General Information about the Philadelphia Cultural Fund. Fiscal Year 2015 Overview & Guidelines

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1 General Information about the Philadelphia Cultural Fund Fiscal Year 2015 Overview & Guidelines Introduction The Philadelphia Cultural Fund celebrated its 20 th anniversary in As PCF made its 20 th round of grants, the board of directors engaged in a strategic planning process which included a review of the first 20 years of grant making, a survey of the grantees, and a plan to move forward embracing the changes and challenges in Philadelphia s current arts ecology. The response to our survey was an amazing 87%. We learned a great deal about what our grantees valued and where they felt they needed the most assistance. The changes that PCF has made to its grants policies and processes are in direct response to the information obtained from the survey results, as well as, other observations from the application process. In addition to using survey feedback, the PCF board asked various members of the grantee community to join the Grants Committee of the board to help design the changes. This enlarged Grants Committee of 15 people worked in sub-committees and as a group to develop a new application format and additional programs for 2014 and beyond. You may be applying for the first time since these changes were made (due to the institution of multi-year grants you may not have needed to apply last year). The Changes for 2015 Include: Continuation of multi-year grants for established organizations (3 years) Continuation of one year grants for organizations that work on a project basis (rather than operate year-round) Grant categories defined by budget size (rather than by discipline) No budget limit for organizations requiring fiscal sponsors (previously $50,000) Other forms of incorporation, such as LLC and Partnerships, are eligible for funding with the use of a fiscal sponsor (arts and culture must be primary purpose of applicant) Right sized applications for New and Emerging, small, medium and large organizations Organizations using Fiscal Sponsors. CDP Report (attached to the application) Fiscal Sponsors are pre-approved by PCF How does this affect my organization? Multi-Year Grants: Beginning with the 2013 grants (the grant you received in March 2013) and moving forward into this year, your organization will be on one of three application tracks. Track A organizations will not submit a full application until the 2016 grant cycle. The score you received in your 2013 review will be carried for 2014 and Your grant will be newly calculated each year. We cannot tell you the amount of your 2014 and 2015 grants, but we can confirm that you will receive a grant (as long as PCF receives its allocation from the city budget).

2 Track B organizations will apply for the 2015 grant cycle. Track C organizations will not apply again until the 2017 grant cycle. The score you received in your 2014 review will be carried for 2015 and Your grant will be newly calculated each year. We cannot tell you the amount of your 2015 and 2016 grants, but we can confirm that you will receive a grant (as long as PCF receives its allocation from the city budget). If you are a first time applicant, you should apply with Track B. If you did not receive a grant in the 2014 grant cycle, you should apply with Track B. If you have not received a grant recently but wish to apply, you should apply with Track B. One Year Grants: Some organizations should apply annually. New and Emerging organizations (up to five years old) will be required to apply annually. Organizations that work on a project-by-project basis should apply annually. Applications for project based work may submit project budgets rather than operating budgets; for example, an event which occurs once a year and needs only a few weeks preparation may submit a project budget with a one year grant application. Organizations that score in the lowest fifth of a panel will be awarded a one year grant and will need to apply the following year for a multi-year grant. Youth Arts Enrichment Grants: Organizations that have received general operating grants may apply for a second round of funding to support a program that use the arts to enrich the lives of young people in and out of school. Please check with PCF staff for information about Youth Arts Enrichment grants. What Is Project Based Work (working on a project-by-project basis)? Some organizations don t have offices, staff or year-round operations. They do one project at a time, and they only present the projects if they have raised enough money to complete them. It s possible that they are working on more than one project at a time (for example, one for this year and one for down the line sometime), but they still only present projects when the money has been raised. If your organization works like this, you will prepare a stronger application using the specific information for your upcoming project rather than trying to invent or describe operations that don t actually exist. Categories by Budget Size: Beginning with the 2014 grant cycle, categories will be arranged by budget size. Budget size is determined by averaging the most recent three years of annual expenses as reported on the CDP. To determine in which category your organizations belongs, please complete the CDP report for your most recent fiscal year. When you generate the PCF Funder Report, you will be given your AVERAGE BUDGET for the past four years. The categories are: Budgets under $50,000 Budgets $50,000 to $150,000 Budgets $150,000 to $400,000 Budgets $400,000 to $1,500,000 Budgets $1,500,000 and over

