00:00:01:06 - 00:00:42:05
Unknown
Sir, your comments in the chat as well. And no. So thank you, Emily, for starting the recording. I love that everyone's introducing themselves. We do have kind of a large group and so I am. I think what we'll do is because it's a large group, we won't necessarily go around and introduce ourselves on this right now, but maybe when we get to the Q&A, if someone is maybe when we get to the Q&A, if someone if you want to ask a question and then introduce yourself and ask your question, that would be a good thing.
00:00:42:10 - 00:01:28:03
Unknown
Okay. I'm seeing that some people can hear me and other people cannot. Can you hear me? Yes. Okay. Yes. Okay. So might be it sounds like it seems like most people can hear me from what the what I'm seeing in the chat and what people are saying. So might be on your end. For those who are having trouble hearing you, I wonder if you might either turn off and on here or kind of change your audio settings or maybe exit and come back into the meeting?
00:01:28:19 - 00:02:00:00
Unknown
Or Emily, do you have any any wisdom to share that? No. Okay. Yeah. Yes. Okay. Thank you for that. Thank you for the suggestion. Taniesha. Yeah. So maybe leave and come back in. Or you could try it. Try getting into it on your phone. Might be another option. So? So I'm going to keep fingers crossed for those who can't hear that.
00:02:00:06 - 00:02:27:21
Unknown
If you if you follow the the suggestion from Taneisha, hopefully that will work. So because we have a lot to get through. I'm going to go ahead and start so again, because we my initial welcome was before we started recording I am Priya Sircar, arts and culture officer with the City of Charlotte. But we are going to join a we're going to talk about the Opportunity Fund grant cycle that's open now.
00:02:28:13 - 00:03:10:17
Unknown
And I'm going to so I have a question, Ira. I had to yes. From the board that we're going to join and I'm not sure if they're having difficulty. Jane Berman And William Sanders is heading to I think he would to talk about how hopefully they'll be able to hopefully they'll be able to join. And and we are going to need to get started since we're about ten after and we want to be respectful of your time.
00:03:10:17 - 00:03:43:16
Unknown
So hopefully they'll be able to join. But if not, we are going to have the presentation that they can look at later. And I see that Jane is here. So thank you, Jane, for putting that into the chat. Okay. So, Emily, thank you for running the slides today. So the Opportunity Fund is a subset of the infusion fund that I mentioned a few minutes ago, which is a three year partnership between the city of Charlotte and private donors through the Foundation for the Carolinas.
00:03:44:20 - 00:04:09:06
Unknown
Next slide, please. Thank you. So just briefly, we're going to tell you a little bit about the infusion fund, the opportunity fund. We're going to go over the eligibility requirements and talk about the process, which includes the letter of intent process, which is the first part. And then we will talk about the second phase of the process, which involves the proposals at a budget.
00:04:09:14 - 00:04:30:11
Unknown
We will walk through the budget template, so we're hoping that will be helpful. Part of the session today and we'll talk about how the grants are considered and awarded. And then we will try to leave some time at the end for questions and answers. Next slide, please.
00:04:34:05 - 00:04:59:05
Unknown
So first, you may have seen these guiding principles before. These are guiding principles that were adopted by the Arts and Culture Advisory Board, which is an 18 member board, is supported by appointed by both the public sector, meaning mayor and council, as well as so half the town board is appointed by mayor and council and half the board is appointed by the
00:04:59:13 - 00:05:33:09
Unknown
Foundation for the Carolinas for the private sector and one of those appointees is the ASC appointee and this 18 member board adopted these guiding principles just over a year ago, actually, when it was a pretty new board. And we use these guiding principles to undergird all the work that we do, which includes the any grant allocations, as well as the comprehensive Arts and culture plan that hopefully you're aware of that we have been working on and are continuing to work on through the spring.
00:05:33:15 - 00:06:12:14
Unknown
And hopefully you have had a chance to participate in that and it's not too late. In fact, at the end of this presentation we'll talk about how you can be involved right now. But meanwhile, wanted to share these guiding principles. I'm not going to read them to you because you can read them for yourselves. But also you may have seen these two when you had a chance to go into the letter of intent form, because we do ask that you share with us how your proposed project for the Opportunity Fund grant aligns with these guiding principles in the past.
00:06:13:17 - 00:06:37:16
Unknown
And I'll talk a little bit about the Opportunity Fund and what we've done with that so far. But truly, every project that has been considered by the advisory Board for an Opportunity Fund grant, we look at the guiding principles and look at how the project aligns with these and this is what we're striving for. Next slide, please.
00:06:40:05 - 00:07:06:16
Unknown
So just a quick snapshot of what the infusion fund is and the work that we've been doing. So a few things that we have done in our first couple of years and actually we're not even fully through the second year of the infusion fund. It started in July 2021. And so we are now in the second fiscal year because we go from July to June for the fiscal year of the infusion fund.
00:07:06:18 - 00:08:05:11
Unknown
And so we are a little over halfway through the three years of the infusion funds. It concludes in June 2024. So, so far through the in the first little over a year and a half, the infusion fund has awarded about $18 million, a little more than that in unrestricted operating support to 79 organizations and groups, about $2 million to additional dollars to organizations and artists distributed in partnership with the ASC and another $2 million for ASC operations and almost $1,000,000 through this Opportunity Fund for 33 projects that are by artists and groups.
00:08:05:23 - 00:08:24:23
Unknown
So we are you know, we've been hard at work to distribute the funds that are in the infusion fund, which I should have mentioned what that is. It's a $12 million per year for a three fiscal years. So next slide.
00:08:27:06 - 00:09:08:07
Unknown
So as I mentioned, the Opportunity Fund is a subset of the infusion fund. And really it is a new mechanism that we introduced last year, which was an effort to do several things. One is to really complement the other funding opportunities that already exist in Charlotte-Mecklenburg and offer funding. That is, it's also Project based, but it is timely in that it's working to be on a quicker response timeframe than a lot of existing grant cycles, and it is by open call.
00:09:08:07 - 00:09:33:03
Unknown
So again, really aiming to make it open to everyone. According to, you know, we do have some basic eligibility guidelines that we're going to get into in a moment, but we wanted to make sure that it's open to all by an open call, just recognizing that sometimes some of the funding that is available in Charlotte-Mecklenburg is not available by open call.
