American Masterpieces: Presenting

CFDA No. 45.024
2009NEA01AMP
7544800

Potential applicants are strongly advised to consult with the Presenting staff to confirm that their proposed projects meet the goals of the Presenting component of the American Masterpieces initiative.

Grant Program Description

American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius is a major initiative to acquaint Americans with the best of their cultural and artistic legacy. Through American Masterpieces, the National Endowment for the Arts will sponsor performances, exhibitions, tours, and educational programs across all art forms that will reach large and small communities in all 50 states.

This component of American Masterpieces will celebrate the extraordinary and rich contribution that presenting organizations make in American communities. Through American Masterpieces: Presenting, presentations of the performing, visual, media, design, and literary arts of the highest quality will be experienced by Americans in communities across the nation.

This category is for projects that embrace multiple arts disciplines. Projects must consist of either a single multidisciplinary project or a multidisciplinary series comprised of several different single-discipline presentations. Projects with components that primarily feature or support a single discipline (e.g., dance, music, musical theater, opera, visual arts) will not be considered. If you have questions as to whether your project qualifies as multidisciplinary, consult with the Presenting staff before preparing an application.

Presenting organizations of all sizes, genres, and aesthetics are encouraged to apply. Projects may be initiated by:

• Networks of presenters.
• College or university presenters.
• Local, regional, or national presenters.
• National service organizations and their networks.

The Arts Endowment plans to support a variety of multidisciplinary presentations that are artistically, historically, and culturally significant and that reflect the full breadth of genres. Presenters may define master artists or masterworks within their own context, community vision, or goals.

Projects or series may focus on but are not limited to:

• Masterpieces from the American classical canon.
• Revivals, reconstructions, or restagings of collaborations of master artists.
• Revivals, reconstructions, or restagings of works by master artists.
• Masterworks of historical or cultural significance.
• Masterworks representing newer works or art forms.
• Lesser known masterworks or works by master artists unique to the nation, region, or community.

Commissions and new works are not eligible.

Projects must be accompanied by related educational, interpretive, or contextual components. These may include discussions, master classes, seminars, exhibitions, program material, or cooperative learning projects with educational or community institutions. Curriculum-based educational components for children and youth must ensure the application of national or state arts education standards.

Award Information

Grant Amounts and Matching Funds

The Arts Endowment anticipates awarding up to 40 grants, generally ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. All grants require a nonfederal match of at least 1 to 1.

Period of Support

The Arts Endowment’s support of a project may start on or after September 1, 2010. Project activities, which include planning, should begin by April 30, 2011. A grant period of up to two years is allowed.

No pre-award costs are allowable in the Project Budget. Project costs that are incurred before September 1, 2010, will be removed from the Project Budget.

Applicant Eligibility

Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), U.S. organizations; units of state or local government; or federally recognized tribal communities or tribes may apply. To be eligible, the applicant organization must:

• Meet the Arts Endowment's "Legal Requirements," including nonprofit, tax-exempt status, as detailed in the FY 2010 Grants for Arts Projects guidelines, at the time of application.
• Have a three-year history of programming that includes presenting activity prior to the application deadline.
• Have submitted acceptable Final Report packages by the due date(s) for all Arts Endowment award(s) previously received.

For projects that involve multiple organizations, one organization that meets the eligibility requirements above must act as the official applicant, submit the application, and assume full responsibility for the grant.

Organizations are limited to one American Masterpieces: Presenting application per year.

An application in response to this announcement does not preclude an organization from applying under other Arts Endowment funding opportunities including Grants for Arts Projects. In each case, the request must be for a distinctly different project. There also should be no overlapping project costs with other federally sponsored projects such as NEA Jazz Masters Live.

The designated fifty state and six jurisdictional arts agencies (SAAs) and their regional arts organizations (RAOs) are not eligible to apply under the American Masterpieces: Presenting guidelines.

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 September 24, 2009.

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. You take a significant risk by waiting until the day of the deadline to submit your application.

Supporting material that must be mailed directly to the Arts Endowment must be postmarked (or show other proof of mailing) no later than September 25, 2009.

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 or the NEA's Registration Checklist. 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:

• CCR Assistance Center: 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.
• Grants.gov Contact Center: 1-800-518-4726, e-mail support@grants.gov, or consult the information posted on the Grants.gov Web site at Applicant Help. Hours of operation are 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday to Friday.

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. 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.

If you are unable to submit your application electronically, you may request a waiver. A waiver will be granted for the following reasons only:

• Internet access is not available within a 30-mile radius of your organization's business office.

• Disability prevents the submission of an electronic application.

Your waiver request must be in writing and must be received (not postmarked) at the Arts Endowment at least three weeks before the application deadline, or no later than 5:30 p.m., Eastern Time, on September 3, 2009. You may fax your request to 202/682-5660 or send it to:

Deputy Chairman for Grants and Awards
Grants.gov Waiver Request
Room 710
National Endowment for the Arts
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20506-0001

The National Endowment for the Arts continues to experience delays in the delivery of First-Class mail. Please consider faxing your waiver request or using a commercial delivery service, particularly if you are sending your request close to the receipt deadline.

In the event a waiver is granted, your complete paper application package must be postmarked (or show other proof of mailing) no later than September 24, 2009.

IMPORTANT: You must have a version of Adobe Reader that is supported by Grants.gov 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.

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

Then follow the link to "How to Prepare and Submit an Application." This link will take you the the application instructions and requirements for Presenting applicants that are applying under the Access to Artistic Excellence category in the FY 2010 Grants for Arts Projects guidelines. Follow these instructions for your American Masterpieces: Presenting application.

For the "Category" field on the NEA Supplemental Information Form, select "Other" from the drop-down box.

Application Review

The following criteria are considered during the review of applications:

The artistic excellence of the project, which includes the:

• Quality of the artists, arts organizations, and works of art that the project will involve, as appropriate.
• Artistic significance of the project.

The artistic merit of the project, which includes the:

• Potential impact on the artistic and/or cultural heritage of the nation, region, or field.
• Extent to which the project broadens access to the arts and/or presents art that otherwise would not be available
• Potential to enhance the educational experiences of the audience or participants.
• Appropriateness of the project to the organization’s mission, audience, and community.
• Plans for documentation, evaluation, and dissemination, as appropriate, of the project.
• 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.
• Where appropriate, the potential to reach 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 Masterpieces: Presenting initiative is: Audiences throughout the nation have opportunities to experience a wide range of art forms and activities. 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 2010.

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 will be provided with specific requirements for acknowledgment of the American Masterpieces initiative. Grantees also should make certain that the venues give appropriate credit to the Arts Endowment's American Masterpieces initiative.

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 review and audits, and other administrative matters that pertain to this announcement.

Agency Contacts

If you have questions, please contact:

Mario Garcia Durham
Director, Artist Communities & Presenting
202/682-5469 or durhamm@arts.gov

Silvio Lim
Specialist, Presenting
202/682-5658 or lims@arts.gov

Reporting Burden

The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated at an average of 32 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.

June 2009

OMB No. 3135-0112 Expires 11/30/2010

National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal agency
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20506

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