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General Guidelines and Information
Tips for Successful Grant-Writing
Keep in mind that a successful grant is based on two things - the quality of the project and the ability of the applicant to successfully carry out the project.
A few helpful tips to keep in mind:
- Do your homework. Read the guidelines thoroughly before you begin
writing. Be certain that you are applying to the right program. If you have
questions about the appropriateness of your application, contact the
Council office well in advance of the deadline.
- Prepare a timeline backwards from the postmark deadline that will
allow you enough time to think through the project, draft, revise, and edit
your proposal. If your application arrives at least 30 days before the
application deadline, staff has time to review it and offer you the opportunity to make corrections/changes. Institutional Support grantees
whose grants are received less than 30 days in advance of the deadline
date will be contacted to make budgetary corrections found during the staff review of their grant.
- Fill out a practice application. Make blank copies of the application
form.
- Draft your application narrative and budgets.
Be concise and specific in your narrative.
Maintain a positive tone; write in an active voice.
Answer all questions, write "not applicable" rather than leaving the question blank.
Make sure your budget supports the goals of your project.
Itemize where asked.
Check your math.
Specific information will give the panel a clearer picture of your project.
- Put yourself in the panelist's position. Don't overload the reader with
too much unnecessary information or verbose language. Simple, everyday
language will best convey your ideas. Plan and organize your application
with a well-structured outline. Each part should provide necessary information about your organization or project. Have someone not directly
involved with your organization read the application. Having read only the
application, ask their opinion about what your needs are, what you are
requesting, and your ability to conduct the project.
- Send a draft or discuss your proposal with Council on the Arts staff for review and feedback. This doesnt
guarantee funding, but staff can help you strengthen your proposals. Build this into your timeline.
- Revise according to feedback. Incorporate outside comments into your
proposal, double-check spelling, grammar, readability, and math.
- Is your application complete? Follow the application instructions
carefully. A checklist is part of the application. Use it to make sure nothing has been overlooked. Has everything been signed by the correct people? Do you have the appropriate number of copies, support
materials, etc. (including one for your records)?
- Submit the complete application by the deadline date. Faxed
applications will not be accepted. Original signatures are a must.
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General Policies and Compliance
Requirements
The North Dakota Council on the Arts reserves the right to amend, reduce, or
terminate any grant for non-compliance with the general guidelines, submission of
fraudulent or erroneous information, or the loss of anticipated Federal or state
funding. If funds are received, a sub-grantee must comply with all stated requirements.
Legal
- Applicants must be nonprofit organizations registered with the State of
North Dakota (or an adjacent state or province). If you have questions
regarding your organization's nonprofit status, please call the Corporations
Division of the North Dakota Secretary of State's office, 701-328-4284.
- Organizations with annual cash expenses in excess of $200,000 must
submit an independent audit for the most recently completed fiscal year.
- Organizations whose annual cash expenses are less than $200,000 must
submit either board- approved financial statements or an independent
audit for the most recently completed fiscal year.
- Every grantee must inform the North Dakota Council on the Arts, in writing, of any changes in your
project. (e.g., changes in staff or board, budgetary changes, change in
address, etc.).
- Comply with Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, provides that no person, on the basis of race, color, or national origin, be
excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected
to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial
assistance.
- Comply with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which provides that no otherwise
qualified disabled individual in the United States, as defined in Section 7(6), shall, solely by reason of his disability,
be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination.
- Comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) which
prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment (Title I),
state and local government services (Title II), and places of public
accommodation and commercial facilities (Title III).
- Comply with Title IX of the Education Act of 1972 that prohibits the
exclusion of persons on the basis of sex from any education program or
activity receiving Federal financial assistance (subject to certain exceptions
regarding admission policies and certain religious and military institutions).
- Comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act and pay professional performers, artists, related and supporting personnel, laborers, and
mechanics at the minimum compensation level for persons employed in
similar activities.
- Comply with the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 that prohibits the exclusion of persons on the basis of age from any program or activity
receiving Federal financial assistance.
- Comply with the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988.
- Comply with the Federal directive providing that Federal funds cannot be
used directly or indirectly to influence a member of Congress to favor or
oppose any legislation or appropriation.
- All materials submitted to the North Dakota Council on the Arts become the property of the
Council and shall be subject to North Dakota state open record laws.
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Requirements
Financial and Managerial
- Expend funds for the project specifically described in the grant application
or as amended by North Dakota Council on the Arts/grantee consultation.
- Assure that procedures are followed to minimize the time between receipt
of grant funds and its prompt expenditure.
- Assure that Federal funds are neither deposited nor transferred into
interest-bearing accounts.
- Charge appropriate admission or fees for arts events.
- Provide adequate documentation of the value of in-kind services, material,
equipment, building, and land (see additional information on in-kind).
- Be legally responsible for the completion of the project and for the proper
management of grant funds. If a fiscal agent is used, the agent and the
party carrying out the project must enter into a formal agreement and a
copy of the contract must be sent to the Council office.
- All financial records, including substantiating documentation, must be
maintained for three years or until an audit has been completed and any
questions arising from it have been resolved, whichever is the lesser
period.
- With the exception of the Community Arts Access grant program, federal
funds cannot be used as match, nor can Council funds be used to match
Federal funds from alternative sources.
- Promptly submit required contracts and other materials according to
guidelines set by the Council.
- Submit interim reports as required.