3 In order to accommodate multi-year grants, it is necessary for PCF to change from disciplinary panels to multi-disciplinary budget based panels. Your organization will be reviewed with other organizations of a similar budget size regardless of artistic discipline. The panelists will be multi-disciplinary. For years PCF has had multi-disciplinary panels in the New and Emerging category, Arts Education, the Large Institution category and the Multi-Disciplinary category and we find that they are no less effective than the disciplinary panels. Fiscal Sponsors: In the past, only organizations with budgets of less than $50,000 could indefinitely use a fiscal sponsor. That limit has been removed and organizations of any size may indefinitely use a fiscal sponsor. However, the rules for fiscal sponsorship have changed. Organizations who wish to use a fiscal sponsor must select one from a preapproved PCF list. Approved fiscal sponsors must meet specific requirements and agree to comply with the terms of fiscal sponsorship. Organizations who wish to act as fiscal sponsors should contact PCF office in advance to become an approved fiscal sponsor. Applicant Eligibility Organizations located in the City of Philadelphia may apply for funding if they meet the following eligibility requirements: Arts and culture is the primary focus of their mission. Arts and culture is defined as dedicated to creating, preserving and/or exhibiting visual, literary and performing arts, architecture, science and history. At least sixty percent (60%) of the organization s activities or budget must be devoted to arts and culture. Office and place of business operations must be located in the City of Philadelphia as demonstrated by the address used on the organization s official 990 document, information on the website, letterhead and printed public materials. Organizations that use P.O. Boxes as their official address will have to demonstrate that they qualify as a Philadelphia based organization. Please do not use the address of a board member or volunteer. A demonstrated commitment to provide arts and culture to the residents of the City of Philadelphia. At least 60% of programs must be presented in the City of Philadelphia. Incorporated as a not for profit in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and recognition of 501 (3) tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Unincorporated organizations, such as LLC s or partnerships, regardless of size may apply using a fiscal sponsor if they can demonstrate that the organization has a mission which advances arts and culture and has a community benefit. Must have a Governing/Advisory Group (such as a board of directors, advisory committee, or programming committee). Ideally, the composition of this group represents the diversity of the broader community. This may not apply to established entities using a fiscal sponsor. Must have programs available to the public (OK to charge for them) and attended by a broad range of participants. Examples of unacceptable programs: a library collection of valuable documents not open to the public for study or research. Non-discriminatory employment and personnel practices. Must be in compliance with IRS 990 regulations or IRS 1065 and 1023 regulations. Audited financial statements, if required, must be completed within one year of the filing of the 990 tax return. The Bureau of Charitable Organizations requires organizations that raise $300,000 or more in contributed income to obtain a financial audit.

4 For-profit organizations with budgets of $300,000 and over must obtain audited financial statements. New and/or Emerging Organizations (up to five years old) What constitutes an organization? Three or more people. An articulated artistic or cultural mission and vision and demonstrated community benefit. The presence of a governing group of people who give guidance and advice (a board or committee). At least one person responsible for ensuring programmatic and fiscal accountability. A plan or planning process as to how to obtain the stated mission and vision. New and/or emerging organizations are eligible for funding if they meet each of the following guidelines: Arts and culture is the primary focus of their mission. Arts and culture is defined as dedicated to creating, preserving and/or exhibiting visual, literary and performing arts, architecture, science and history. Sixty percent (60%) of the organization s activities or budget must be arts and culture related. The organization has a demonstrated track record of public programming. The organization has the capacity to carry out its stated programming goals through the support of staff, board and/or volunteers. Office and place of business operations must be located in the City of Philadelphia Sixty percent (60%) of programs must be presented in the City of Philadelphia. Must have a Governing/Advisory Group (such as a board of directors, advisory committee, or programming committee). Ideally, the composition of this group represents the diversity of the broader community. Non discriminatory employment and personnel practices. The organization may use a fiscal sponsor for in lieu of having its own status. The fiscal sponsor must be approved in advance. Ineligible Applicants The following are not eligible for Cultural Fund grants: Individual artists. Sole proprietorships. Organizations whose primary purpose is not arts and culture. Agencies and departments of city, state and federal governments. Public or private elementary or secondary schools, colleges and universities with some exceptions (please speak to PCF staff about these exceptions). Organizations that receive support from the City through Councilmanic offices, Mayor s office or any other City department. Organizations that receive support from the City s Activities Fund. Organizations whose offices and/or place of business are located outside the City of Philadelphia. Organizations whose programs are held primarily outside the City of Philadelphia.