00:09:33:03 - 00:10:03:08
Unknown
It might be just more relational or, you know, kind of just different different sources that are not ones that everyone can apply to. So we wanted to also have a quick response in a short time frame because we know that you all as artists and organizations are always creating and producing and doing something that is an artistic activity.
00:10:03:16 - 00:10:34:14
Unknown
And those things don't always align with a cycle, especially the grant cycle that's many, many months long. Sometimes a cycle can be, you know, most of a year. So we're looking for a way to provide funding on a faster turnaround. So we actually piloted this with a couple of projects last spring, the Queen Charlotte Project, which many of you may have participated in or experienced, which was a week of many different types of artistic activities, use different disciplines.
00:10:35:16 - 00:11:03:01
Unknown
And then I'm getting some feedback. Thank you. And then there is another project, which was a partnership actually, of funding with South Arts to provide funding from the Ford Foundation to support an organization that would participate in a training cohort and receive funding that way too. And they actually had a separate selection process and jazz art. Charlotte was selected through their selection process.
00:11:03:01 - 00:11:43:12
Unknown
So those are the first two that we tried this idea out with. And then we actually formalized this funding mechanism in full and had three rounds of it. Very quick turnaround. September, October, November there where we considered applications on a rolling basis and actually a working group of the board reviewed, scored, met and discussed proposals each month and and actually made recommendations to the whole board for their their vote and approval.
00:11:43:22 - 00:12:20:16
Unknown
And so actually we were able and in fact, you know, the board had decided to, you know, try it out with about $400,000. And there were just so many projects, so much going on and just, you know, really great, great projects that had strong alignment with the guiding principles and the purpose of the Opportunity Fund that I you know, I have to say, I was thrilled that the board decided to go beyond the 400,000 that they were initially planning to try this out with and actually awarded over $600,000 to 31 projects in three months.
00:12:21:16 - 00:12:49:09
Unknown
And so we are also thrilled that after kind of taking a pause and analyzing the initial cycles of the fund and looking to see, you know, what we can learn from that, we move forward into to do another cycle, which is the one that you are interested in now, which is up to $325,000 available through this current cycle.
00:12:50:03 - 00:13:26:16
Unknown
Next slide, please. So what is it? Covered a little bit of what we're trying to do with the fund, but so what? This is a lot of words that really just there for for future reference, but really there are a few things we're trying to do. So in addition to infusing more money into the sector to fund timely projects, quick and responsive fashion, we're also trying to provide money to do things that are kind of testing out different ideas, you know, testing things out, especially things that we're learning through the arts and culture planning process.
00:13:27:23 - 00:13:38:21
Unknown
And so we're seeing a bunch of some different things. Emily I think it went away from the presentation. Yeah.
00:13:41:13 - 00:14:12:18
Unknown
Thanks. So, so things that might be happening that actually relate to the kinds of things that we are hearing from the public, hearing from the community, and finding through the arts and culture planning process that are important things to try or to test potential solutions or needs in the community. And so and also definitely feel free to take some photos, but we will post as if you want to download it later.
00:14:14:00 - 00:14:35:13
Unknown
And so be. And so yeah, we're actually learning a lot already through the things that through the Opportunity Fund process so far. And we'll look forward to continuing to learn things as the projects are completed. And we hear back from from, from you all. Next slide.
00:14:41:11 - 00:15:11:08
Unknown
So I am just going to do one quick thing, just to let you know about kind of what we have, what we received through last, last falls, which is that we actually had a mix of in the three months we had 31 projects funded and it was a mix of nonprofit organizations and individual artists or groups of or collectives that maybe don't have nonprofit status but have worked with a fiscal sponsor.
00:15:11:09 - 00:15:36:18
Unknown
We'll talk a little bit more that in a minute about the fiscal agent or fiscal sponsor. But so actually, about half the the grantees grant recipients were nonprofit organizations, and a quarter of them were individual artists. And another quarter of them are groups or collectives working with a fiscal sponsor. And there you see that over $60,000 that was awarded last fall.
00:15:36:24 - 00:16:21:00
Unknown
Next slide. And I'm actually going to turn it over to Emily to go through the next few slides. Hi. So for Opportunity Fund eligibility, restricted grants recipients can use the money for purposes relating to their proposed project program or initiative, and that should be aligned with your budget. The Opportunity Fund supports projects that test ideas from the cultural planning process and inform the plans development projects that don't fit neatly within existing grant cycles and structures that may not require sustained or unrestricted funding and come up throughout the fiscal year.
00:16:21:15 - 00:17:01:18
Unknown
Some of the types of projects are arts and cultural experiences, organizational and technical support programing and collaborations. Here are some examples. I just mentioned the the first couple. It also includes renting spaces for project activities, permitting costs, advertising and marketing research and reporting personnel and training costs and membership fees. Who can participate in this program? Nonprofit organizations or artists and creative groups that utilize the nonprofit Fiscal Agent or Fiscal sponsor?
00:17:02:10 - 00:17:39:14
Unknown
You have to be sponsored by a nonprofit organization in order for the Fund for the Carolinas to be able to dispense funds. The applicant must be located in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, and the project takes place wholly or primarily in Charlotte-Mecklenburg area. The project ends by June 30th, 2020, for an organization that receives annual and annual operating funds from the Infusion fund is only eligible for an Opportunity Fund grant if the project is done in collaboration with local artists or creative nonprofits or groups.
00:17:39:14 - 00:18:07:16
Unknown
No infrastructure or capital projects are eligible, and the maximum request of $30,000 is what each that the max that each grant could be granted. Mind you, if you request 30, you're not guaranteed the 30 and we'll go over more of what the grant panel criteria and what they consider when awarding funding later in the presentation. I think, Priya, I'm going to hand it back to you.
00:18:08:07 - 00:18:34:05
Unknown
Oh, no. One more slide. I'm sorry. Just wanted to give you a visual of what the process is. So on February 13th, we opened up the application process for Letters of Intent, and we're accepting them through Friday, March 31st. So you still have about four weeks to submit your letter of intent. I will review your letter and make sure it meets the eligibility requirements we just covered.
