Fractured Atlas Blog

Introducing the Cultural Research Network

2013-05-15T22:02:56Z

by Ian David Moss

Way back when I was a fresh-faced intern with the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s Performing Arts Program almost five years ago now, I made a startling discovery. In the course of researching various conceptions and definitions of cultural asset mapping in preparation for what would eventually become my work here at Fractured Atlas, I came to realize that a significant body of literature existed on the arts and economic/community development with which I had been entirely unfamiliar. That wouldn’t have been so notable except that I had previously taken an interest of my own in the topic; I considered myself pretty knowledgeable, certainly relative to my former coworkers and business school colleagues. And yet here I was coming across hundreds of pages of stuff, great stuff, really fascinating, ground-breaking stuff, and hardly anyone in my professional circles knew it existed. That summer, for the first time, I got to know the work of Stern and Seifert, Sheppard, Markusen, Brown, and so many other giants of cultural research who have provided the intellectual underpinnings for much of our current and future arts policies. More than anything else, it was the inspiration I derived from that experience that set me on my current professional path.

Ever since then, I’ve been something of a crusader for developing channels for information-sharing within and around the cultural research space. I simply couldn’t believe that such important work wasn’t more visible within the sector. As my interest grew in building bridges between researchers and practitioners through initiatives such as the Arts Policy Library series on my blog, Createquity, I also began to see the value of facilitating greater connections among arts researchers themselves. While researchers tend to be more plugged in to what their colleagues are doing than your typical practitioner, there are still significant information gaps that too often hold back collective progress. That’s why, after I started work at Fractured Atlas on implementing the Hewlett Foundation’s Bay Area Cultural Asset Map project, I created a Google Group called the “Cultural Mapping Community of Practice” and recruited many of my heroes from the summer of 2008–as well as some new ones I’d picked up along the way–to join.

There was just one problem: other than an initial burst of activity in which participants eagerly shared details of projects that they were working on or had recently completed, not many people made use of the Cultural Mapping Community of Practice. After the pilot phase of the Bay Area Cultural Asset Map was complete, the group essentially fell dormant. I gradually realized that this was probably because participants, despite the name, viewed the Cultural Mapping Community of Practice as the project of a single person–me. Every time I would post something, there would be some responses, but after that conversation would die out and no one would start a new thread. It’s almost like people were waiting for permission to participate.

That’s not what I wanted at all! My vision was for a commons, a shared resource that we all could benefit from and own. But that wasn’t going to be the reality so long as I was the only person behind the curtain. So I started recruiting some trusted colleagues to form a steering committee for the group, starting with Kiley Arroyo, and continuing with Jean Cook, Anne Gadwa Nicodemus, and Andrew Taylor. For the past several months, the five of us have been meeting and speaking regularly, developing background materials, inviting participants from our professional networks, and committing to regularly seed discussion with new and relevant content. Along the way, we changed the name to the less tongue-twisting Cultural Research Network and attracted some notice from the official NEA Art Works blog. And before long, we’ll be opening up membership on the steering committee to nominations from any participant in the group.

I’m proud to share that the Cultural Research Network officially launched this afternoon under its new name and configuration. Here’s an excerpt from the opening message:

How (and How Not!) to Participate in the Cultural Research Network

We hope that you will take advantage of the CRN in the ways that ensure its value and relevance to your work. For example, here are some ideas for how you can participate.

Offer or solicit practical advice and perspectives on methodological challenges. Are you working on a thorny problem outside your area of expertise and aren’t sure how to solve it? Are you considering use of a particular data set and would like perspectives from others who have employed it in the past? Ask away.

Share background information and technical documents developed as part of larger projects. Some of the most valuable elements of a research process—environmental scans, literature reviews, lists of possible data sources, etc.—don’t always make it into a final report. This forum is a great place to share those kinds of materials with your fellow researchers so that we can all learn from them.

Discuss field-wide issues and/or work collaboratively to develop shared infrastructure. What does the field’s sudden interest in Big Data mean for arts research? What are the potentials and barriers to developing common taxonomies for arts-specific data? The CRN provides an ideal venue for conversations about common resources and challenges in the arts research space.

We believe that the CRN will reach its full potential if everyone keeps in mind the following values:

Openness: Participants recognize that no one is an expert in everything, including (especially) themselves. Questions are welcome regardless of the identity of the asker.

Transparency: Participants assume by default that there is more to be gained than lost by sharing information. Dialogue is straightforward, candid, and informed by full context.

Generosity: Empowering people to help one another is a core purpose of the Network. Participants do not hesitate to give freely of their time and expertise to move the field forward.

If all of that sounds interesting, feel free to read the FAQ and sign up at the group homepage. We look forward to sharing and learning with you!

Artful.ly’s Pretty New Face

2013-05-02T13:32:08Z

by Selena Juneau-Vogel

This morning we released a re-design of Artful.ly’s patron records interface! If you don’t speak geek, this might not be immediately exciting to you, so let me just show you what it looks like and what it does. Mouse over this nifty interactive map and click on the red dots to learn about the features and functions of the new Artful.ly people records. (If your browser is being cranky, view the map here.)

Let me expound a bit more on a few of these new features….

Gravatars Profile Photos. A Gravatar is an image that follows you from site to site appearing beside your name when you do things like comment or post on a blog. Sites like WordPress, HootSuite, and American Idol all use Gravatar. Anyone can designate a globally recognized avatar image with his/her email address for free at www.gravatar.com. If an individual in your Artful.ly database has created a Gravatar, that image will now appear on his/her record.

Track More Patron Interactions. Good patron relations are built on interactions. Each time someone buys a ticket, sees a show, receives a newsletter, makes a donation, or gets a thank you letter, it’s adding to their impression of you, your art, and your organization. Referencing a log of these interactions will help you craft compelling solicitation letters, write sincere thank you notes, deliver professional customer service, and generally build stronger relationships with your fans. Artful.ly’s new Action Feed automatically logs many patron interactions including ticket sales, donations, and emails sent via your synced MailChimp lists. You can also manually enter communication, volunteer, and attendance actions to build a comprehensive view of your relationship with every person.

Lifetime Value. Sometimes, our biggest supporters are not so obvious. They quietly come to every show or make little, regular donations without fanfare. Our new lifetime value calculator adds up all those bits of support right on each person’s record so you can see just how much their support is worth.

International Addresses. You can now log patron addresses outside the US. This also means patrons with international credit cards can now make donations and buy tickets. It’s a bit embarrassing how long it took us to get to this, but we’re good to go now. (Canadians–Do you feel the love?)

If you’ve been waiting to try Artful.ly until built up our CRM features a bit more–now is the time. Accounts are free.

(And thanks to my colleague Fahad for letting me make him famous!)

Meet the Project: Born This Way

2013-05-01T20:03:36Z

by Nathan Zebedeo

Each month we will feature one of our fiscally sponsored projects who have been successful at using our program to advance their art/cause/career. This month’s featured project is Born This Way.

More people are imprisoned each year for homosexuality in Cameroon than any other country in the world. With intimate access to the lives of two young gay Cameroonians, Born This Way sketches a vivid portrait of day-to-day life in modern Africa. As a fiscally sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, Born This Way has also found success in applying for foundation support, so we asked Shaun Kadlec and Deb Tullmann, a director/producer on the film, for his insight into the grant application process. These tips are based on Shaun and Deb’s experience.

Could you briefly describe your financial planning process and how you decided what role grant support would play in your goal-setting?

We were very conservative about the target we set to raise from foundations, knowing how tight the competition is. We initially set the goal to raise $50,000 from foundations. We’ve been very lucky to have met and exceeded that goal - though it took a year and a half to do it. We relied heavily on individual donors, who can make donations very quickly, to support our work while we were being considered for grants - which can take months and months.

What do you take into consideration when setting an ask amount on your grant proposals?

We always research the range of grants that foundations give. Sometimes they say what their range is on their application or website, and sometimes you need to ask around or look at their tax filings on the Foundation Center or a similar resource. We got some very good advice early in the process: 1) Always ask for more than you think they will give, and 2) Make sure that the ask amount has the same number of digits as what you think they are likely to give if they say yes. So if the foundation gives grants in the $10,000-$25,000 range, you don’t want to ask for $100,000. That will seem outrageous to them. If you see that most of their grants for projects like yours are around $15,000, you still might want to ask for something like $25,000. Also, you folks at Fractured Atlas were really helpful in advising us on how much to ask for.

Note: Setting a realistic ask amount is a crucial part of submitting a solid grant proposal. Check out this article featured in Theresa’s blog post from earlier in this week for more advice about your ask amount.

What is your own internal timeline for working on a grant proposal?

For better or worse, we’ve been pretty deadline-driven. We tried to start early enough to reach each deadline without rushing, but that didn’t always happen. For rolling submissions, we set internal deadlines. And running out of money, which we did several times, was always a very strong inspiration to get busy!

Once we finished what we felt like was a strong application, we would use it as a template for any others we were submitting within the next few months. Because the film evolved pretty dramatically as we went along, we had to completely rewrite our project description, synopsis, timeline, etc. throughout the process.

We always make sure to have someone from the outside of the project read the proposal for comprehensibility, accuracy, and basic proofreading; then someone at Fractured Atlas always reads it for final approval.

What are the three biggest lessons that you’ve learned about pursuing grant support over the years?

Foundations are people too. All of the decisions are made by human beings, so it is important to cultivate relationships with them if possible. We’ve found that they usually respond well when you ask questions, ask for advice, and send updates. I think that it helps give them a sense of who you are when they are making decisions. It’s great if you can get an introduction, but you can also start cold.
Apply again and again until you’re no longer eligible. We’ve learned this from experience and from mentors: it often takes many, many rejections from the same foundation before they say yes. And even if they don’t fund your current project, your interactions with them on this one build your relationship for when they consider your next project.
Write in your own voice. Be as specific as possible in giving details and telling compelling stories without becoming tedious. Let your passion show, but don’t invent insincere passion. Readers don’t want to read lifeless prose written in “the proposal voice,” that sterile, vaguely academic style that so many people seem to think is appropriate. It’s much better to absorb your readers and connect with them?

