Grants are a crazy, complicated world. Sarah Marty and I will go into this more, but here's a quick overview of 10 things you didn't know about getting grants.
1) Your request must be matched dollar for dollar.
Meaning if you ask for $5,000, you need to have at least $5,000 in additional income from confirmed sources. Technically you can ask for up to 50% of your project budget, but I've never seen anything get funded with that kind of a request. The Catch 22 here is that if you keep your request as a small portion of your budget, you are much more likely to get funded.
2) Overwhelmingly, grants do NOT fund operating expenses.
There are a handful of foundations out there that will fund staff salaries, marketing, day to day operations, etc. But not many. Most grants (and all of the government grants available in Madison) are to be used for a specific project, i.e. one show. Funding for building costs, salaries, institutional marketing, and the billion little things that come up have to be covered by donations or earned income like ticket sales.
3) There is not a lot of money to give out at the government level.
The maximum request for Dane Arts, which used to be the Cultural Affairs Commission, is $5,250. You can ask for that much up to twice a year, although you'd better be good and ready to defend why you asked for the maximum amount, and have a lot of other sources of income.
The maximum request for the Madison Arts Commission is $3000, once per year.
The Wisconsin Arts Board's budget is $780,000, the third lowest in the nation (behind Georgia and Kansas).
So just find a private foundation, right?
4) Private foundations are not well publicized and often by invitation only.
A slew of private foundations that give money out to arts organizations must be made aware of you before they will extend you an invitation to apply. This feeds into a vicious cycle of institutional marketing and branding that is best maintained by a development or marketing director, which many companies do not have. Therefore the foundations do not hear of the smaller companies, and those companies are unable to apply.
If you are eligible to apply, the competition is ridiculous. Which brings me to:
5) Everyone is after the same money.
I am of the mindset that grantors should divide their granting criteria into levels according to a theatre's annual budget. The reason for this is that as it stands, a tiny company just starting out is competing under the same criteria as a large scale, established company with a full time development staff.
I am sure there is some consideration given to the size of the organization, but the fact is everyone fills out the same application and must justify their work in the same way. New organizations therefore have a very difficult time getting into the system, and organizations that already have a staff because they have more money are able to compete at a stronger level than smaller organizations who have one or two people doing everything.
6) You probably won't get your full request.
You make a request for a certain amount of funds, but grantors typically want to give everyone SOMETHING, so they spread it out. In the last round of Dane Arts applications, there were 78 applications. 62 were funded, and only one received their entire request.
When this happens you have to adjust your budget to break even before you can receive your funds.
Oh, that brings me to:
7) You have to present a budget that breaks even.
At least where the government is concerned. Admittedly I'm not as sure about private foundations.
But when you're applying for a government grant you cannot show a profit. At all. This is complicated. More details in another post.
8) Grants take a loooooot of work.
I take issue with the term "unearned income", which is what donations and grants are deemed in the nonprofit sector. I assure you, you most definitely have to EARN a grant.
Here's a typical list of what you'll need for a grant:
- Clearly articulated narrative detailing what you're doing and why its worthy of government funding. (Typically runs 2-4 pages). You are usually limited in space and must explain what you're doing, who will be making it happen, who will see it, when everything will happen, where it will happen, and what it is. You must make a case for why your project needs to be funded by taxpayers. You must also have an evaluation system in place.
- Most grantors like to see an outreach component as part of the project, such as talkbacks, special free performances, art exhibits, etc. Often just presenting a show will not put you at the top of the pile.
- Itemized project budget that breaks even, with detailed notes to explain.
- 2-5 letters of recommendation from reputable sources.
- A marketing plan
- Your projected budget for the current fiscal year (not just the project)
- Your final financial statement from the previous fiscal year
- Often, a projected budget for the next fiscal year
- Press clippings and other items that establish your organization and its history.
- Complete listing of the Board of Directors and staff.
- Biographies of the staff
- Work samples like photos, audio and video
It's a lot. It's earned.
9) You apply for grants far in advance of when you'll need them
Sometimes more than a year. AND...
10) You may not get your money until after the project is over.
Not my favorite thing. But that's how some places do it.
Now you have a little bit of background. Please don't ever tell someone to "just get a grant" to cover their funding. And next time you see small organizations that have been awarded grants, know that it's an achievement, and far from a given.
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