00:18:35:07 - 00:19:02:14
Unknown
And if you meet those eligibility requirements generally within seven calendar days, you'll receive an email from me. Emily.Kunze@CharlotteNC.gov that will be inviting you to submit a proposal or will I'll make contact with you and explain to you why your project wasn't eligible and see if we can work with you to figure out how we can let you participate in the application process if you're eligible.
00:19:02:14 - 00:19:23:11
Unknown
Eligible proposals are accepted through Friday, May 5th. That does not mean you have to wait till Friday, May 5th to submit your proposal. We highly encourage you to submit it sooner than that because, you know, we had last year, we had, you know, dozens and dozens of presentations. We have to put them together in packets and distribute them to panels.
00:19:23:19 - 00:19:52:23
Unknown
We want to give the panel ample time to give proper consideration to each proposal. So if you can submit them earlier, that will be helpful to us after the proposals come through. A grant review panel will review and support the proposal. The panels are going to be made up of local artists as and as well as past Opportunity Fund grant awardees, and after they they will make recommendations to the advisory boards.
00:19:53:04 - 00:20:31:16
Unknown
Small Working group and the working group will take those recommendations and fine tune them and finally bring a final recommendation to the Arts and Culture Advisory Board to their June Advisory Board meeting, where the board will vote to either grant or deny the recommendations. And once that is done, anybody that is awarded a grant will be notified by that week, that third week in June, and money will be dispensed in July by the funds for the Carolina.
00:20:33:09 - 00:21:10:05
Unknown
Thanks, Emily. So, letter of intent. So this is something that if you've had a chance to go in to see, you have already seen that the kinds of things that we are asking for the essentially it's like a short version of what your whole proposal would be and where what you'll you'll be asked questions to help us ensure that your project, you and your project meet the eligibility requirements like being located in Charlotte Mecklenburg and the project being wholly or mostly in Charlotte.
00:21:10:05 - 00:22:00:20
Unknown
Mecklenburg Just understanding what artistic discipline or disciplines that your project relates to. You can see what just here we're just wanting to know more about the types of projects, how things aligned with the guiding principles that I mentioned earlier. A brief description of the project. And I think really here you just want to give as clear a snippet as you can of what is the project, what is it you're seeking to do, and really the project of what your requesting opportunity fund support for, Because I know sometimes there's sort of a larger project and it might not be clear really specifically what the, the smaller project is about, you know, like the piece that you're
00:22:00:20 - 00:22:38:24
Unknown
asking for funding for. So do try to make that clear and then definitely don't forget to click submit. So just noting that when you get to the last place page after, you know, submitting your answer or answering the last question, there is a submit button that you need to make sure that you hit. Just FYI, I unfortunately the the online platform that the city has, we we don't have a way for it to generate automatic confirmations.
00:22:38:24 - 00:23:10:09
Unknown
We really wish it did. But, you know it does Once you hit submit, it does send it to us. And then as Emily said, we actually do especially, you know, Emily reviews things right after they come in. And so within a very short timeframe, usually within a week or so, you know, we've had a chance to look at whether it's eligible and you should hear from us either way.
00:23:11:08 - 00:23:22:16
Unknown
Next slide, I think we may have could we go back when and we. Yeah. Thank you.
00:23:24:19 - 00:23:56:07
Unknown
Yep. To full proposals. So if you if your project meets the eligibility and the purpose of the infusion fund and you're requested to go to the next step and submit a full proposal, these are the things that you'll be asked. One wanted everyone to be aware of what happens in the next stage. Right. So you'll see you see here that we're asking more information about you and and the team.
00:23:56:07 - 00:24:48:15
Unknown
You know, what is you know, who who is the team that is proposed to do this project? And it's a chance to really just tell us more about why you as yourself or your team are the right team to to do this project success successfully. And then really being specific about what you're seeking funding for, you know, what are the specific activities that you plan to use the funding for and just try to also convey, you know, what makes this project special or unique and and relevant, you know, and then understanding why you want to do this project is really helpful to, you know, what is it that you're trying to address?
00:24:49:08 - 00:25:15:12
Unknown
What is your inspiration or motivation for for doing the project and what are the things you're trying to achieve with it? You know, how will you know that you're being successful with what you achieve? It's not what we think will make success, but we want to understand what you see as success for your project and how would you measure that or just gauge that you are being successful at your project.
00:25:15:12 - 00:25:48:14
Unknown
And that could be there could be quantitative ways, like you want to reach as many people, so you would know if you had that many people, you know, participating and you will count those people, or it might be qualitative, you know, you want people to have a certain kind of experience or learn something. And maybe the way that you would know that that's happening is you would take us, you would have a survey and they would let you know through the survey, or you'll have conversations with them and they'll they'll tell you whether they learned something or how they felt about that experience.
00:25:48:14 - 00:26:14:03
Unknown
So and it can be a combination of quantitative and qualitative things, but we just want to hear from you what those things are. And then who are your partners or do you have any other supporters already involved or that you're planning to reach out to to involve, especially if you do have partners? And this is really, really important for any collaboration projects, is we will be asking you to provide a brief letter of support.
00:26:14:03 - 00:26:42:18
Unknown
And again, it can be really brief, but it does need to be, you know, like a letter on letterhead that says, yes, you know, I, Priya Sircar am partnering with Emily Kunze to do this project. And so I would just briefly say that the way I think about how to make for a strong full proposal is to answer the questions of, you know, what is it?
00:26:42:18 - 00:27:15:21
Unknown
Who's doing it? Why do you want to do it? How are you going to do it? And why now? Why especially because the Opportunity Fund is about timely responses to timely projects. What is it? Why is this project relevant now and why do you want to do it now? So those are the kinds of questions that I always encourage people to keep in mind as you're doing the full proposal or even the letter of intent.
00:27:16:17 - 00:27:45:20
Unknown
Next slide. So just some some quick tips you know as well in terms of submitting the proposals, giving yourself adequate time is really, really important. Just so that you're not rushed, you're able to make it the strongest that it can be. And please, please, please read the guidelines thoroughly and follow the instructions. Oftentimes that that doesn't happen completely.
00:27:46:04 - 00:28:10:20
Unknown
And unfortunately, that does hamper the success of the proposal. So and of course, if you have questions, you're not really sure what we mean by something in the application, whether that's a letter of intent or the full proposal, you can reach out to us and then definitely please provide all the documents that we're requesting because we do need to have things complete before they go to the review panels.
