Statewide Forums on Careers in the Arts for Individuals with Disabilities

CFDA No. 45.024
2009NEA01ACC
7390000

Award Program Description

This project is designed to advance education and career opportunities in the arts for individuals with disabilities. A June 1998 National Forum on Careers in the Arts for Individuals with Disabilities and three subsequent summits on arts education, arts administration, and vocational rehabilitation assessed needs in this area and recommended strategies for addressing them. A key recommendation was the convening of statewide forums.

The Arts Endowment initiated the Statewide Forums on Careers in the Arts for Individuals with Disabilities project in 2002. Since that time, 26 states have convened forums and conducted follow-up activities.

The Arts Endowment plans to award a single award of up to $50,000 to an organization to 1) manage and support a minimum of two Statewide Forums on Careers in the Arts for Individuals with Disabilities in states that have not yet convened such a forum, and 2) conduct a minimum of four follow-up activities in states that have convened forums. Based on the review of applications, the NEA will determine the appropriate funding mechanism for this award (i.e., either a cooperative agreement or a grant). The awardee organization will:

• Develop a protocol whereby state arts agencies (those organizations that are officially designated and financially supported by their state governments as such) may submit proposals to convene statewide forums or conduct follow-up activities on careers in the arts for people with disabilities. The awardee organization must provide oversight and consultation to the state arts agencies as they develop their proposals. State arts agencies should be encouraged to develop their projects with their VSAarts affiliates.

• Ensure that each forum or follow-up activity engages key individuals and organizations from the arts and disability communities. Career opportunities should span all arts disciplines and include a wide variety of positions such as museum curator, media artist, visual artist, costume designer, actor, director, arts gallery manager, poet, and writer.

• Conduct a peer review to evaluate proposals and determine the state arts agencies that will participate.

• Provide technical assistance to and monitor the activities of the selected states as they develop their forums or follow-up activities. This must include:

  • Convening regular conference calls to review progress and provide guidance.

  • Identifying and providing resources for participants.

• Provide reimbursement for the forum or follow-up activity expenses.

• Evaluate the statewide forums, follow-up activities, and technical assistance provided. This should include evaluation of the project's operations and its impact through both quantitative and qualitative data.

• Summarize the results and provide recommendations for the future. This includes providing the following reports to the Arts Endowment:

  • A six-month progress report.

  • A final report with a summary and analysis of findings from the forums and follow-up activities including recommendations.

• Disseminate relevant information to the field. This may include:

  • Using the awardee organization’s Web site and message board to exchange information and to post lessons learned for and from forum and follow-up activity participants.

  • Disseminating information and a calendar of events to the arts and disability community and to the public at large.

• Secure any rights, permissions, and releases that are required to carry out the project.

For more information on the background of this project, visit the Accessibility section of the Arts Endowment’s Web site.

Award Information

Grant Amounts and Matching Funds

The Arts Endowment plans to make one award of up to $50,000, which requires a nonfederal match of at least 1 to 1.

The award may be renewed for up to four years, subject to agency priorities, the availability of funds, and awardee performance.

Period of Support

The Arts Endowment’s support of this project may start on or after January 1, 2010. An initial award period of up to two years is allowed. 

No pre-award costs are allowable in the Project Budget. Project costs that are incurred before January 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 at least a three-year history of experience that is directly related to the types of activities outlined in the "Award Program Description" prior to the application deadline.
• Have submitted acceptable Final Report packages by the due date(s) for all Arts Endowment award(s) previously received.

Organizations are limited to a single application. An application in response to this announcement does not preclude an organization from applying under other Arts Endowment funding areas including Grants for Arts Projects. In each case, the request must be for a distinctly different project.

The designated fifty state and six jurisdictional arts agencies (SAAs) and their regional arts organizations (RAOs) are not eligible to apply under this program announcement.

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 August 6, 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 August 7, 2009. Please mail these items to the AccessAbility office in Room 523, not any other office listed in the Grants for Arts Projects guidelines.

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 July 16, 2009. You may fax your request to 202/682-5602 or send it to:

Deputy Chairman for States, Regions, and Local Arts Agencies
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 August 6, 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 to the application instructions and requirements for 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 application. Submit only these items:

Application Review

The following criteria are considered during the review of applications:

The artistic excellence of the project, which includes the:

• Artistic significance of the project.
• Quality of the artists, arts organizations, works of art, and/or services that the project will involve.

The artistic merit of the project, which includes the:

• Potential to enhance access to the arts and opportunities in the arts for individuals with disabilities.
• Involvement of the targeted populations in planning, developing, and implementing the project.
• Potential effects on participating artists and the artistic community.
• Appropriateness of the project to the organization’s mission, audience, and/or constituency.
• Applicant’s track record in working with appropriate partners to provide or enhance opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
• Applicant’s ability to oversee, provide technical assistance for, and monitor a multi-state program that engages individuals with disabilities.
• Plans for documentation and evaluation 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.

* 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 this project 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 awards. Pending the availability of funding, it is anticipated that applicants will be notified of award or rejection in November 2009.

Award Administration

Crediting Requirement

Awardees must clearly acknowledge support from the National Endowment for the Arts in their programs and related promotional material including publications and Web sites. Awardees may be provided with specific requirements for acknowledgment of their projects.

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.

Agency Contacts

If you have questions, please contact:

Katie Lyles Levy
Accessibility Specialist
202/682-5733 or 202/682-5496 Voice/T.T.Y.
lylesk@arts.gov

Paula Terry
Director, AccessAbility
terryp@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.

July 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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