Any last advice?

This is intuitive, but I think that the folks reading proposals can usually telling when you’re B.S.-ing. They can feel your passion and they can tell if you’ve put enough work into a plan to really be able to answer the questions they’re asking. For example, we hadn’t figured out our audience engagement plan until quite recently. We certainly could have worked this out earlier, but we didn’t put the time and research and creativity into working it out to a level of granular detail where it felt realistic and well-considered to a reader. And we haven’t gotten any grants for audience engagement yet based on the old proposal model. But we’ve just finished a proposal that is now realistic, ambitious, and well-researched, so we’re hoping that has a better impact.

Born This Way has been fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas since April 2011. If you’d like to know more about their film, check out their website. Born This Way is a featured selection at the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival.

4 Tips for Beginning the Grant Writing Process

2013-04-24T17:42:45Z

by Theresa Hubbard

We all want grants and we know they can be a great source of funding for projects. The reality is, however, that there is not a lot of grant funding out there. As a result, grant programs tend to be extremely competitive and the funders need to be especially selective when choosing which applications to fund. In order to be considered in the top pool of grant applications, you need to put your best foot forward and submit an awesome application. Here are some tips and tools to help get you started when putting together a great grant application:

Make sure you’re a good fit. Even before you start putting together a proposal, you should take a look at the funding priorities and mission of the funder to establish whether or not your proposed activities are a good match for the grant. You can do this by looking not only at the guidelines, but at other recipient of the grant award. Are they artistic? Do they serve the same audience? You might not be a good fit, for example, if the funder typically provides grants for medical research (even if they do say that they fund the arts).
Read the guidelines and follow them closely. A common misconception is that one can use the same LOI or proposal for every grant application. While you can generally use a lot of the same information in your various proposals, many funders have different requirements. When reviewing the guidelines, you’ll want to pay close attention to formatting specifications, including whether or not they want a full proposal or a letter of intent (LOI), as well as the specific content the funder wants you to include in your application. Make sure you incorporate all guidelines unless you are told by the funder to do otherwise.
Get your budget(s) ready. Funders almost always ask for some sort of budget and some funders even ask for more than one! It’s always a good idea to have budgets from the previous three years on hand, as well as a projected budget for the current and upcoming fiscal years. For grant applications, the best budgets balance. This shows the funders that you have a plan for covering all of your expenses, giving them more confidence that the prospective project will actually happen. It is absolutely appropriate to include projected income on your budget, especially if you have applications pending with other funders. Your application is also more competitive if you can prove your project’s sustainability. This means showing a variety of income sources, including earned, contributed, and even in-kind income.
Ask for an appropriate amount and always include one. While some funders might offer less than your ask amount, you do run the risk of not even being considered for funding if your ask amount is too high. If they post a range of funding, be sure to keep your ask amount within that range. This does not necessarily mean that you should ask for the maximum amount listed. Remember that, in asking for the maximum amount, you are likely in the same pool as many projects with larger budgets that also contain a variety of funding sources. Do some research about past awards, and pay close attention to the types of projects and organizations that received them. You should always include an ask amount as well, even if it’s not required in the guidelines. This will give your application transparency and it lets the funder know that you’ve done your research and that you have a plan for your budget.

This is just the beginning. You’ll put in a lot of time and energy when putting together a grant application, since it requires so much research and attention to detail. Funders can tell when you submit one proposal or LOI to several different funders, especially if their specifications are disregarded. You’re always taking a chance when submitting an application, but if you get the award, it can be a great return on your investment. The most important thing is to remember not rush yourself. Take time to make the application the best it can be and hopefully your submission will then be more competitive for the grant.

Happy grant writing!

Now Hiring - Summer Research Fellow

2013-04-27T00:38:18Z

by Ian David Moss

Does Big Data give you big chills? Do you have long conversations with family members about hypothesis testing? Are you considering getting a causation vs. correlation tattoo? Then you might be just the kind of nerd we’re looking for. Fractured Atlas is accepting applications for a Summer 2013 Research Fellowship. We’re seeking individuals with a background or interest in the arts who are prepared to bring hard-nosed quantitative analysis skills to creative and strategic challenges in our field.

DUTIES:

The successful candidate will work on two projects involving Fractured Atlas’s fiscal sponsorship data and the Cultural Data Project. These efforts represent some of the most extensive research into the role of fiscal sponsorship in the arts to date. The candidate will have primary responsibility for data analysis, participate in meetings with clients and external stakeholders, and co-author the final reports. In addition, there may be opportunities to assist with other Fractured Atlas research projects on a more limited basis during the course of the summer, depending on needs and availability.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Bachelor’s degree required (exceptions will be considered if your work sample is extremely strong). Work toward a master’s degree in public policy, business, economics, urban planning, geography, or a related field is strongly preferred.
Successful candidates will demonstrate the following attributes:
- A fundamental love of data and what it tells us about the world
- A strong background in statistics, including regression analysis
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Obsessive attention to detail
- Ability to work independently and meet deadlines consistently
- A strong work ethic with a high degree of professionalism
- Creative problem solving skills
Proficiency with Microsoft Excel is required. Experience with statistical software packages (e.g., R, SPSS, etc.) is preferred but not essential.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

This is a full-time engagement, 40 hours per week. The fellowship will last from late May through August (exact dates negotiable within those parameters). Strong preference will be given to candidates who will be or can be located within commuting distance of New York City for the duration of the summer. Telecommuting arrangements will be considered for exceptional candidates. Fellows are expected to use their own laptops and equipment.

COMPENSATION:

A weekly stipend and school credit are available.

TO APPLY:

To be considered for the position, please email the items below in one PDF-formatted file with your name as the filename to Tim Cynova, Deputy Director at jobs@fracturedatlas.org. Include “Research Fellowship” as the email’s subject line. The deadline for this opportunity is May 6, 2013.

A cover letter including the following information: your interest in serving as a research fellow with Fractured Atlas, your experience as it is applicable to this position, and the dates you are available to work.
A résumé no longer than 2 pages outlining your educational and professional experience.
A work sample from a past research project with which you were involved. Samples must be entirely your own work, and must demonstrate your facility with statistical analysis. Please describe or give context for the work sample in your cover letter.

Incomplete submissions will not be considered, nor will submissions sent via postal mail or fax. No calls please (we mean it). Thank you!

POSTING DATE

April 25, 2013. Deadline for submissions is May 6, 2013. Early submission is encouraged.

Upcoming Grant Deadlines

2013-04-24T17:41:16Z

by Juliana Steele

For all opportunities, please visit the website of the Foundation for application instructions and complete guidelines.

The American Composers Forum (ACF) is accepting applications for Jerome Fund for New Music (Jfund).

Who they fund:
The American Composers Forum (ACF) champions composers and other creative musicmakers, and boosts their careers with professional opportunities. Our Jerome Fund for New Music (Jfund) supports the creation, presentation, and subsequent life of a new work. About 10 grants are available: up to $7,000 for the composer or primary artist’s time to create the work, and up to $1,500 to help make it happen and further its potential.

Jfund welcomes applicants from the whole range of musical paths and is committed to supporting a diverse pool of artists.

The primary artist (not limited to those who self-identify as a “composer” but eligible to all kinds of artists who create original music) applies with a third party (such as a performing group or a presenter who commits to producing the finished work). The primary artist needs to be at an “emerging” level in her/his career: neither a student (except in certain circumstances) nor a well-established professional. The proposed project should be a significant artistic and professional leap: a risky but logical next step that will mark a new level of accomplishment.

Awards – judged by a panel of artists – are competitive and based on outstanding quality of work, personal musical voice, and exceptional potential to make a difference. Since its founding in 1979 the program, funded by the Jerome Foundation, has made hundreds of awards and helped launch many careers.

Geographic focus:
Minnesota or the five boroughs of New York City

What is required:

Open to emerging artists who are at an early stage in their career, under-recognized, with no national reputation, and few professional accolades.
Primary artists must reside in Minnesota or the five boroughs of New York City. Project partners may be based anywhere in the world.
Applicants (primary or partners) may take a leading role in only one application.
Previous winners of Jfund (formerly JCCP) awards may apply as long as they were more than two years ago and final reports have been submitted.
Students may apply if their samples and proposal are beyond the scope of accredited course work.
Projects may take place in a worship setting but not be premiered during a religious service.
Jfund administrative staff members are ineligible.
ACF membership is not required for Jfund applicants, but is strongly encouraged in order to keep informed about future opportunities.
Proposed works should be at an early stage in their development, and must not be finished by the time of application. Works must be scheduled to premiere after November 30, 2013. Supported projects must be completed within five years of the award date.

Deadline:
August 16, 2013 (postmark)

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation is accepting applications for the French American Jazz Exchange.

Who they fund:
The French-American Jazz Exchange (“FAJE”) celebrates the shared passion for jazz in France and the United States. A partnership of the Cultural Service of the French Embassy, FACE and Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, the program is designed to foster the creative and professional development of jazz artists from France and the United States through their collaborative investigation of artistic practice and exposure to new audiences, music concepts, and professional relationships.

FAJE projects are intended to provide artists with the time and support to explore innovative musical concepts, and investigate new and existing work by the Lead and/or Collaborating Partners that may result in the creation of new work or influence their, and possibly others’, artistic practice. Project activities may include arranging and composing, creative residencies, performances, recording, rehearsing, and other activities that develop new creative and professional relationships, and/or audiences. Projects must be jointly developed by the Lead and Collaborating Partners to meet mutually agreed upon goals and objectives.

To be eligible projects must take place in France or the United States and their respective territories or in both countries between September 1, 2013 and December 31, 2014.

FAJE will award grants of up to $25,000 per project. Funding may be used towards the following:

artist stipends
communications
equipment and space rentals
fiscal sponsor fees (if applicable)
marketing
project-related agent/management fees
recording and production fees
shipping
travel-related expenses (international airfare, domestic travel, accommodations, and per diem)
visa fees

FAJE will not fund:

projects that are comprised solely of touring engagements
projects that are primarily focused on the reinterpretation or new arrangements of existing works by composers other than the Lead and Collaborating Partners.