00:28:12:03 - 00:28:40:21
Unknown
And again, just kind of reiterating some of the tips like being really clear, clearly describing your vision and what you're trying to accomplish and a great way to kind of practice that or, you know, just kind of see if what you've written resonates is maybe just get a friend or get someone who maybe isn't familiar with your project yet to read it and see if they or they can describe back to you what your project is and what your goals are.
00:28:40:21 - 00:29:22:09
Unknown
And if that works, then you've probably got a strong a strong description in your proposal, your letter of intent. Also, we have a great new tool that goes even beyond just the guiding principles, which is the state of culture Report, which was just released this Monday, which is a key milestone in the arts and culture planning process. And so really encourage you to take a look at that, especially when it comes to how your project might align with things that we're hearing in community or that we've found through the research and analysis for the Comprehensive Arts and Culture Plan.
00:29:22:09 - 00:29:47:05
Unknown
And that could allow you to find some interesting connections to make in your proposal. And then this try your best to, you know, be clear and concise with your answers. We do have a word limit just because, again, we do anticipate that there will be a lot of proposals that we will be reading and the grant panels will be reviewing.
00:29:47:22 - 00:30:12:13
Unknown
So just asking, you know, to keep that in mind as you're crafting your proposal, another tip, I would say is to draft it in maybe word or a Google doc or something like that. And work on it all there till you're completely ready to go into the form. Because unfortunately, this with this platform, there's not a way to save it and come back to it.
00:30:13:01 - 00:30:42:08
Unknown
So best to just draft it somewhere else and then you're good to go. You can simply copy and paste into the form. Next slide. And on that we will talk about budget in a bit, but we really want to encourage you. This goes back to something Emily was saying earlier, you know, so we do have a maximum amount that can be requested of $30,000.
00:30:42:16 - 00:31:08:12
Unknown
However, you don't have to request $30,000 just because that is the max. We would really encourage you to just be thoughtful about how much you really need to do the project and to do. You might not be requesting the full amount of your project from the Opportunity Fund. Maybe you plan to sell tickets and get some money that way, or maybe you're raising funds another way.
00:31:08:12 - 00:31:35:10
Unknown
Maybe you already have some support. So do we really encourage you to think about ways that you can have both earned revenue as part of the mix of your budget as well as contributed revenue? And that was contributed a portion of that would be the Opportunity Fund grant. But do you think about the different ways that you can find your project and ask for the amount that you really need?
00:31:35:10 - 00:32:08:18
Unknown
And I will say that, you know, we had a whole range of grant amounts that were requested in our cycles last fall, and we have some really, really small amounts, and that's fine if you just cut out a very small amount to do your project and you're looking for that from the Opportunity Fund, that's great. And actually most of the most of the awards last fall through those three cycles were just under $20,000.
00:32:09:15 - 00:32:35:03
Unknown
And there were several that were ranged anywhere from, I think maybe 1500 to $2000 up through maybe $15,000. So we definitely had quite a range and we had some over that too. But the the panels will really also be looking at does the amount of the request and the way that the budget shakes out in terms of what you plan to spend things on, does that seem reasonable?
00:32:35:03 - 00:32:53:24
Unknown
Does it really fit well in a logical way with the way you've described your project in the narrative part of the proposal? And again, the deadline for that would be May 5th but just like our March 31st deadline to the letters of intent, you do not have to wait till then. And we encourage you not to wait till then.
00:32:54:06 - 00:33:32:14
Unknown
In fact, with the letter of intent as well, the sooner you submit it and hear back whether you're eligible, if you are eligible, then the longer you have to prepare your full proposal. Similarly, if you were to submit your full proposal in advance of May 5th, the good part about that is if if things are more, you're not rushed in case something doesn't go right on the fifth with the online platform, but also if you submit it ahead of time and we're looking at it, we notice maybe just something is unclear or it's it's missing something.
00:33:33:06 - 00:33:59:11
Unknown
Then we have time to let you know that. But once, you know, 5 p.m. on May 5th comes, even if you're still accepting applications till 11:59 p.m., you know, when we're not necessarily online anymore or we've left the office, we wouldn't be able to really look at what you're submitting and help you with that. So really encourage you to get things in a bit sooner if you can.
00:34:00:09 - 00:34:27:21
Unknown
And then you see here Emily's e-mail address, which probably all of you have since you're here. But here it is again. And if you have any questions, definitely reach out to Emily and Emily. And I said a few feet from each other. So we are often looking at questions together and answering them together. Next slide. So quickly, go through the budget before we get to Q&A.
00:34:28:18 - 00:34:46:15
Unknown
So just briefly, we'll go through these and I think Emily is going to pull up the budget template so we can look at it together. So again, for the LOI, you're not going to submit a budget. You're just going to tell us how much you're seeking. But when the full proposal comes around, there will be a budget template that we're asking you to complete.
00:34:47:01 - 00:35:14:10
Unknown
And so really do use the Excel sheet that we provide, please. It has formulas in it and it's formatted in the way that it's going to make it so that the grant panel can really compare or not compare, but just really look at everyone's budget and get an easy understanding of it without looking at lots of different formats.
00:35:15:05 - 00:35:43:14
Unknown
So please be as transparent as possible and clear about how you plan to use money. There's a place where you can put notes about different line items like this is going to be and we'll look at it in a minute. But you can explain this is going to go to pay this many artists and this is how much they'll be paid and this is for how many hours of work or how many days or this is going to go to pay for this, you know, much food for this many people.
00:35:43:22 - 00:36:09:03
Unknown
So please do tell us that, in fact, I think will add. I think it's disappeared on this but we'll add a notes column and thanks Emily, for pulling up the budget. And I guess if you're able to scroll down a little bit, you kind of have a an example here for you. I just want to point out that when you when people get the spreadsheet, you'll see this yellow line on top.
00:36:09:13 - 00:36:54:17
Unknown
It says protected view. You are going to have to click enable editing to begin entering your data right up here. Okay. Thank you for clarifying it. Yeah, great. So you'll you'll do that. Before we send this to you, we're going to add a note section, which I think just as we were updating our form, it fell away. But it'll, it'll just be kind of column IAG next to this totals and so you see here that the so the top section of this form is where you would put revenue projected revenue that's money in and then the bottom half that we'll get to in a moment is money out.