5 Application Criteria Please also refer to the Criteria Rubric later in the guidelines to understand these categories and their meaning. In evaluating grant applications, the peer panel will consider the following criteria: Program Merit and Strength (15%) Community Impact (25%) Leadership and Governance (15%) Operations and Managerial Capacity (15%) Integrity and Fiscal Responsibility (15%) Ability to Plan and Evaluate (15%) Although at first glance it appears that program merit and strength in addition to community impact make up less than half of the criteria value, the assignment of percentages is designed so that organizations with very strong scores in the first two criteria can receive minimum scores in the remaining four criteria and still receive a grant. For example, with perfect scores in the first two criteria (15 and 25) an organization will have 40 points. If the remaining four categories receive only 7 or 8 points each, the final score will be between 68 and 72, which will probably result in a grant. Sixty percent (60%) of the score was derived from the first two categories. However, if an organization receives very low scores in the final four criteria, regardless of how well it scores in the first two categories, it cannot successfully score high enough for a grant. Although program merit and strength and community impact are essential criteria, it is also vital that the organization have the necessary skills to manage the institution and/or programs. There are countless examples of organizations with fine programs and excellent artistic products that no longer exist because the management infrastructure was weak. Because PCF grants come from public money, it is imperative that grants be made only to those organizations with whom we are confident can manage their institution and/or programs. Categories of Application Grant applications are reviewed by peer panel process. Panelists include artists and arts professionals in the Philadelphia area. Each panel will be multi-disciplinary. Beginning in 2014, categories will be arranged by budget size. Budget size is determined by averaging the most recent four years of annual expenses as reported on the CDP. The categories are: Budgets under $50,000 Budgets $50,000 to $149,999 Budgets $150,000 to $399,999 Budgets $400,000 to $1,499,999 Budgets $1,500,000 and over

6 How Your Application Will Be Reviewed DEADLINE: Applications must be completed online no later than 11:59 pm September 30, Applications will be checked by the staff to ensure the application is complete. Applications that are missing required materials will not be reviewed. Applications that do not include the organization s CDP PCF Funder Report will not be reviewed. In the past, incomplete applications have been allowed an opportunity to make up any deficiencies. There will be no such opportunities this year. Your application will be assigned to a peer panelist, who will contact your organization to schedule a site visit to your organization. A site visit should involve an interview with senior management and/or a board member. It may also include the panelist s attendance at a performance or program. Although one person is specifically assigned to make the site visit, all panelists will review and read your application. Meeting with your peer panelist is mandatory. It is an opportunity to present and discuss the organization s programs and accomplishments over the past year in the most positive and constructive way possible. Please make sure to respond promptly to the peer panelist when they are trying to set up an appointment. Please try not to forget your appointment, keep your peer panelist waiting (remember their time is valuable also), neither use the visit to complain about city funding nor previous grant amounts. Your peer panelist may ask to see additional organizational documents, particularly if there is information in your application, ancillary materials or site visit which may be supported by these documents. When the panel convenes, the visiting panelist will describe for the others the experience he/she had with your organization during the site visit. Each panelist will then share their impressions of your application, and any direct experience they may have had with your organization over the past year. Panelists who have a conflict of interest with the organization will be asked to leave the room prior to the discussion and scoring. Examples of conflicts of interest are: being an employee or paid consultant; being a board or committee member or a volunteer. At the end of the panel discussion, each panelist will be asked to give the organization a score from 1 to 100. A score of is superior; excellent; good; fair; below 60 poor. All the scores are added together, then divided by the number of panelists, in order to get an average. This is the final panel score. At this point, all final panel scores go through a normalization process. Because each panel will have its own range of scores low to high, the panels are compared against each other (mathematically) and scores are adjusted up or down so that the mean score of each panel is normalized. The final normalized score is used by a statistician to calculate the grant amount for those organizations who receive awards. For more information or clarification please contact the Philadelphia Cultural Fund at: info@philaculturalfund.org or