Geographic focus:
France and the United States

What is required:
American Lead Partners who are individual artists or ensembles that are not incorporated as nonprofit organizations under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code may want to consider using an United States-based fiscal sponsor with 501(c)(3) nonprofit status to apply on their behalf.

The Lead Partner is responsible for submitting the application for the proposed project. Applications for FAJE must be completed online and submitted electronically on or before the deadlines listed in these guidelines.

Please see the Mid Atlantic website for full program guidelines and instructions.

Deadline:
May 31, 2013

Pacific Pioneer Fund is accepting applications for project support.

Who they fund:
The purpose of the Pacific Pioneer fund is to support emerging documentary filmmakers. The term “emerging” is intended to denote a person committed to the craft of making documentaries, who has demonstrated that commitment by several years — but no more than ten — of practical film or video experience.

Grant range: $1,000-$10,000

Geographic focus:
Grants to support filmmakers are limited to filmmakers or videographers who live and work in California, Oregon and Washington.

What is required:
Proposal budgets should range between $50,000 and $300,000. Budgets are judged on whether the costs seem reasonable for what is being attempted and what seems to be within the experience of the producer-director. Higher budgets may be submitted, but the Fund generally refrains from supporting costly projects that may be beyond the filmmaker’s fundraising capacity. Supporting film projects with modest budgets is also in keeping with the Fund’s mission of supporting emerging documentary filmmakers.

Documentary makers can receive only one Pacific Pioneer grant during their career. If this is your FIRST documentary of 28 minutes or longer, please do not apply, unless you have a lot of experience as an editor.

All subjects are welcome. The fund’s emphasis is on the filmmaker, not the film.

The fiscal sponsor can be from anywhere in the U.S. The Board prefers a fiscal sponsor that scrutinizes the proposed project and will oversee the project and budget.

Along with your application, please send a pretested DVD of up to 10 minutes of edited footage from the project for which support is being sought. This could be a clip reel of strong selects from your footage, a segment of an edited rough cut, or a coherent 10-minute sequence from this film. We’d like to watch material from your work in progress and not a trailer. Your submission video should be in standard definition, NTSC, 16:9 DVD format - playabale on a regular DVD/television system. We can’t accept DVDs meant for computer-based viewing. Also, do not letterbox your video.

Deadline:
June 1, 2013

NEW OFFERING: Insurance Webinars

2013-04-23T14:50:38Z

by Jean Ann Douglass

We’re excited to announce that Fractured Atlas is now offering a series of webinars about all things insurance. If you’ve never participated in a webinar before, there’s no need to worry – it’s quite easy. All you need is access to the internet.

In these discipline-specific insurance webinars, you will gain basic knowledge in the types of insurance that are available, when you may need to consider purchasing it, and some key points to look out for while shopping for insurance including general liability insurance, equipment & property coverage, errors and omissions insurance, and many more.

We are also offering a session on insurance and disaster preparedness. As many artists are still recovering from last year’s hurricane season, we’re faced with the start of this year’s hurricane season on June 1. This session will focus on ensuring that you have the coverage that you need should the worst happen.

Insurance for Teaching Artists

Tuesday, April 30, 6pm-7pm EST

If you’d like to participate in the session, please RSVP.

Insurance for Filmmakers

Monday, May 6, 7:30pm-8:30pm EST

If you’d like to participate in the session, please RSVP.

Insurance for Dancers and Dance Companies

Monday, May 13, 7:30pm-8:30pm EST

If you’d like to participate in the session, please RSVP.

Insurance for Theater Artists and Organizations

Tuesday, May 14, 6pm-7pm EST

If you’d like to participate in the session, please RSVP.

Insurance for Visual Artists and Art Galleries

Wednesday, May 15, 6pm-7pm EST

If you’d like to participate in the session, please RSVP.

Before the Storm: Insurance and Disaster Preparedness for Artists

Monday, May 20, 6pm-7pm EST

If you’d like to participate in the session, please RSVP.

Fiscal Sponsorship + Artful.ly Information Session in NYC

2013-04-22T20:55:11Z

by diannedebicella

We’ve been on the road a ton lately, but the Fractured Atlas staff is sticking close to home in May and we want to meet you. We’re hosting an information session about two of our programs–Fiscal Sponsorship and Artful.ly–on May 20th in New York City at Wix Lounge. You will not only get the chance to see our friendly faces in person, but we’ll have snacks, drinks, and an insane amount of information on how you can connect to your audiences and raise money for your creative projects.

Aside from the yummy snacks and complimentary beer and wine, we’ll give a brief overview of the fiscal sponsorship program, talk about how to connect to and raise money from individuals, how to run a successful crowdfunding campaign (including information on Indiegogo, Kickstarter, and RocketHub), and briefly talk about grants. The Artful.ly team will demonstrate online ticketing features, discuss the advantages of using a customer relationship management (CRM) database, and talk about how the software works with fiscal sponsorship. Plus, there will be time for chatting with us and each other!

If you’re currently sponsored by Fractured Atlas, interested in joining our program, trying to professionalize your ticketing and patron management, or just want to say hi, this event is for you!

Wix Lounge has generously donated their space to Fractured Atlas for the event. Here are some details.

When: May 20th, 2013 from 6:30- 8:30pm

Where: Wix Lounge
10 West 18th Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10011

RSVP: https://www.artful.ly/store/events/1185
Please use the above link to RSVP, it’s required and space is limited.

Wix.com enables everyone to design, publish and host stunning HTML5 websites. No coding, no previous design skills, just log in to Wix and start creating with our easy drag-and-drop website builder! In that spirit of encouraging creativity and enabling entrepreneurship, in 2010 Wix founded the NYC Wix Lounge. The Wix Lounge is a completely free co-working, event and exhibit space for creative professionals. Grab your laptop, pop into the Lounge and enjoy a productive work day, great networking opportunities, and amazing events. The Wix Lounge provides free support to New Yorkers, giving them the tools and tips for successfully launching and managing their businesses’ online presence. To learn more about the Wix Lounge, please visit www.wixlounge.com.

Fiscal Sponsorship and Fundraising Webinars

2013-03-28T17:26:22Z

by diannedebicella

Fractured Atlas is offering four fiscal sponsorship and fundraising sessions by webinar in May. If you’ve never participated in a webinar before, there’s no need to worry - it’s quite easy. All you need is access to the internet.

Introduction to Fiscal Sponsorship Webinar
This webinar is for those considering fiscal sponsorship. We’ll provide a fiscal sponsorship introduction and overview, and talk about the benefits of the program. We’ll also go over the application for the Fractured Atlas fiscal sponsorship program, and talk about our criteria for approving applications.

When: Tuesday, May 7th, 2013, 7:30 - 8:30pm EST

If you’d like to participate in the session, please RSVP.

Orientation for New Fiscally Sponsored Projects
This webinar is for new projects who have recently been accepted into the Fractured Atlas fiscal sponsorship program and are ready to get their feet wet. The webinar will provide a tour of the online tools and resources, tips for starting your fundraising, and an overview of program policies.

When: Tuesday, May 14th, 2013, 7:30 - 8:30pm EST

If you’d like to participate in the session, please RSVP.

Introduction to Fundraising: Individual Donors and Online Campaigns Webinar
This webinar will focus on cultivating individual donors. We’ll talk about how to identify and engage donors, and how to keep them coming back! We’ll go over individual appeal letters, tools such as crowdfunding and online campaigns, and more. This webinar is for any fiscally sponsored project that is ready to learn basic steps to start and run an individual giving program.

When: Tuesday, May 21st, 2013, 7:30 - 8:30pm EST

If you’d like to participate in the session, please RSVP.

Proposals and Grants for Fiscally Sponsored Projects
This webinar is focused on best practices when applying for a grant. We’ll provide an overview of different types of institutional support, how to find funders, what is needed in a proposal, and more. This webinar is for any fiscally sponsored project that has met the Fractured Atlas eligibility requirement to apply for grants.

When: Tuesday, May 28th, 2013, 7:30 - 8:30pm EST

If you’d like to participate in the session, please RSVP

Now Hiring — Development Specialist

2013-04-25T20:23:28Z

by tim.cynova

Are you a life-learner with a curious mind, an appreciation for quirky personalities, and a bloodhound’s determination to find information? Do you take great pleasure in catching grammatical errors in The New York Times? Are you equally literate in words and numbers and can analyze a novel by Henry James and a non-profit’s 990 form.

We want candidates with a deep love of the arts and technology who will understand our mission to support artists by providing them with practical tools, and we need someone who knows that development is his or her own career path. The optimal candidate will connect these two ideas conceptually.

Still interested? Read on.

Position Description

The Development Specialist is a full-time employee of Fractured Atlas reporting to the Director of Development. The position supports activities related to fundraising from all sources for Fractured Atlas, including foundation, government, and individual. The position has primary responsibility for processing gifts to Fractured Atlas and for maintaining the highly sophisticated customized donor database. The position will also support the institutional giving program by providing grant writing and reporting as needed, and helping to steward relationships with key program officers, corporate executives, and government officials. Fractured Atlas is launching a major gifts program and the position will support such activities as researching prospects, scheduling meetings, organizing cultivation events, and acknowledging donors.