00:36:54:18 - 00:37:15:04
Unknown
It's money out, meaning your expenses, your costs. So the first section is contributed revenue. So money that you're raising, not necessarily money that you're earning through ticket sales or merchandise or things like that. So the first line is Opportunity Fund, and that's literally where you see here on the left, you're just going to put in the number. Thank you.
00:37:15:04 - 00:37:45:00
Unknown
Only 35,000 is the example. But actually we no more than 30, right? 30. So 30,000 max of what you would request from the opportunity finds it. That's the amount requesting. It would be really great if it matched what you asked for in your LOI. I know that that kind of change for some people in the last last fall when we were doing this between the Stage and Opportunity Fund and excuse me, the full proposal stage.
00:37:45:12 - 00:38:07:13
Unknown
But in any case, that's the amount you're requesting for the grant and then nothing else goes on that column, which is why it's blacked out. And then the next column, Non Opportunity Fund, that's where you're going to put in other things that either you already have in hand or that you are you're hoping to raise, you're planning to raise.
00:38:07:13 - 00:38:34:04
Unknown
Maybe you already apply for another grant or something. And so you can put you know, if there's individual contributions, you can put those there. You see foundation grants, you can put any other foundation grants here. In the example, there's another $5,000 or foundation grant in there. You might be getting other support from whether it's federal government or just special events or other things that are going on.
00:38:34:04 - 00:39:19:11
Unknown
You can see a few examples in red as other funding sources for this particular example project. And then what what this person has done or this applicant is they've put what those are, right? So that's helpful. We see that the other sources are these for other things that are listed here. So you can type those in. And then just briefly, in-kind contributions are things that you might be doing as, let's say, folks are putting in work, that they're donating their services and time, or maybe someone is yeah, maybe someone's donating, maybe they're donating food, but you put the value of the food, right?
00:39:19:11 - 00:39:45:09
Unknown
Maybe they're donating $5,000 of food and you can put what that is, right? So on the left you can see what it is. And if you want to put more detail, you'd put that in the notes column that we're going to we're going to add the label for, which would be over to the right. And you could say food for, you know, food for 300 guests, or you could say graphic design services that are being donated.
00:39:45:09 - 00:40:06:11
Unknown
Right. So those are the kinds of details you can put. And it really, really is helpful to us and to the reviewers to get a really clear picture of what you're doing and how you are, how you are getting this funded is non-operating. I see a question is not an opportunity fund funding required? Is there a match? No.
00:40:06:11 - 00:41:01:05
Unknown
But my favorite things about this is there is not a match requirement. Then there's not. There's also not a requirement that you have other funds that said, the it is really helpful to see if and in that you have other support of some kind. That's part of the mix, basically. So I will say that it's certainly been looked upon favorably by the advisory board when when when they see that, you know, even if a lot of the funding is being requested from the opportunity Fund, that there's their other partners either putting in in-kind contributions or or that there's other contributor revenue or as we're as the next section has earned income.
00:41:01:05 - 00:41:36:11
Unknown
So definitely I will share you know that a lot of conversation took place last fall in terms of are you know does this project has have all the different types of revenue been considered? You know, sometimes there are projects where they really lend themselves to ticket sales or you know, maybe just selling merchandise and or maybe it's providing a fee or, you know, you know, fees that could be earned, a service that's being provided.
00:41:36:19 - 00:42:02:01
Unknown
So we definitely are wanting you all to just consider all the different options you have available to you and and have that reflected here. And you can also explain it in the narrative as well. You could say, well, you know, we plan to do this or you could say, you know, this project doesn't really lend itself to earned revenue of such and such type.
00:42:02:01 - 00:42:23:05
Unknown
And so that's why we're seeking, you know, Opportunity Fund so you can address this topic in your narrative or also in the notes that you might add, but just want to highlight that that is definitely something that the advisory board has talked a lot about and is really looking at how you are thinking about that in your proposals.
00:42:24:15 - 00:42:45:24
Unknown
So Moving on to project expenses, this is also we're really seeking to get a clear understanding of how you are going to, you know, what's involved in your project in terms of the costs and how you know who's going to do it, how much you're going to pay them, that kind of thing. So here you can see under programs and salaries.
00:42:46:14 - 00:43:08:07
Unknown
This example has artists and designers and an amount. And actually what we would really, really like to see is rather than just just a number which you would, it would start with that. But either underneath like you could put in parentheses next to where it says artists and designers, or you could put it in the column that Emily has her cursor in where
00:43:08:07 - 00:43:34:24
Unknown
We're going to have it as your notes column, you would explain, okay, how much you're going to pay, how many people for what kind of work. So you might be planning to pay 11 artists $1,000 each of stipends for such and such thing that they're going to do. And that just really helps us understand what's the breakdown of the $11,000 that you're going to pay folks.
00:43:36:20 - 00:44:01:04
Unknown
Similarly, you know, you could have some administrative salary or wage, you know, in the number two section. And again, that shouldn't be like your general operations if you're an organization, but it can be, you know, a percentage of time that you're going to spend or someone you know on your staff in your group is going to spend specifically on this project.
00:44:01:04 - 00:44:29:17
Unknown
So do you need to indicate, oh, X amount of time that's about this particular project? And then you can see there's other things that you can put in a portion of things for. So where you have like like here it's got rent for a facility. So maybe, maybe you've got a project where you've got to rent some space for X amount of time to do this project.
00:44:29:17 - 00:44:49:24
Unknown
And so that is what that amount is for. And of course the more detail you can provide in the notes, the better. And then you can see here and for other anything else that doesn't fit in the categories we've got, that's okay. Just insert them yourself under other. And here you can see concessions, logo, advertising, things like that.
00:44:50:13 - 00:45:12:24
Unknown
You can put in here. Now, one thing that you want to note, Emily, if you don't mind scrolling up just a little bit, please, This is where you can have things in both columns, right? Because the left hand column is what are you spending the requested opportunity fund grants on? And the right hand column is what are you spending other money on?
00:45:12:24 - 00:45:50:17
Unknown
And that could be, you know, money that you're raising or money that you're earning. And see, are there budget items that are excluded from inclusion? Yes. Capital expenditures are really not not part of this time in that we basically capital or infrastructure expenses are not allowable for this cycle. And I think that would be the only thing Emily might anything that we've talked about that wouldn't be allowable this time.
