Glossary of Terms

Symbols | A | B | C | E | F | G | I | M | N | R | S | U

Symbols 

1:1 cash match: the grantee must have one dollar from a non-Federal or non-state source to use in combination with Council funds. For example, if a grantee purchases a ten dollar item, five of those dollars come from the grantee and five come from the Council on the Arts. 

A

Articles of Incorporation: a contract between the state and the incorporators forming a corporation.

B

Balance sheet: a financial statement that shows the financial position of a business at a particular date. 

Block-booking: this occurs when several presenters work together to bring the same artist to their communities and coordinate travel schedules to reduce costs.

 Board-approved financial statement: typically these are a balance sheet, an income statement, and a statement of cash flows that the board of directors approves as an accurate financial description of the organization. 

C

Capital improvement: permanent acquisition or alteration of buildings, land, equipment or other assets with a useful life of more than three years.

Cash revenue: inflows of cash funds into an organization. 

Consultant: a person or company acting as an independent contractor to provide a service. 

E

Endowment Fund: a separate accounting fund that is used to provide long-term stability to an organization. The balance of these accounts typically cannot be used for cash match or operating expenses. 

Expenditure: outflows of cash or cash equivalents. 

F

Federal fund: organizational cash that was received from a Federal source.

Fellowship: position or financial support given to students. 

Final report: statements completed by the grantee that describes the outcome of a project grant. 

Fiscal year: twelve month accounting period used by an economic entity. 

G

Grantee: person or organization that receives a grant. 

I

Income statement: a financial statement that shows the amount of income earned by a business over an accounting period. 

In-kind contribution: the fair market dollar value of non-cash donations to the project or program which are provided by volunteers or outside parties at no cash cost to the recipient. Volunteer time is calculated at the minimum wage unless the volunteer is donating professional services which are part of that person's profession. In this case donations are valued at that person's professional rate. Donated items must be calculated at fair market value. Only items that are donated as a direct part of the project should be included in the application. In-kind contributions must be reflected under project expenses.

Independent audit: the process of examining and testing the financial statements of a company in order to render an independent professional opinion as to the fairness of their presentation. 

Interim report: documentation required during the grant period. 

M

Match: see 1:1 cash match in “Symbols” above.

Multi-cultural: projects or items that consider more than one culture in their presentation or target audience.

N

Non-profit corporation: a corporation that does not distribute retained earning to stockholders, principals, or governing board members. 

R

Re-grant: occurs when an organization distributes Council on the Arts grant funds to another organization in grant form. 

S

Scholarship: gift made to an individual to assist study. 

Special constituency: a group unique to your service area. 

Statement of cash flow: a primary financial statement that shows the effect on cash flows of operating, investing, and financing activities. 

U

Under-served: a situation where arts programs, services, or resources are limited due to geography, economic conditions, cultural background, disability, age, or other factors which demonstrate need.