Duties and Responsibilities

In collaboration with the Director of Development, write timely and targeted proposals, reports, acknowledgements, and other correspondence with institutional funders.
Help to gather and track factual and anecdotal information from all program areas to use for proposals and reports.
Manage proposals and reporting to government agencies, including the NEA, NYSCA, DCA, and handle requests to elected officials for member items.
Working with the Controller, maintain current information on Cultural Data Project account.
Work with the Director of Development to maintain grants calendar for foundation, corporate, and government sources, and report regularly on progress.
Participate in the cultivation and stewardship of program officers and corporate executives. Maintain donor recognition and sponsor fulfillment plan, including listings on the web site, printed material, and sponsor benefits.
Under the close supervision of the Director of Development, support the launch and implementation of the major gifts program: Research prospects and help maintain and refresh prospect pipeline; Facilitate meetings with prospects and donors for Executive Director, Director of Development, and Board members; Support cultivation and stewardship of donors and prospects, including events, correspondence, and other communication.
Manage the annual fund individual giving program: Written requests to current and past donors, and prospects (3 to 4 mail appeals annually); Process and acknowledge gifts; Ensure proper donor stewardship.
Work with Community Engagement Specialist to design and implement e-appeals.
Measure and analyze returns on appeals with an eye toward maximizing results of future mailings and e-appeals.
Prepare and process acknowledgement letters to donors of gifts of $1,000 or more.
Attend and help to staff Fractured Atlas member events held locally.
Update and enhance donor solicitation materials, and oversee production of and updates to Development Information Package materials.
Maintain electronic files for a paperless office.
Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications / SkillS

Three to five years development experience.
Exceptional verbal and interpersonal communication skills.
Outstanding writing skills and attention to detail.
Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment; ability to manage multiple projects and deliver an impeccable work product while adapting to frequent, rapid changes.
Self-motivated and hyper-organized with the ability to manage responsibilities independently while working with a small, tight-knit staff.
Strong computer and word processing ability.
Facility and strong comfort level with fundraising databases.
Bachelor’s or advance degree preferred.
Ability to work both independently and in collaboration with others.

Compensation

Starting salary is $48,640. Benefits include health insurance, employer-contributed 401K plan, TransitChek, tuition reimbursement, vacation, sick and personal days, and a casual but hard-working, friendly and supportive office environment. Fractured Atlas is an equal opportunity employer.

To Apply

To be considered for the position, please email the items below in one PDF-formatted file with your name as the filename to Tim Cynova, Deputy Director at jobs@fracturedatlas.org. Include “Development Specialist” as the email’s subject line.

1. A substantive cover letter including the following information: where you found the position listed, your interest in the position and the organization, the date you are available to start, and contact information for three professional references.

2. A résumé no longer than 2 pages outlining your educational and professional experience.

3. The following two writing samples, each no longer than (1) page, demonstrating your breadth and flexibility as a writer:

a) A donation check to Fractured Atlas for $1,000 was lost in a stack of papers and found a month after it was received. Draft an acknowledgement letter from the Executive Director to the donor.

b) A case statement for support for your favorite Fractured Atlas program.

Incomplete submissions will not be considered nor will submissions sent via postal mail or fax. No calls please (we mean it). Thank you!

Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to review our website at www.fracturedatlas.org prior to submitting materials for consideration.

Posting Date

April 15, 2013. Deadline for submissions is May 3, 2013. Early submission is encouraged.

6 Reasons to Join our Friday Fiscal Sponsorship Chat

2013-04-11T13:24:35Z

by diannedebicella

There are over 3,000 Fractured Atlas fiscally sponsored projects. This is your chance to learn about each other and to learn from each other.
You might get to speak with Nathan (pictured), he’s awesome.
You’ll get good (fundraising) tips.
Sometimes we’ll talk about parties.
You love crowdfunding? So do we.
You can ask us about grants. We will likely know
the answer.

Join the Friday Fiscal Sponsorship chat sessions at 2pm EST. You can find the login information for each chat on the right hand side of this page.

NYSCA: Important Information for Fiscally Sponsored Projects in New York! UPDATED

2013-05-08T18:24:21Z

by Juliana Steele

** May 8, 2013 Update**

NYSCA’s application process has been delayed and the new deadline is June 12, 2013. We are beginning the registration process as soon as possible, but unfortunately, have no more spaces available. If you have already contacted us and received a questionnaire, you will be considered for one of the 20 spots. We are sorry that we cannot consider any other applicants due to space restrictions.

For the 20 who receive a spot, the Fractured Atlas internal deadline will be Wednesday, May 29th. Applications should be completed by that time so that we have time to review and approve all 20 applications. Staff members will be in touch with registered applicants about the process.

Original post:

Ahoy, New York State artists and arts organizations! It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for: NYSCA has announced when their FY2013-2014 application will open. But before I tell you when it will open, let me go over some crucial details.

If you’re fiscally sponsored, you must work with your fiscal sponsor to set up access to the online application. Get in touch early if you plan to apply with Fractured Atlas as your fiscal sponsor.
Fiscal sponsors are only permitted to submit up to 20 applications. We’ll have well over 20 potential applicants so we’ll have to make some tough decisions. For this reason, our fiscal sponsorship staff will be determining eligibility and appropriateness to apply. Be prepared to fill out a questionnaire if you contact us to apply and remember that the questionnaire does not guarantee you a spot.
Fiscally sponsored projects will only be permitted to submit one application (regardless of NSYCA’s two-request limit).
Don’t wait until it’s too late! We will fill the spots as we determine appropriate applicants, but once they are gone, they are gone.
If you applied in the Individual Artist category (IND) last year, you must sit out this year.

There is some good news: Fiscally sponsored projects do not have to complete the Cultural Data Project (CDP).

Here’s the Fractured Atlas timeline for NYSCA this year:

April 17: NYSCA registration and application open.
April 19: Fractured Atlas will start sending out questionnaires to everyone who contacts us. Questionnaires will be sent as long as there are spots. Spots will fill up as we determine who can apply.
May 1: Deadline to register to apply. (Spots will likely fill before May 1, though, so don’t wait!)
May 8: Deadline for the completed application. All fiscally sponsored projects applying to NYSCA through Fractured Atlas should be done by this date so that we have time to review all of the applications.
May 22: NYSCA Deadline 5pm

If you decide that you would like to apply please email us at support@fracturedatlas.org on April 17th or shortly thereafter. Good luck!

Meet the Project: Broadway in South Africa

2013-03-29T15:46:48Z

by Nathan Zebedeo

Each month we will feature one of our fiscally sponsored projects who have been successful at using our program to advance their art/cause/career. This month’s featured project is Broadway in South Africa.

When creating your fundraising strategy, it’s wise to not put all of your eggs in one basket. You don’t want to count on just one crowdfunding campaign or one donor appeal mailing to meet your contributed revenue goals for the year. As you craft a multifaceted plan of attack for soliciting donations, one option to consider is hosting a fundraising event. Broadway in South Africa is a great example of an organization that has achieved significant fundraising success with our fiscal sponsorship program largely due to the strength of their galas.

Broadway in South Africa creates arts programming for South African youth to improve their communication, critical thinking skills, academics and creative development. Their 5th Anniversary Celebration is coming up on May 6th, and we decided to ask Executive Director & Founder Sean Bradford for some tips on how to run a successful fundraising event.

Goal-setting: Where do your fundraising galas fit into your larger fundraising strategy? How do you forecast for how much you intend to raise at any one event?

Broadway in South Africa uses the arts in a very personal and interactive way when conducting programming. As a result, events are the most effective way for us to engage donors, so they can best understand the work and are inspired to give. I would say they are a big part because we are able to connect with donors and potential partners who we then cultivate relationships with year round. We forecast what we intend to raise based on previous events the size of the venue (and how many people we need to make x amount), and any previous donors we think will continue to commit.

Planning: What are some of the biggest practicalities to keep in mind when preparing for a fundraising event (things like venue, catering, etc.)? What goes into deciding who to invite?

I think venue is very important, because there are so many additional costs that could occur depending on where your event is taking place. Also venue is important because knowing the number of people who could attend allows you to come up with different pricing options that will allow you to reach your goal. Having a clear direction and purpose for why the event is happening is also important. Our events feature new music based on work from our South African students. There is also a reception so people know they will have the opportunity to mingle with performers from Broadway, which also means the event will provide a great social night out. And in New York, people love a fun event, that supports a great cause. On catering, I would say always be careful, because this can be the largest, must unexpected cost for an event. Also, some venues have exclusive catering deals so you would only be able to use their vendors. We’re actually partnering with a restaurant this year, instead of having food at our event.

In terms of who to invite, priority is always previous donors, companies, and supporters. They are great to have because they already are excited about the work so they can help get others excited as well. And then we try to find any interests that are tied to our organization and the work we do, and we invite them all. I think even if people don’t come, having them know about the event allows for the possibility that they might next time.

Marketing: What are your biggest resources for getting the word out about your events? How do you publicize?

Our goal this year is that it will be social media and online blogs. We of course are able to do press releases to theatre publications, which are good to help start buzz, but this is usually tricky for us because marketing is a huge expense (just printed materials alone), and we can’t really afford to hire someone. So we depend on free advertisement and word of mouth.

Day-Of: Are there any surprising crises that pop-up the day of the event? How do you deal with the inevitable snafus?

Make sure you have enough volunteers and make sure there is enough petty cash. It’s kind of exciting for us because there’s never really a crisis, but there’s always things you forgot to buy, or things that need to be picked up from various locations around New York City. Oh and the lack of internet or printer ink can really drain time on a set-up day. The only thing you can do is be calm and find solutions quickly and effectively so that you stay on schedule. Which for us is curtain time. 8pm.

Follow-up: How do you continue to engage with donors once the event is over? What do you do to evaluate the success of any one event to see if it affects how you plan for future galas?

We make sure to get business cards and as much contact information as possible, via mailing list sign up, or asking people to send in information for the guest they will bring. We then send thank you notes and do some sort of public acknowledgement after. Then we try to build relationships based on the specific needs of the organization that are in the form of an annual commitment.

Amount raised is key because you want to make the event as cost-effective as possible. You might not make your operational costs, but if you were able to secure some annual commitments in the room and also build interest, then it is cost-effective. We also examine if a change of venue would help cut various costs.

Lessons: Can you name the three biggest lessons you’ve learned over the course of your many galas about the best way to run a fundraising event?

Make sure you have a large enough staff working on the event.
Creative catering solutions are the most effective way to save money.
Event Chairs are important to help bring in new sponsors and potential donors.

If you’re interested in Broadway in South Africa and their work, you can visit their website here. They are based out of NYC and have been fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas since August 2008.