00:45:50:17 - 00:46:22:06
Unknown
I would say also like alcohol cannot be claimed. And I know there's a few other things listed on our in the FAQs so I just can't think of at the moment right now. But I did want to point out your opportunity fund revenue request should match the expenses. So if you're asking for $30,000 from the Opportunity Fund, you should spend $30,000 in the Opportunity Fund column.
00:46:22:06 - 00:47:08:21
Unknown
Thanks, Emily. So I think, well, maybe with we could definitely answer other budget questions with the last few minutes that we've got. But maybe Emily is okay for now. Let me go back to just do the last couple of slides. Sure. Just bear with my technological issue. Sure. You're you're better at it than I am, that's for sure.
00:47:08:21 - 00:47:46:10
Unknown
Okay. So just briefly, we've talked about fiscal sponsorship. I think Emily explained that. So our partner, Foundation for the Carolinas distributes the funds. They do that for all infusion fund grants. And, you know, because of their they do have an IRS requirement that they need to disburse funds to a nonprofit. And so that's why, you know, we can’t provide these funds to a group that's not a nonprofit or an individual, but that's why you do need to have a nonprofit fiscal sponsor in order to receive the funds.
00:47:46:10 - 00:48:20:21
Unknown
And so we would ask for a memorandum of agreement from your fiscal sponsor. We do have on our I think our FAQ a link to some more information about what a fiscal sponsor or an agent, what they do. And basically they receive the funds for you and then they pay it out to you. And so one thing I'll just mention is so you, you it, you will need one by the time you submit the full proposal, even if you don't have one at the time of that line.
00:48:22:05 - 00:48:53:23
Unknown
And the other thing is your fiscal sponsor agent doesn't have to be in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. It's okay. We know some folks actually have an established relationship with a nonprofit that happens to be somewhere else. Fractured Atlas is actually an organization based in New York that is really well known, that does fiscal sponsorship for folks all over the country. And so, you know, it's okay if a fiscal sponsor is not located here.
00:48:53:23 - 00:49:38:04
Unknown
And and yeah, I would encourage you if you're not really familiar with the the just what fiscal sponsors and agents do to check out the link that we have on our website. And so I will go to the next slide, please Emily. Supporting materials just briefly, we do we do have a limit on on length. So we encourage you to submit things that would just really strengthen your proposal in terms of helping us understand what you're trying to do and maybe that you have the kind of background or experience or partners, you know, that you need to, to do this particular project.
00:49:38:13 - 00:50:01:16
Unknown
And so you can include up to three things total of five pages and you can include some links. And maybe that's two examples of your work, your past work that's relevant to this project. That is or maybe you've got a part of this project already underway and you want us to see the work in progress. And you can see here some of the other parameters and tips.
00:50:01:16 - 00:50:27:13
Unknown
And I think we have some of this information on our FAQ as well. Next site, how they'll be awarded. I won't go through this actually because Emily, you did a great job describing this earlier on the snapshot page, but obviously you guys can revisit the process online. You can see this too is directly from our website, so I won't read it to you now, especially in the interest of time.
00:50:27:13 - 00:51:00:12
Unknown
But these things are also provided in terms of what the review panels will be looking for and what the advisory board will be looking for. As as they look at these applications. Emily's already talked about these items at the bottom and then we will ask for a report. It'll be a brief report, brief narrative, and then a your actual budget, meaning how did you end up spending the money and what money did you end up having coming in?
00:51:00:18 - 00:51:25:08
Unknown
After all? So that would be a final, final report. Next slide. I'll go over this, but you'll have it for reference when you post this. But these are basically the time frames that and we talked through earlier and I'm actually I want we will have time for questions. But before that, I want to put this up. Thanks, Emily.
00:51:25:08 - 00:51:50:03
Unknown
So just because it's coming up, we really hope you'll all participate. As I mentioned, in the Charlotte Arts and Culture plan process, that State of Culture report is out. You can use this QR code to go directly to the page or you can download it. You can also there's a link to take a brief survey for feedback and also will be having an online public event by Zoom next Wednesday night 6 to 8 p.m..
00:51:50:22 - 00:52:10:21
Unknown
You can also register for that event via this QR code. It'll take you to the page. We really hope you'll read the report and share your thoughts with us and those your feedback is going to be really crucial because actually the steering group will be using your feedback as we move into the next phase of work which is developing the plan.
00:52:11:10 - 00:52:33:21
Unknown
So that's the little plug for next week's events and for the report and then we'll do a few minutes of Q&A. I'm just quickly going to start with the ones that are in the chat. So one is I have two projects I'm considering combining into one, should I apply for them separately and can we apply for two separate things as one institution?
00:52:35:05 - 00:53:05:01
Unknown
So one application per applicant. And if you want to combine into one, I think that's up to you. It's just about whether it, whether it will meet all the guidelines and whether it will be understandable to us as the infusion fund, as to what the project is. But one application per applicant, please. Oh, I do want to mention one thing.
00:53:05:01 - 00:53:30:06
Unknown
Thank you for the question. And also we know a lot of folks work with each other, a lot of collaboration. If you're a fiscal sponsor, you can be a fiscal sponsor for for someone and also apply for your own project. That's okay. So meaning if you're a fiscal sponsor on someone else's project, that won't preclude you from as an organization that your own application.
00:53:31:01 - 00:53:55:17
Unknown
Okay. Are these restricted funds are not restricted restricted to this project specifically to the way that your budget says that you will spend the funds? Thank you for the question. Will the funds be permitted for paying artists for their time and contribution? Yes, absolutely. We believe in paying artists for their time and contribution, so please put that into your budget.
00:53:55:23 - 00:54:13:08
Unknown
And as I mentioned with the example, tell us how many people you're paying, what you're paying them for and how much you're paying each of them. And if you don't know who they are, that's fine. But just say we plan to pay this many artists for this kind of thing. This is what we're paying them. Let's see, Does a collaboration have to be from Charlotte?
00:54:13:08 - 00:54:41:18
Unknown
It doesn't have to be from Charlotte. I think that, you know, the advisory board is really looking eagerly toward collaborations amongst the Charlotte-Mecklenburg arts and culture community. And if you've had a chance to look at the See the Culture report, you'll see that that is one of the key insights that more of that is needed. So it doesn't have to be from the area.
