteria for the Santa Monica Cultural/Arts Organizational Support Program (OSP)
Grants for Fiscal Year 2007-08. This report does not recommend any changes to the
structure of the program for the upcoming year. It is anticipated that Creative Capital,
the community cultural plan currently under development, will recommend a number of
possible structural changes to the City's cultural funding programs for phased
implementation in the future.
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Discussion
While Creative Capital will include recommendations to modify aspects of the City's
cultural funding programs, the plan has yet to be finalized or adopted by Council.
Additionally, a portion of the recently established Cultural Arts Trust Fund may be
dedicated to expanding cultural and arts grants in the future. However, the amount of
Trust Fund Income generated from the Art Requirement for Private Development is not
currently known and therefore a specific level of support to the OSP Grant Program can
not be determined for the coming year. Finally, through the community process for
Creative Capital it has been determined that additional public input from stakeholders is
needed before finalizing any recommended revisions to the City's existing grant
programs.
Staff therefore recommends that Council approve the attached guidelines and criteria
for a one-year Cultural/Arts Organizational Support Program in Fiscal Year 2007-08 as
opposed to a three-year cycle as has been the practice since 1997. During the next
calendar year, staff will be better positioned to gauge the amount of funds that might be
available for grants through the Cultural/Arts Trust Fund and to refine the grant
restructuring recommendation included in Creative Capital. In January 2008, staff will
return to Council with any proposed revisions to the existing grant programs including
the Cultural/Arts Organizational Support Program Grants.
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Backqround
The Santa Monica Cultural/Arts Organizational Support Grant Program was initiated in
FY 1997-98 in response to the 1996 Cultural Arts Master Plan Update which called for
development of policies and procedures for ongoing operating support grants to Santa
Monica-based cultural and arts organizations. At that time, Council directed staff to
develop a grant application process which would address the cultural interests of the
community-at-Iarge while ensuring the fiscal stability of the cultural organizations which
contribute to the City's environment. Eligibility guidelines were developed and approved
by Council in January 1997, 1999 and 2002 and used to select the first three cycles of
grantees. These guidelines are provided in Attachment I.
In FY 2006-07, the Cultural/Arts Organizational Support Program provided $275,943 in
financial assistance to resident nonprofit arts and cultural agencies demonstrating a
commitment to serving the needs of the Santa Monica community. Funding in this
program is primarily dedicated to staffing, community outreach, development expenses,
rent and other basic operational expenses, ensuring the organizations' continued
presence in the City while enabling them to better meet Santa Monica's cultural needs
by employing professional staff and ensuring that the community is aware of and has
access to the arts and cultural opportunities available in the City.
Eleven agencies were recommended for funding in Fiscal Year 2002-03, with an
additional two years of funding contingent upon effective program performance,
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Prepared by:
Jessica Cusick, Cultural Affairs Manager
Approved:
Forwarded to Council:
vKc--- 6~
Barbara Stinch ield
Director, Community and Cultural
Services Department
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Attachment I
Minimum Eligibility Requirements
Applicants are eligible to apply for grant funding through the City's Cultural/Art Organizational
Support Grant Program if they meet the following Council approved minimum eligibility
requirements:
The applicant is a resident Santa Monica arts or cultural organization and has been based in the
City for at least five years; and
The applicant maintains tax-exempt status under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue
Code; and
The applicant complies with Fair Labor Standards and pays professional performers, artists, and
supporting personnel at least the minimum level of compensation paid to people employed in
similar activities.
The applicant is in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VIII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1968 (as amended), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.
Applicant does not discriminate in the hiring of staff or provision of services on the basis of race,
religion, sex, age, national origin, disabilities, HIV status, political affiliation or beliefs, or sexual
preference.
Selection Criteria
Applications for the City's Cultural/Arts Organizational Support Grant Program will be reviewed
according to how effectively applicants can demonstrate that they meet the following Council-
approved selection criteria:
Offers ongoing programs of cultural and artistic excellence, indicated by
providing promotional and other sample materials showing the overall history of
the organization;
Meets community needs by means of a range of programs;
Links and collaborates with other Santa Monica-based arts and cultural
organizations;
Demonstrates the community's support of the organization through
documentation of audience, volunteer, and organizational demographics, general
methods of community outreach, and attendance figures;
Demonstrates viability and long-term stability by providing organizational budget
documents including revenue breakdowns listing all major donors;
Employs a professional staff;
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Provides accessibility of programming to the general public;
Has a diversified funding base with no more than 25% of their total cash funding
derived from the City of Santa Monica.
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