Upcoming Grant Deadlines

2013-04-01T16:54:20Z

by Juliana Steele

For all opportunities, please visit the website of the Foundation for application instructions and complete guidelines.

The Native Arts & Cultures Foundation (NACF) is accepting applications for Artist Fellowships.

Who they fund:
Native artists with current and evolving work samples. Awards will be made in six disciplines:

Dance: Fellowships will be considered for both contemporary and traditional dancers.
Filmmaking: Fellowships will be considered for artists who are working in short film formats. Feature length films and video as part of visual arts installations are not being considered at this time.
Literature: Fellowships will be considered for writers of fiction and poetry. Playwriting, screenwriting, and non-fiction are not being considered at this time.
Music: Fellowships will be considered for all genres.
Traditional Arts: Defined as visual arts including practices in pottery, carving, basketmaking, textile weaving, beadwork, or regalia-making. Jewelry-making and clothing design are not being considered at this time.
Visual Arts: Fellowships will be considered for 2D, 3D, and installation work. Graphic design is not being considered at this time.

Geographic focus:
National

What is required:
Artists must demonstrate artistic excellence, having made a significant impact in their discipline, earned respect from their colleagues, and achieved recognition in the field. Applicants must be Native artists, defined as members of federally and state-recognized US tribes, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian communities. Applications must be completed online by the deadline.

Deadline:
Friday, May 3, 2013 5 pm Pacific Time

West Harlem Development Corporation is accepting applications for West Harlem-based community projects.

Who they fund:
WHLDC’s priority is to support West Harlem-based community projects by deploying funds contributed by Columbia University pursuant to the CBA through its Grant-Making Program and other activities. WHLDC’s strategy is to address the needs of West Harlem through collaborations and capacity enhancements of Community Based Organizations and institutions.

Geographic focus:
West Harlem, New York City

What is required:
The project must be directed toward fulfilling one of the WHLDC Community-Need Categories:

Arts and Culture
Community Facilities
Education
Employment and Economic Development
Environment
Historic Preservation
Housing
Transportation

Selected projects of organizations must be located in or provide services to the West Harlem community as defined by New York City, Manhattan Community District 9 (CD9): south to north: from 110^th Street to 155^th Street; east to west: from St. Nicholas, Bradhurst, Edgecombe, Morningside and Manhattan Avenues to the Hudson River.

To qualify for consideration under the WHLDC Grant-Making Program, the applicant must be a not-for-profit entity (or have a fiscal sponsor) in good standing as an Internal Revenue Service 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. An IRS determination letter is required and a copy must be included with the grant application. The organization must identify measurable goals and agree to the monitoring of results.

Please check WHLDC’s website for more information and to access application instructions.

Deadline:
June 3

The Jerome Foundation is accepting applications for film and video projects.

Who they fund:
The Jerome Foundation operates production grant programs for individual film and video artists who reside within five boroughs of New York City and Minnesota. These programs serve artists who work in the genres of experimental, narrative, animation, and documentary production. It does not support installation, new media, or interactive work, which are subsidized in other Foundation programs. It also does not support commercial, industrial, informational, or educational work.

Geographic focus:
New York City and Minnesota

What is required:

Applicants must be residents of Minnesota or the five boroughs of New York City.
The Foundation supports artists whose work shows promise of excellence. These artists will most often be in the early stages of their careers and will not have had the support needed to achieve major recognition for their work. However, it is important to note that this program is not designed for students or people with little to no background as principal creators of film and video. Factors used to assess whether or not an applicant is emerging include production record/history, exhibition record, awards, grants, peer recognition, career stage, and critical response to the work.
Only applicants who have total creative control of their projects qualify for support. This person is usually identified as the Director.
Budgets of any size are allowed.
The Foundation places emphasis on funding projects in their early stages. Requests for productions that are more than half completed are eligible but represent a lower priority. Supplementary grants will not be considered for projects previously funded by the Foundation.
Artists apply as individuals, or as two-person teams with equal responsibility as co-directors, to the Foundation. This program does not accept fiscal sponsors.
Nearly all of the Foundation’s funding in Film and Video supports individual artists in the form of production grants. Exhibition and distribution are not supported.

This a partial list of requirements. Please check Jerome’s website for more information and to access application instructions.

Deadline:
New York City Applicants: Rolling
Minnesota Applicants: Check Jerome site for announcement

5 Tips for Running a Fundraising Event

2013-03-29T14:18:46Z

by Theresa Hubbard

One great way to raise additional funds for your project is to run a fundraising event. There are many ways for you to run an event and what works for your project or organization may not work for another. When planning an event, you’ll need to figure out what is best for your project at that specific point in time and what your fundraising event can accomplish. Here are some tips and tools for planning a fundraising event.

Have a purpose for your event and make sure to communicate that purpose to the attendees. There are many reasons to host an event. For example, you might throw an event to thank your donors or to give them a sneak peak of your final project. Maybe instead, you’re trying to raise awareness for your project in the early phases, or you just want to get your donors and audience members together for a night of fun. Considering your purpose will allow you to plan better for the event.
Consider your target audience and don’t be afraid to be selective about who you invite. This allows you to design the event around a specific group of people and their interests, which will ultimately make them feel more important to your organization. Remember, you can always run another event later for a different group of donors or audience members.
Charge Admission. This may seem straight forward, but it is imperative if you want to have a surplus of funds after the event. “Suggested donations” can be great, but they can also hurt you in the long run, because you will inevitably have many donors who will not offer the suggested donation amount for admission. Your patrons want to be there, so they will pay to come.
Ask for a donation in the invitation. You will inevitably receive regrets from those who are unable to attend your event. By giving them the opportunity to donate instead, you allow them to stay involved with your project even though they cannot be physically present.
Set up a “donation station.” At a donation station, you will have a person who is there to accept fully deductible donations by check and man a computer for credit card donations (if you choose to bring a computer for this purpose). This gives your donors the opportunity to donate throughout the course of the event.

As always, do not forget to thank those who attend your event. You want to make your your audience feel important so that you can nurture your relationship with current donors and create relationships with new or prospective donors. This will hopefully grow your donor base and keep them coming back for more.

Fiscal Sponsorship and Fundraising Webinars

2013-03-28T17:16:04Z

by diannedebicella

Fractured Atlas is offering five fiscal sponsorship and fundraising sessions by webinar in April. If you’ve never participated in a webinar before, there’s no need to worry - it’s quite easy. All you need is access to the internet.

When: Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013, 7:30 - 8:30pm EST

If you’d like to participate in the session, please RSVP.

When: Tuesday, April 9th, 2013, 7:30 - 8:30pm EST

If you’d like to participate in the session, please RSVP.

When: Tuesday, April 16th, 2013, 7:30 - 8:30pm EST

If you’d like to participate in the session, please RSVP.

When: Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013, 7:30 - 8:30pm EST

If you’d like to participate in the session, please RSVP

Crowdfunding: Harnessing the Funding Power of Social Networks Webinar
This webinar will explore the benefits and tools of crowdfunding sites, such as IndieGoGo, Kickstarter, and RocketHub. Find out how to make crowdfunding an effective fundraising tool, and how to turn your donors into your audience. We will also explore how these resources can be used in conjunction with fiscal sponsorship.

When: Tuesday, April 30th, 2013, 7:30 - 8:30pm EST

If you’d like to participate in the session, please RSVP.

Email Marketing Done Artful.ly

2013-03-20T15:42:07Z

by Selena Juneau-Vogel

Integration with MailChimp has been the most popular item in the Artful.ly Feature Request Forum for over a year. And now, with help from MailChimp and Baltimore-based software developers SmartLogic, we are pleased to launch the Artful.ly + MailChimp integration!

If you’ve been holding your breath for this, please exhale and proceed to these instructions for integrating your accounts.

If you don’t know what all the exclamation points are for, let me explain: MailChimp is a very popular web-based email marketing service. It helps you design email newsletters, share them on social networks, and track your results.

Using an email marketing tool is one of the most effective ways to communicate with your fans and we happen to think MailChimp is the best email marketing tool out there. It’s especially great for artists with no money to burn because MailChimp accounts are free up to 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails a month (and really, only your mother wants to hear from you more than that!).

While we wish we could take credit for building this awesome tool, we didn’t. What we did do was build new features in Artful.ly that allow you to connect your Artful.ly account to a MailChimp account. Once you do that, here’s what happens:

Your MailChimp contacts are imported into Artful.ly.
New People Records are created for any contact not already in your Artful.ly account.
On any People Record, you can see all the lists to which that individual is subscribed.
You can subscribe or unsubscribe individuals from MailChimp lists directly from their People Records.
When you send an email to a list in MailChimp, that action is logged in every subscriber’s People Record so you can see who got what email.

Ultimately, what you get is list subscription data and communication records right next to your patrons’ ticket buying and donation histories. This will help you see if your marketing is having the intended effect.

Upcoming Grant Deadlines

2013-03-05T17:54:24Z

by Juliana Steele

For all opportunities, please visit the website of the Foundation for application instructions and complete guidelines.

The Aaron Siskind Foundation is accepting applications for Individual Photographer’s Fellowship.

Who they fund:
The Aaron Siskind Foundation is offering a limited number of Individual Photographer’s Fellowship grants of up to $10,000 each, for artists working in photography and photo-based art. Recipients will be determined by a panel of distinguished guest judges on the basis of artistic excellence, accomplishment to date, and the promise of future achievement in the medium in its widest sense. The Foundation seeks to support artists/photographers who demonstrate a serious commitment to the field, who are professionally active or employed in the field.

Geographic focus:
National

What is required:
Who May Apply: U.S. Citizens and Legal Permanent Residents of the United States, who reside in the U.S., and who are at least 21 years of age. Recipients must provide legal proof of eligibility and a verifiable social security number.Who May NOT Apply: Students enrolled in a college degree program. Students who graduate before the 2013 application deadline are eligible to apply. Previous IPF recipients are not currently being considered for new awards. At this time, artists on temporary visas such as the O-1 visa are not eligible to apply.

Eligible Work: Still photography regardless of subject matter, genre, or process. Works submitted may be traditional photography projects or experimental works, but photographic techniques must be pivotal to the works submitted. The submission should consist of a mature, coherent body of work.