00:54:41:18 - 00:55:17:10
Unknown
But if you've got collaborators from a local, I think that will definitely be looked upon favorably. Proof of submission to IRS for 501c-3 status be sufficient for eligibility? No, you would need to have the status or work with a fiscal sponsor, so that makes sense. So either the actual letter or working with a fiscal sponsor and you'd be we would ask you we will ask you to provide the letter that to prove that they are 501c-3.
00:55:18:00 - 00:55:48:11
Unknown
For the question. Um, what else do I see is no word limit on the alloy project description portion The 500 we did not put a limitation in that. Okay. Caitlin Johnson. Thanks, Emily. That said, brevity is appreciated. So sorry someone is mowing the lawn outside of this window. How many proposals were submitted versus funded? That's a big question.
00:55:48:11 - 00:56:12:22
Unknown
And actually, Emily, you please correct me if I get these number right. Do you have the number? Yeah, I pulled it up. So we had 81 people submit letters of intent. 76 were invited to submit proposals. 51 people did submit proposals. And out of that, 31 grant awards were funded. Thank you, Emily. And we on the spot, maybe.
00:56:13:22 - 00:56:39:19
Unknown
And just FYI, because I kind of recall these numbers from before, that's a 60% approval rate. I don't know about you guys, but I've been doing this for 20 years. That's a really high approval rate. So really encourage you to apply. Like, I'm I'm I'm I'm ecstatic because most open calls don't have that high approval rate. So, again, really encourage you guys to apply.
00:56:39:19 - 00:57:02:01
Unknown
Please. I mean, you know if if your project is eligible but so did I any other Emily I don't know if I missed any questions that were in the chat. And if not, we can definitely open it up. And I know folks got to go and I'm sorry, we're a little over time, but I think and I don't know, Emily, if you're able to stay on for like 5 minutes, if not more questions, I can start answering the question.
00:57:02:11 - 00:57:34:01
Unknown
I'm Lauren Wallace. If a project is taking place across multiple organization and involves multiple artists, can organizations apply for their specific portions of a larger initiative, or can there be only one application? I think that it would make most sense for there to be one application for a particular project. But this sounds like something that might be better discussed, so I would invite you to reach out to us so we could like have a conversation to just to understand more.
00:57:34:01 - 00:58:02:13
Unknown
But my first blush is it probably makes the most sense for there to be one application that just includes the different pieces of it. Thanks, folks. If you need to go, thanks for joining. Okay. And then if that's all the questions in the chat for now, maybe we can go to folks. And do we have a raise hand function?
00:58:02:13 - 00:58:26:22
Unknown
I think we probably do right. Maybe we can use the raise hand function. But I also see even before that, I think we have Paula, you've had your I think you raised your hand for the question. Right. So maybe we can start with Paula and then, Emily, I'm going to defer to you to the call. And folks, if you don't mind, if you're able to see hands that are raised.
00:58:26:22 - 00:59:15:16
Unknown
So right now, I see Paula first and maybe I see and Lambert second. If we can go in that order, go, go for it, Paula. Oh, Paula, I think you're I think you're muted. There's also a hand from Rich from earlier. Two, three. Oh, is that okay? Can you hear me now? Yes. Okay. I was reviewing the copy list where we were to receive the link for today, and I did not see alternative avenues name on there unless there is a misspelling.
00:59:15:16 - 00:59:49:13
Unknown
I'm not sure what what lists you're speaking of, Paula. It was a an announcement I received from Emily actually inviting me to link today the invitation and the link today. And I was trying to check for alternative avenues on that list. And I saw something that looked like alternative avenues. But I got two calls incorrect correcting from I think it was it was Michelle.
00:59:49:14 - 01:00:13:05
Unknown
I think I can't remember her name, but she gave me an email address, a Yellow alternatives at Gmail, and I read it back to her. And, and so, yeah, that's, that's me. That's a different organization. We're different, too, I think. I'm so sorry. That's me. That's okay. So I can send that to you. Emily Okay. I left one for alternative avenues.
01:00:13:24 - 01:00:43:07
Unknown
Okay, let's do that. I received an initial announcement from prior, and I was waiting to get that invitation at the link, but I did not receive it. But you're on here now, so that was my thing. So I want to make sure that going forward, alternative avenues is on that list. I gotcha. Sure. Yeah. We'll keep everybody's email that is here today and make sure that we communicate with you.
01:00:43:07 - 01:01:13:23
Unknown
So absolutely we got so you have my correct alternative avenues email today. Yes. Yes, I have that. Thank you very much. Very good. Thank you. So for Claire's, we're asking for organization, correct? Got that? Yes. Okay. Thank you. It's similar. All right. I think we're going to end next. And then to Rich. Hi. My question was actually in the chat, but it's a little bit long.
01:01:15:15 - 01:02:04:08
Unknown
Basically, one of the highlights of the state of Culture report was the need for affordable, accessible space for artists. And our applicant organization would be the VAPA center. We meet this need by providing space to artists at a low cost. So the question I have is can our letter of intent or inquiry describe us as our project as continuing to meet this need and getting the resources together or applying for portions of the staff or the infrastructure that meets the need for space or is it better for us and more competitive for us to describe a subset of that mission?
01:02:05:07 - 01:02:31:24
Unknown
Like let's again, just thinking off the top of my head of software package to manage the tenants or hiring a new employee specifically to try to rent the space as an event space, that kind of thing. What's the plan? Yeah, so, so actually all of the things you just described sound like operations to me because so this has to be for a specific delineated project.
01:02:33:02 - 01:02:59:13
Unknown
And so I would encourage you to note that alignment with that particular insight from the plan. I think that's a good connection point to to draw out in your letter of intent. It's just that the this grant is really it needs to be for a specific project that is not kind of part of operational things that are kind of ongoing.
01:02:59:13 - 01:03:32:07
Unknown
So for example, I think like in terms of providing space for artists, that's sort of like the 24 seven mission, right, of office. And in that sense, something that if, if, if the funds were requested to kind of provide that ongoing space or even a staff person to do some of the work, that's the ongoing work of the center, that kind of relates to the organization's overall, like how they operate.