- Submit final reports in accordance with project contracts that provide
accurate and complete disclosure of the financial and artistic results of the
project within 30 days of project completion.
- If an applicant applies to both the Heartland Fund and the Council
on the Arts for support of the same event, the total combined subsidy can not exceed 50 percent of the artist's negotiated fee.
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Requirements
Requesting Funds
Grant payments are not automatic, but are generated by the Council on
the Arts after receipt of a Request for Funds form from the applicant. These will be
supplied by the Council. Requests will be processed on the first and the fifteenth
of every month. All grant funds must have been requested 30 days before the
end of the state's fiscal year. Grant checks will arrive approximately three weeks
after the date they are processed. See specific program guidelines for additional
details.
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Requirements
Council on the Arts fund may NOT be
used for:
- Debt reduction or elimination.
- Capital improvements, purchase, or long-term lease of equipment or
property.
- Fellowships, scholarships, or tuition fees.
- Activities restricted to an organization's membership.
- Travel outside of North Dakota unless specifically stated in the grant
application.
- In-school curriculum projects (excluding Arts-in-Education Programs)
unless they have a local, regional, or state-wide impact.
- Out-of-state touring performances and exhibitions unless specifically
stated in the grant application.
- Projects sponsored by or taking place on college or university campuses
or religious institutions that ignore non-students or non-members, and do
not involve the community at large in the planning, implementation, and performance of the project.
- Projects completed in previous fiscal years.
- Projects that are part of a required course or curriculum.
- Projects involving the arts as therapy unless professional artists are employed.
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Requirements
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Credit Line
Include the Council on the Arts logo as well as the following credit line in all
advertising, news releases, printed programs, and promotional materials:
This activity is supported in part by a grant from the North Dakota Council on the Arts, which receives funding from the
state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Logo slicks will be provided by the Council.
Back to Top 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination on the
basis of disability by any recipient of Federal funds. Under this regulation, a
Federally funded arts program, when viewed in its entirety, must be accessible to
all persons. The National Endowment for the Arts issued its regulations to
enforce the law in 1979, and compliance handbooks have been made available
to sub-recipients of Endowment funds. Failure to comply with Section 504 can result in
the loss of Federal funds.
In July of 1990, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act that
requires all public accommodations to be accessible when taken as a whole. The
act requires both the removal of barriers and the provision of "auxiliary aids
and services" required to make programs accessible, and defines failure to do so
as discrimination.
Recipients of funds from the North Dakota Council on the Arts are expected to be in compliance with these federal regulations. Contact the
Council for further information on compliance.
Back to Top Cultural Diversity/Multi-Cultural Arts
The North Dakota Council on the Arts is committed to the support of multi-cultural arts activities. Applicants are encouraged to develop policies that
encourage the presentation of a broad range of cultural events and inclusion of all
cultures in on-going programs. Efforts should also be made to diversify staffs and
boards so that the voices of a culturally diverse community will be heard.
Back to Top Endowment Funds
While North Dakota Council on the Arts grants may not be deposited into endowment funds, the
Council does encourage organizations to create endowments when appropriate. Typically these funds are built by way of special
fund-raising efforts. Cash reserves in excess of a reasonable operating contingency at the end of a fiscal year may be designated, by board action, to
non-expendable accounts within the endowment.
Grant applications must include these funds on any required financial statements.
An application for general operating support must show endowment funds as
part of the applicant's cash on hand. However, it must be designated as non-expendable. Thus, it is not added to cash which might otherwise be
available for the proposed project/program. Non-expendable endowment funds
are not usable as part of the applicant's matching funds since they will not be
expended during the period of the grant.
Applicants should contact the Council staff with any questions.
Back to Top Reserve Funds
While the North Dakota Council on the Arts considers financial need of
applicants as part of its review process, that policy should not be interpreted to
mean that applicants should not develop a reserve fund. In general, a reserve of
10 percent of an organization's annual operating budget for one year is a
reasonable amount. This reserve should be shown on the financial statements
submitted as part of the application.
Please note that Council funds cannot be used to replenish depleted reserve
funds.
Back to Top In-Kind Contributions
In-kind is the value of personnel, space, travel, marketing, or other operating
expenses specifically identified with the project that are provided to the applicant
by volunteers or outside parties at no cash cost to the applicant. In-kind
expenses must be recorded at current market value, and if used as match, it must
be documented. Documentation consists of a written statement of what was
given, the value of the contribution, the dates of the contribution, and the
signature of the person who made the contribution. Organizations must retain
these statements for three years and provide the North Dakota Council on
the Arts with a summation of the donations by major category.
Volunteer services may be provided by skilled or unskilled labor. Rates of
volunteer services should be consistent with those paid for similar work in the
current market. If an individual's labor is donated and the services are the same
as their regular employment, their regular rate of pay should be used.
Donated expendable personal property should be valued at fair market value at
the time of the donation.
Non-expendable personal property, land, and buildings should not exceed fair
market value at the time of donation. If temporary use of such property is
donated, depreciation or use charges should be used as in-kind. If the property can be depleted or depreciated it may be used as match.
If an applicant chooses not to include in-kind in the grant budget or
Final
Report, they should still include the extent of in-kind contributions in the narrative. Panelists often look at in-kind when measuring community
support. Currently, in-kind is included in determining the Institutional Support
grant award. Failure
to include any in-kind contributions on the financial page may reduce the total
amount of the funded grant.
 Sample
In-Kind Documentation
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