Film, video, and interactive multimedia are NOT eligible.

The entry fee for this grant is $10USD. Applicants must apply through the CaFE online application system at www.CallForEntry.org. Applications will not be accepted by any other delivery method. Internet access and a working email address are required in order to apply. The $10 entry fee must be paid via credit or debit card.

Deadline:
May 24, 2013 at 11:59 pm Mountain Time

The Awesome Foundation For the Arts and Sciences is accepting applications for project support.

Who they fund:
The Awesome Foundation is a loose network of small-time philanthropists who award $1,000 micro-grants to people with certifiably awesome ideas every month. The project can be artistic, scientific, and/or social in nature. Previous “awesome” projects have included a giant hammock in Boston, a mushroom farm made out of phone books in Ottawa, and a portable pipe organ.

The Foundation provides these grants with no strings attached and claims no ownership over the projects it supports. It is, in the words of one of our trustees, a micro-genius grant for flashes of micro-brilliance. Since its humble beginnings, many Awesome Foundation chapters have sprung up globally to conserve, sustain, and support the worldwide ecosystem of awesomeness. Projects have included efforts in a wide range of areas including technology, arts, social good, and beyond.

Geographic focus:
National

What is required:
You must apply using the online form.

Deadline:
Rolling

Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) is accepting applications for Creative Curricula.

Who they fund:
Creative Curricula makes grants ranging from $750 to $5,000 to Manhattan-based individual teaching artists or small to mid-sized cultural organizations working in partnership with Manhattan public schools. The program supports projects providing in-depth opportunities for students to create and experience the arts through collaboratively planned and implemented units of study. Funding is provided for semester-long, in-classroom projects for K-12 students that focus on one of the following:

1) Sequential, skills-based arts study that incorporates one or more art forms
2) Integrated study of arts and non-arts subjects, collaboratively taught by teaching artist(s) and the classroom teacher(s) as arts-in-education units

Funding for Creative Curricula is provided by New York State Council on the Arts.

Geographic focus:
New York City: Manhattan

What is required:

Individual teaching artists or cultural organizations may apply on behalf of the partnership; schools cannot apply on behalf of the partnership.
Collectives must designate the lead teaching artist (director, or equivalent) to apply as an individual on its behalf. The lead teaching artist must be a key facilitator of project planning and classroom sessions, and meet the above listed eligibility and application requirements for individuals.
Individuals may not apply or receive funds on behalf of any organization.
Cultural organizations must provide regular arts, cultural and/or creative programming.
Cultural organizations must be based in Manhattan; individual teaching artists must reside in Manhattan.
Cultural organizations must have proof of nonprofit status.
Applicants may not have applied directly to the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) for a grant for the same fiscal year.
All applicants are required to attend a Creative Curricula information session in 2012 or later in order to apply, regardless of the applicant’s past funding or information session attendance status. For dates, locations and to RSVP, visit: www.lmcc.net/grants/info_sessions.

For full information about Creative Curricula application guidelines, eligibility, and info sessions, please visit the Apply Page.

Deadline:
Tuesday, April 9, 2013

The Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) is seeking applications for a Building Bridges: Campus Community Engagement

Who they fund:
The Association of Performing Arts Presenters announces the Building Bridges: Campus Community Engagement grants program to follow upon the accomplishments and lessons learned from the Creative Campus Innovations grants program established in January 2006. Building Bridges supports U.S.-based performing arts presenting organizations interested in building interdisciplinary cross-campus and community collaborations that expand awareness, knowledge and understanding of Muslim societies. APAP will administer up to eight grants of $100,000-200,000 each. Grantees are expected to plan and maximize resources collaboratively with campus-based and external community partners in order to engage targeted populations – with a primary focus on young people born after 1980 (the “millennial” population).

Geographic focus:
National

What is required:
Only partial eligibility listed here; please see full guidelines for more details.

Applicants are not required to be members of the Association to be considered for Round I review. However, non-member applicants invited to go forward for Round II will need to acquire membership in the Association prior to submission of the Round II proposal.
Applicants must be designated as the performing arts presenting organization or presenter for the college or university (see the definition of performing arts presenter in these guidelines).
Applicants must be able to document the commitment of the academic institution and other partners at the highest level (i.e. letters of support from top level administrators) to support the project goals and sustainable outcomes.
Applicants must be able to demonstrate and document a history of diverse and high quality performing arts presenting that has included associated interdisciplinary educational and/or community-engagement programs.

Deadline:
5 p.m. (EST), April 24, 2013

Chicago Artists Coalition and OtherPeoplesPixels are accepting applications for Maker Grant.

Who they fund:
The Chicago Artists Coalition and OtherPeoplesPixels are pleased to announce the launch of the Maker Grant, a $3,000 funding opportunity to support contemporary and innovative Chicago artists who demonstrate a commitment to a sustainable artistic practice and career development. This grant is open to visual artists who meet the following criteria:

Artists who can show that they are at a defining moment to achieve growth in their creative and professional careers.
Artists who demonstrate a strong and active engagement with, and professional commitment to, their artistic practice.
Artists whose work as cultural makers impacts the development of art and culture in a meaningful way.

Geographic focus:
Chicago

What is required:
Applicants must be:• A U.S. citizen or legal resident

A resident of the Chicagoland region
At least 21 years old
NOT currently enrolled in a degree-granting program or its equivalent
NOT an applicant or collaborator on more than one proposed project

To apply, visit: chicagoartists.slideroom.com and click on Maker Grant

Deadline:
March 31

Great news: Making donations to your project just got easier!

2013-03-04T22:37:41Z

by Theresa Hubbard

Hey fiscally sponsored projects! You provided feedback, and we listened! Your online donation page, your online profiles, and Fractured Atlas campaigns have been rolled into one! Donations can now be made directly from your online profile, rather than from a completely separate page.

What are the benefits?

This should prevent accidental donations to the Fractured Atlas general fund because your online project description will be on the same page as your donate button.
Your donors will no longer need to scroll down to find a place to donate. There will be a big ol’ donate button right next to your picture or video.
You can add giving levels on your comprehensive donation page. This means you can offer partially deductible donations on our website without setting up a separate campaign!

How does it work?

When your donor clicks “donate” a window will pop-up asking them how much they’d like to donate, how frequently they’d like to donate, and if they’d like to cover the administrative fee. Once they enter this information and click “Continue to Next Step,” they’ll be led through the process of entering their contact and billing information.
You can set up your giving levels on your “My Fiscal Sponsorship” page under the “Donations” section. Don’t worry-they don’t need to be permanent. When they’re no longer available, you can delete, hide, or edit them!

We’re excited about these changes over here at Fractured Atlas and hope you are too! As always, let us know if you have any questions about the changes. Happy Fundraising!

How to Link your Indiegogo Campaign to Fractured Atlas

2013-02-27T23:02:23Z

by Theresa Hubbard

As you probably already know, Fractured Atlas has a partnership with Indiegogo, which allows our fiscally sponsored projects to use Indiegogo’s crowdfunding platform at no additional cost, and still accept tax-deductible donations. Fractured Atlas will receive all of the donations throughout the course of the campaign, and therefore the donations will only be assessed the Fractured Atlas 7% administrative fee, regardless of whether or not the campaign’s goal is met. Because Fractured Atlas will be processing all of the donations, the campaigns will not be subject to Indiegogo’s terms and fees.

In order for this to work, the Indiegogo campaign will need to be directly linked to your fiscally sponsored project. You can follow these steps to make sure your campaign is successfully connected to Fractured Atlas.

If you’ve never run an Indiegogo campaign:

Log on to www.fracturedatlas.org and go to your My Fiscal Sponsorship page.
Click “Accessorize!” and you’ll see a list of services to which you can link your fiscal sponsorship.
Click “Indiegogo” (click it again), and a sidebar will appear containing information about Indiegogo and its partnership with Fractured Atlas.
Click “Create a NEW campaign on Indiegogo.” When you click this link, an account and draft campaign will be automatically created for you on Indiegogo.com. Please check for an email from Indiegogo which outlines the steps you will need to take in order to access your Indiegogo account and campaign.
Create your campaign! For tips about creating a successful campaign, please click here.Please remember to include the values for each perk in the field labeled, “non tax-deductible amount,” on the edit page of your campaign.
Click “Go Live!” once your campaign is complete and you’re ready for us to review it. Fractured Atlas will receive an email notification alerting us that you’re ready to have your campaign reviewed and approved. We’ll review it within 5 business days (though we can usually review it within 1-2), and we’ll approve it if we think it’s ready to go. Once approved, the campaign will go live immediately. If we have questions or edits for the campaign, we’ll reach out to you directly by email to address our concerns.

If you’ve run an Indiegogo campaign that was linked to Fractured Atlas:

Create a new campaign using the Indiegogo account you’ve used for your Fractured Atlas campaigns in the past.
Email support@fracturedatlas.org with the URL for your campaign and we’ll take the necessary steps to have it connected to your fiscal sponsorship. Please make sure to do this before clicking “Go Live!” so that we can review the campaign while it is still in draft mode.
Add non-deductible amounts as necessary. This field will not appear until after your campaign has been manually linked to your fiscally sponsored project.
Click “Go Live!” once your campaign is complete and we’ll proceed as above

If you’ve run an Indiegogo campaign outside of your Fractured Atlas fiscal sponsorship:

Log on to www.fracturedatlas.org and go to your My Fiscal Sponsorship page.
Click “Accessorize!” and you’ll see a list of services to which you can link your fiscal sponsorship.
Click “Indiegogo” (click it again), and a sidebar will appear containing information about Indiegogo and its partnership with Fractured Atlas.
Click “Connect to an EXISTING Indiegogo Account,” and enter your email address in the pop-up. If you’ve already started creating a campaign, this should automatically link the campaign draft to your fiscally sponsored project. If you have not started creating a campaign, go ahead and put together a draft and email us the URL so we can have it manually linked to your project. Once it’s linked, go ahead and add any relevant non-deductible amounts for the perks.
Click “Go Live!” once your campaign is complete and (you guessed it) we’ll proceed as above.