01:03:32:16 - 01:04:02:13
Unknown
So I would unfortunately, I don't think that would be eligible. But I would say if there's a specific piece of something that's coming up, then that is what I would encourage you to apply for. If it's a if it's a project and we can certainly talk more about if you if you're considering a couple of different things of what to apply for to make sure that they are eligible, what's the best way to pursue, like send Emily like a request for a 15 minute conference conversation.
01:04:03:06 - 01:04:44:14
Unknown
But yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. That's what we'll do. I think it's a good way. Thanks. Okay. I think Rich was next. I really. Can you hear me? Yes. Are you okay? Early on, there was a person that asked about acknowledgment in some way that the letter of intent had been received. I got an immediate copy of that back right the moment I submitted the button.
01:04:44:14 - 01:05:12:14
Unknown
So I don't know why that happened then. Then later on I got Emily's copy that. She said she's emailed me, but. Oh, great. I'm glad you got an automatic thing. I think last time we had tried that, it wasn't generating. It wasn't generating this. So I’m delighted. It's like a pop up screen. I don't know if it functions as well on like a mobile device, but it does say thank you and gives you an opportunity really briefly to download your responses.
01:05:12:21 - 01:05:49:17
Unknown
But I know across different platforms they might not have the same functionality. But if you ever submit something and you you know, you want to double check, just reach out to me and I'll confirm that we received it. You're a sweetheart she is. Thanks for the jokes, Rich. Yeah. Emily and I had a good time telling jokes to each other, so we're a501c3, and we're going to be submitting a letter of intent for a play in if we make a profit.
01:05:49:17 - 01:06:28:19
Unknown
Is that okay? Yes. Okay. Yes. Good. And do you see are you going to notify me of when we're going to schedule time to review my LOI? Rich, last time I talked to you, you said that you were going to have someone review it and let me know if you had any revisions to it. And then I was going to review that final version and let you know if you were invited or not.
01:06:28:19 - 01:06:53:02
Unknown
So I was just waiting for you to reply to me. All right, I'm replying to you now. It's you've got it. You're good to go. Okay, I'll thank you. I'll. I'll respond to you. That's what I meant. All right, We have time for two more questions. I thank you and Sarah, and then we're going to have to wrap up.
01:06:53:02 - 01:07:25:20
Unknown
Sounds good. I think I missed who you said, Sarah. And with some... Wendy's next, and then there would be the last one. Okay, perfect. Thanks. Go for it Wendy. Can you hear me? Yes. Mine's a short question. It's eligibility. So if you if we received infusion fund grant, that was an unrestricted grant on last year. Are we eligible to apply for this grant?
01:07:26:09 - 01:07:58:05
Unknown
Yes. Okay, That's it. Yep. Great. Thank you. Thanks for the question. Okay. Sarah? Yes? I just wanted to know about the eligibility items. Said something about technical support. What types of technical support does that include? Like, does that include hardware or software or what kinds of elements are we looking at there? Any if I can give an example, if that helps.
01:07:58:05 - 01:08:26:08
Unknown
But yeah, yeah. No. Yeah, do you want to give an example of something you're considering? Just recently we, our organization had an opportunity to purchase a lens for a projector to really amplify a part of performance. And so if we came up with another idea that would support something like that that we do need for a specific project, but of course we would, then it would be an asset that our organization would retain.
01:08:26:19 - 01:08:50:17
Unknown
Does that qualify? Because I mean, technical things are typically, you know, if it's if it's a hardware issue and it's an item, the tangible thing, then that that's something we're going to maintain. But it does support that one project. But then it it's ours that does that, I guess. I don't know if I'm making sense or not. I think you are making sense, so I'm going to kind of parse it a little differently in my answer.
01:08:50:17 - 01:09:34:01
Unknown
So a few few things. One is technical support. I think we would think of that differently. So the example you gave, I would think of it more like equipment and and you write that down as a different line item equipment. Sure. So just to clarify, I think the kinds of things that like I would view as technical support is maybe more like maybe you need a someone services to help you to develop a particular grant like you need to, you know, or you need training, technical training on fill in the blank and you're looking for support for that.
01:09:34:15 - 01:10:06:12
Unknown
Okay. And so, so then equipment. So I would say yes, if there's if it's like X piece of equipment that you need for a project, you could keep the equipment obviously. Then you're not going to like get rid of it after that. So you could put that in. I will say that we have had that it's it's I think something that to be aware of is it might depend on what the equipment is.
01:10:06:12 - 01:10:42:15
Unknown
So I know that in the past our advisory board has looked at a piece. There is sort of like it could have it sort of like a piece of equipment that was very infrastructural, like it was a major piece of equipment to sort of transform a physical space in a way that the board felt that was more in the realm of like capital infrastructure work and therefore not not something that was a fit for this grant.
01:10:42:15 - 01:11:09:20
Unknown
So again, I would say you need something like a lens to do something that to me sounds like it's probably would be looked upon fine. And that's in the realm of just equipment for something. If it's sort of a major, this is going to transform our theater space, for example, in a big way. Not that it wouldn't be needed for that project, but that's probably more of like a big ticket transformational item.
01:11:09:20 - 01:11:28:02
Unknown
That is not what this grant cycle's for. Does that mean? That's great. That's very helpful. Thank you. And I think that was going to be a last question. But I don't know, Emily, if you've got... Taneisha... We can take Taneisha and then we wrap up. And then we wrap up. Yeah. I don't have a particular question.
01:11:28:02 - 01:11:49:01
Unknown
I just want to thank all of you all for taking the time out to just provide us with amazing information. Represent Alternatives Inc and I just want to thank you all because you didn't have to. So I appreciate you. Thank you so much. Thank you for that. My philosophy is we do have to, but not because we're required to, but because it's the right thing to do.
01:11:49:01 - 01:12:09:14
Unknown
So I want to thank you all for taking us up on it, because not everybody does. So thank you for taking the time. And thank you, Emily, for all that you do. And and please, folks, if you do have other questions reach back out to us. Do take a look. I'm not sure how quickly. Hopefully by Monday we'll be able to get the presentation online.
01:12:09:14 - 01:12:27:03
Unknown
We'll work with our colleagues to post. But so do you. Take another look at this? Let us know if you have questions. Thanks, everybody, and hope you have a great weekend.