It is very important that your campaign is linked to Fractured Atlas or we will not be able to process the donations and they will not be tax-deductible. If you are ever concerned about whether or not your campaign is successfully linked to Fractured Atlas, please email us and we’ll gladly let you know. Unfortunately, if the campaign is not linked, there’s no way for us to know it exists, so we’ll rely on you to let us know about any subsequent campaigns you run. Here are some tips for checking on it yourself. If you do not see one of these clues, then your campaign is probably not connected to Fractured Atlas and you should send us a quick email with the URL for your campaign.

Check for the Fractured Atlas logo. If your campaign is linked to your fiscal sponsorship, the Fractured Atlas logo will appear under your video or image.
Check for the Fractured Atlas Standard Text. The standard text will appear under the social media sharing section, and above campaign description that you’ve created for the campaign.
Check for the “non tax-deductible amount.” If your campaign is linked, then a field marked “non tax-deductible amount” will appear above the “Label” field for each perk on your campaign’s edit page.

Once you’re sure your campaign is connected to your fiscally sponsored project and we’ve approved it, you’re as good as golden! Happy Fundraising!

Nonprofit films represent at the Oscars

2013-02-27T11:07:11Z

by Nathan Zebedeo

Controversial tweets and racist sock puppets aside, one notable takeaway from the 2013 Oscars is the winner of the award for Best Documentary Short, Inocente. This win represents a major achievement for the nonprofit arts sector, as the film was produced by Shine Global, a 501(c)(3), and largely funded by 294 individual donors on a successful Kickstarter campaign. (In fact, it’s the first Kickstarter-backed movie to ever win an Academy Award.) Nonprofit endeavors in other artistic mediums have achieved high recognition for a long while now - think Lincoln Center or Roundabout Theatre Company at the Tonys. In an industry dominated by commercialism, it’s a big win that Inocente took home Oscar gold and hopefully a sign of things to come.

For a little context, Inocente tells the story of an undocumented immigrant living in San Diego. Inocente may only be 15 years old and homeless, but she is also a talented painter. This documentary is an inspiring film about a brave young artist and an important look at the issues of immigration and homelessness in America. It’s available for download from iTunes and the film also helps promote the work of A Reason To Survive (ARTS), a nonprofit organization that is “dedicated to providing, supporting, and advocating for arts programs that heal, inspire, and empower youth facing adversity.”

It’s not that nonprofit funding for films is a recent breakthrough. What’s new is the acclaim that these projects now receive outside of art house movie theaters and indie film festivals. For example, before getting picked up by The Weinstein Company for commercial distribution, The Bully Project was one of Fractured Atlas’ fiscally sponsored projects. This documentary has gone on to receive widespread praise - getting written up in national media - and made a significant contribution to the worldwide dialogue on bullying in schools. (We now sponsor the nonprofit Bully Project Outreach Campaign, which is on course to screen the documentary for as many as 1 million students in 2013.)

And while documentaries may seem the most suited to raising funds this way - cause-based fundraising can be an easier sell for individual donors and foundations - narrative fiction projects have also found success operating as nonprofits. Grant funding from Cinereach made possible the critically-acclaimed film Beasts of the Southern Wild, nominated for four Academy Awards this year.

There are a few reasons why producing outside of the commercial Hollywood machine would be an attractive option for enterprising filmmakers, which entertainment attorney John Garon explores in his book The Independent Filmmaker’s Law and Business Guide (Amazon). Obviously, many indie filmmakers go their own route for complete creative control over the project. Garon adds that “Another selling point of nonprofit investment in independent filmmaking is that the donors’ return on investment is guaranteed.” (You can find a great excerpt from Garon’s book here.) In other words, individuals contributing to a nonprofit indie film get a tax deduction as their reward and filmmakers are not beholden to the invisible hand of greed and turning a profit for their investors.

In our 2012 fiscal year alone, Fractured Atlas’ sponsored film projects raised almost $2.3 million in contributed revenue, so we’re talking about a big opportunity for filmmakers that many are already taking advantage of. The larger point is that nonprofit funding for films helps lower the barrier for entry to the field. Adding more voices to the mix, voices that are diverse and unafraid of failure, is a good thing for any creative industry. Congrats to Sean & Andrea Fine (the filmmakers) and Shine Global for their awesome victory with Inocente. Their win validates the efforts of other nonprofit filmmakers - showing that their endeavors will not go unnoticed and that they can really compete with for-profit studio projects for both accolades and audiences.

A Valentines Day Gift for You - Health Care Resources

2013-02-14T16:25:05Z

by Jean Ann Douglass

We are very excited to launch a new section of our website today: Health Care Resources. This page connects our members with exciting companies that are harnessing technology to make your health care and prescriptions more accessible and affordable.

Fractured Atlas now has partnerships with GoodRx and One Medical Group, two of the most forward-thinking health care companies out there.

Now, you can use the Health Care Resources page to find out how much your prescriptions will cost at every pharmacy in your neighborhood (did you even know that the cost can vary wildly from pharmacy to pharmacy?). If you can order medications through the mail to save even more money, our new tool, powered by GoodRx, will tell you so. More than just a coupon card, this tool enables you to use your buying power to support companies that are charging you a fair price on your prescriptions.

As an active member of One Medical Group, I’m also thrilled to introduce our partnership with them. A revolutionary membership-based medical practice, One Medical is now offering Fractured Atlas members a 15% discount on annual dues. I can tell you from personal experience, being a member of One Medical has saved me hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in medical costs in the last year. They allow you to book appointments online, the same-day, saving me costly trips to urgent care clinics. All of their appointments start exactly on time, and you spend the full appointment with your doctor. For anyone who has waited in a waiting room for ages, just to get in to see a triage nurse, and then spent less than 5 minutes talking to their actual doctor, this level of attention takes a little getting used to! After your appointment, your doctor is available to you over email, to discuss any follow-up questions you forgot to ask, or any new issues you’re having. If you have a touch of hypochondria, like me, having my doctor tell me that I don’t need to come into the office for an appointment and give advice over email has cut down measurably on my visits to the doctor.

Visiting a One Medical Group office feels like visiting a spa. All of your paperwork can be filled out online beforehand, so instead of scribbling on a clipboard, you’re spending your wait time pouring yourself a glass of water and lounging in their luxe lobby. In addition to primary care and OB/GYN, many offices also offer integrative medicine, so it’s not uncommon to have your primary care physician give you options of western and eastern medicine to treat what ails you. Do you have a high-deductible health plan or no insurance at all? They publish a fee schedule on their website, so you will know exactly how much your visit will cost before you even schedule it.

Please visit our Health Care Resources page to use these new tools and discounts! And, as always, we are interested in your feedback, so please touch base and let us know how these programs are working for you.

Meet the Project: Desperately Seeking the Exit

2013-02-01T15:06:35Z

by Nathan Zebedeo

Each month we will feature one of our fiscally sponsored projects who have been successful at using our program to advance their art/cause/career. February’s featured project is Desperately Seeking the Exit.

Photo credit: David Rodgers

Desperately Seeking the Exit is a solo comedy by writer/performer Peter Michael Marino about the making and unmaking of the West End flop musical “Desperately Seeking Susan,” which featured the hit songs of Blondie. It has played in NYC, Hollywood, Manchester and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where it received 5-star reviews. The show plays the Adelaide Fringe in March before transferring to the Leicester Square Theatre in London for a 3-week run in May.

Peter enjoyed great success with his RocketHub campaign, so we decided to ask him a few questions about his thoughts on crowdfunding and how he achieved his goal.

How did you arrive at your decision to go with RocketHub for your crowdfunding campaign?

I really liked that RocketHub was linked to Fractured Atlas. Having fiscal sponsorship was very important to me so that donors could write off their donations on their taxes. I also went with RocketHub because they are a fairly new company in the crowdfunding world, and since my show was a new show, I thought it was just good karma idea to support a new company with the same artistic goals as me.

What did you factor in when setting your fundraising goal and deadline?

I struggled with the fundraising goal. I probably went back and forth on the amount about twenty times before hitting the submit button! I looked at what kind of money other artists like me, with shows like mine, were asking for. I drew up a realistic budget for what the show would cost to bring to Edinburgh. Then I realized that it was the NYC pre-production that I really needed to fund, so that the show was ready for an international audience. I was pretty realistic about how much the show would cost and only asked for about 75% of that cost. I based the deadline on a 2-month fundraising window to coincide with preview performances of the show in NYC; leaving me enough time to scramble for money before I headed overseas. Luckily, I raised $1,500 more than my goal. I also took a unique approach by doing the show for free and giving audience members the opportunity to “pay what you may” via RocketHub when they got to their computers at home. I’ve done the show that way ever since - holding a hat at the end of the show. Pay what you think the show is worth. Some think it’s worth a buck; some think it’s $10-$20!

Once your goal was reached, how did you get donors to contribute above and beyond your goal?

I used social media to spread the word that any additional funds raised would go toward the future of the project after the Edinburgh run. Then, I kept those funds in my FA account - and sure enough I used those leftover funds to pay for postcards, publicist, etc. I think that people really want to be a part of something; so those who hadn’t contributed, did so after they saw how many had. I also made it more tempting to donate by trying to “round off” the amounts by the end of the day. Like, “Help us reach $7,000 by Friday night!” That worked as well because then folks really felt like a part of supporting the project on a “soft” deadline. The word “support” seems to reach people more than the word “help.”

What are the biggest things to which you can attribute your campaign’s success?

Taking the show overseas and having a long term goal were important, but the trailer for the show was probably the biggest influence for people. I worked hard to make the trailer very short, clear, unique and exciting. At first I was going to do a trailer for the campaign as well, but then we reworked that idea so that the trailer would work for the show in production, performance and touring. I put the video on the first page of the show website, and it’s still there. This saved me money on editing costs and it also kept the marketing of the show precise and consistent. I made sure to send simple, fun, personal letters to folks and family members out of town that clearly stated what the show was and what my future goals were. I offered fun rewards, like a live recording of the show in Scotland - which people really responded to. And I didn’t over-do the social media posts about the campaign. I acted like a company and not like an individual - using the proverbial “we” gave the project a greater sense of importance; which I thought was a unique direction for a solo show. After all, it’s not just me, but a director, publicist, video artist, venue owners and others who have a stake in the success of the show.

Is there anything you would try to do better/differently if you tried crowdfunding again?

I don’t think I would have done anything radically different. I got a bit overwhelmed with the record-keeping and balancing the books - and that cut into some of my “brain time” while still doing the show. But, running the show and the fund-raising as a business has certainly made me a better businessperson. I did my fundraising research. I did the webinars and I spoke to other artists about how they raised money, so I was well prepared. I would encourage anyone who is looking into crowdfunding to do their homework. You only have one chance to make a first impression!

Peter Michael Marino is based out of NYC. If you’re interested in this production, visit their website here. For greater context, you can also view his successful RocketHub campaign. Desperately Seeking the Exit has been fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas since January 2012.

5 Tips for Writing Individual Appeals

2013-02-25T17:59:08Z

by Theresa Hubbard

You hear us say it all the time, “The best way to start your fundraising is to write an individual appeal letter and send it to everyone you know.” When you think about it, how else are you going to be able to ask everyone you know to contribute to your initiative? However, it’s not worth it to work on a solicitation letter if it’s not going to be effective. What makes an effective appeal letter, you might ask? Whether you’re writing an email, a letter, or putting together a crowdfunding campaign, here are some tips and tools to help you get your appeal writing off to a good start.

Keep It Short and Simple. Your solicitation letter should be short (1-2 pages max) and straight forward, offering a brief description of your need and instructions for how to donate. You want to make sure you have the attention of your audience from beginning to end, rather than rambling on and providing too many details. Think of all of the solicitations you receive in a year. Which ones do you read all the way through? Even if you’re someone who does not lose interest quickly, you can certainly speak to the effectiveness of the concise letters. Before sending out the letter, ask yourself if you would read the whole thing if you received the appeal in the mail unsolicited. If not, you might want to cut down on some of the details and make sure you’re being straight forward with the letter’s intentions.
Be Direct. Remember, you’re asking for money, which should be clear in your letter. It is absolutely appropriate to ask for donations in the first paragraph, as it lets your donors know why they’ve received the letter and why they should continue to read it. Once you’ve gotten their attention, you can give a brief explanation about your initiative and why they should donate in support of it. Be sure to also include your fundraising goal and a deadline. Your donors will never know how much money you need or when to contribute unless you tell them.
Make it personal. Your donors want to be assured that this project is important to you and them. Do not be afraid to speak to their humanity in an attempt to get them to donate. If you’re close with the donor, add a note about your personal connection with him/her and how your project might add to that connection or speak to his/her personality. Ultimately, it will be the donors’ personal connection with your project that will encourage them to donate.
Proof-read and edit. You shouldn’t send anything out to your donors without proof-reading it first for grammatical and spelling errors. I’d suggest even reading it out loud to make sure it flows well. I’d even suggest that you have a colleague proof-read it and give suggestions for how it might be improved as necessary.
Thank them! Thank them in advance for their donation in addition to thanking them after they make a donation. Their donation is important, and they should know it. Help eliminate hesitation by assuring them that their donation is important and that you are eternally grateful for their contribution and support.

Your appeal letter should serve a specific purpose in your overall fundraising plan and should be considered in relation with your other fundraising endeavors. One appeal might not be appropriate for all of your needs and you should strategize your ask for each letter. For example, one letter might ask one set of donors for cash donations while another letter asks another set of donors for non-cash donations.

Just as with your other fundraising efforts, you also cannot send it out and expect results. You’ll want to follow up with your donors, especially if they’ve contributed before. If they say “no” this time, they might say “yes” in the future if you continue to nurture your relationship with them.

Happy fundraising!

Upcoming Grant Deadlines

2013-03-04T21:55:15Z

by Juliana Steele

For all opportunities, please visit the website of the Foundation for application instructions and complete guidelines.

The Yip Harburg Foundation is accepting applications for project support.

Who they fund:
New projects, as follows: (a) action-oriented projects with small operating budgets which, due to the controversial, risky or innovative nature of their work, have little access to traditional funding; (b) mass media and theatre projects which educate and inform about serious issues; (c) projects extending over a specific time period, with a focused, concrete goal and clear social impact.

The Foundation generally grants $500 to $3,000, and occasionally up to $5,000. They request proof of applicant’s tax-exempt status or fiscal sponsor.

Geographic focus:
National

What is required:
Brief proposals are preferred (email preferred; for hard copies, no more than 10 pages total). Please see Foundation’s website for detailed proposal instructions.

Deadline:
Rolling. Response time is usually from 6 to 8 weeks.

The Pollination Project is accepting applications for project support.

Who they fund:
The Pollination Project believes in the power of ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Grants are made to individual change-makers with an idea and a plan to make their community and their world a better place. $1000 seed grants are made to individual change makers, every day, 365 days a year.

Funding is made available in the following categories:

compassion towards all life (people, planet, animals)
environmental sustainability
justice in all of its forms
community health and wellness
putting consciousness into action
social change-oriented arts and culture

The Pollination Project FUNDS:

Passionate, committed people with a social change vision that fits within one or more of their categories above.
Projects in their early stage of development and where a small amount of money will go a very long way.
Supplies, program materials, direct travel expenses, website fees, discounted professional services, printing, copying, promotional costs.
Projects with a clear target audience and compelling plan to reach and impact that target audience in a positive way.
Projects that do not expect to earn income or any income will be used for a purely charitable effort.

The Pollination Project does NOT fund:
Established organizations or corporations; payment to the grantee for their time or services; projects that have already raised over $10,000 USD since inception; scholarships, training fees; projects where the primary benefit is to the grantee or to any one individual; one-off needs such as training fees or participation in a one-time event or activity unless there’s a clear, long term purpose to that participation.

Geographic focus:
National

What is required:
Application form is available on The Pollination Project’s website. Applications must be emailed per instructions on application.

Deadline:
Rolling

Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation is accepting applications for direct support of exhibition catalogues and publications.

Who they fund:
Funding from the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation is currently available to support direct costs for catalogues and other publications accompanying contemporary art exhibitions and projects, especially those supporting emerging and under-recognized artists and produced by smaller organizations outside the nation’s cultural centers. Limited funds are also available for publications related to the grantee organization and its programs or collections.The Foundation does not provide grants for individuals, general operating expenses, capital campaigns, endowment funds, or projects supporting the work of deceased artists, and prefers one-time special projects that are originated by the applying organization. Requests for projects that take place within one year of the request will be given priority consideration. Grant amounts typically range from $5,000 to $20,000. Proposals for funding are reviewed by the Trustees semi-annually, in the Spring and Fall.

Geographic focus:
National

What is required:
Letters of inquiry are required before submission of a full proposal. They are accepted throughout the year for preliminary review by the grants committee but must be postmarked by March 15 for the Spring funding cycle and by August 15 for the Fall funding cycle. Letters of inquiry will not be accepted via fax or email. If the request is recommended for further consideration, the applicant will be invited to submit a full proposal.

Deadline:
March 15

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation is accepting applications for USArtists International.

Who they fund:
Through USAI, grants are available to American dance, music and theater ensembles and solo performers that have been invited to perform at international festivals and for performance engagements that represent extraordinary career opportunities anywhere in the world outside of the United States. USAI continues the important tradition in the United States of the public and private sectors working collaboratively to support the arts. USAI is a program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Applications are submitted to Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.

Eligible applicants must:

be a dance, music or theater ensemble or solo artist, including practitioners of folk and traditional forms, that work at a professional level
be designated by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, or have a U.S.-based fiscal sponsor that is designated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
if an ensemble, have the majority of its performing members be U.S. citizens or permanent residents (whether a U.S.-based ensemble or a collaborative project with artists in the host country). The lead creative artist of a collaborative ensemble must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
if a solo performer, be invited to perform as a soloist without accompaniment and be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

Geographic focus:
National

What is required:
Applications for USAI must be completed online and submitted electronically on or before the deadlines listed in these guidelines. No hard copy of the application should be sent to Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with the sole exception of a signed Certification Sheet. Applications sent via fax or e-mail will not be accepted for consideration. Please see Foundation website for full application instructions.

Deadline:
April 19, 2013 for projects taking place between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014

The Harpo Foundation is accepting applications for production of new work by visual artists.

Who they fund:
The foundation considers proposals that directly support the production of new work by visual artists and/or collaborative teams who are under recognized by the field. This production may happen in the context of an installation, public intervention, residency, or exhibition.

In its grantmaking, Harpo Foundation prioritizes projects that advance and cross the boundaries of visual media and artistic disciplines. Proposals are evaluated on the basis of the quality of the artist’s work, the potential to expand aesthetic inquiry, and the strength of its relationship to the foundation’s priority to provide support to visual artists who are under recognized by the field.

***March 4, 2013 Update***
NOW FUNDING INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS DIRECTLY

We are pleased to announce an important change in the Foundation’s grant program. In 2013, starting with the April 5 deadline, the foundation will accept proposals from individual artists as well as from non-profit organizations. Previously, artists were unable to apply for direct support. This restriction has been lifted and artists may now apply on their own behalf using the same application procedures as non-profit organizations.

Geographic focus:
National

What is required:

Tax exempt 501c3 organizations are eligible.
Institutions in countries outside of the United States are eligible but if awarded must be prepared to supply the foundation with a legal affidavit written in English qualifying its tax exempt activities and structure.
Presenting venues and hosting organizations may only submit one application a year.
Individual artists may not apply on behalf of themselves but may apply in cooperation with a fiscal sponsor. Unlike presenting venues and hosting organizations, artist-support organizations that serve as fiscal sponsors may submit on behalf of more than one artist a year.

Deadline:
Letter of Inquiry - April 5, 2013 (11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time)

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DUTIES:

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COMPENSATION:

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