Grants to Florida Nonprofits and IHEs in Eligible Areas for Arts and Cultural Programs

FY24 Cultural Grant and Cultural Tourism Marketing Grant Program

Agency

Local

GrantWatch ID#

172017

Funding Source

Council on Culture and Arts (COCA)

Geographic Focus

USA: Florida: Tallahassee and Leon County

Important Dates

Deadline: 06/21/23

Grant Description

Grants to Florida nonprofit organizations and educational institutions in eligible regions for cultural, historical, and arts programs in the local community. Funding is intended to cover tourism-related programs and projects as well as marketing and promotion expenses. Applicants must present or produce events and programs in Tallahassee and/or Leon County.

The mission of COCA’s Cultural Grant Program is to serve and support the community of non-profit arts and cultural organizations within Tallahassee and Leon County through program funding that enhances the quality of life, and economic development or has the potential to attract and retain tourists in Leon County and that helps to promote Leon County as a tourism destination.

Additionally, applicants' programming must meet at least one of the following goals:

Offer arts, history, or cultural programs with exemplary standards and objectives. The grant program seeks to fund programming that enriches the community with attention to the highest standards and objectives within a cultural discipline.
Provide educational opportunities in arts, culture, and/or history for young people or adults. The grant program seeks to fund programming that features learning opportunities for young and/or life-long learners.
Serves a special or diverse population or need, fills a unique niche, or engages the community in the creative or artistic process. The grant program seeks to fund programming that offers a unique service in arts, culture, and history not otherwise provided in the community; programs that provide distinctive arts, history, and cultural offerings; programs that highlight cultural diversity and/or access for persons with disabilities; programs that bring arts, cultural and historic exhibits, or events to underserved areas; programs that engage members of the community in the creative and/or artistic process.

The grant program seeks to fund programming that offers a unique service in arts, culture, and history not otherwise provided in the community; programs that provide distinctive arts, history, and cultural offerings; programs that highlight cultural diversity and/or access for persons with disabilities; programs that bring arts, cultural and historic exhibits, or events to underserved areas; programs that engage members of the community in the creative and/or artistic process.

For information on eligible expenses, see: https://www.tallahasseearts.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/www.tallahasseearts.org/images/2023/04/FY24-Cultural-Grant-Guidelines.pdf#page=14

Recipient

Additional Eligibility Criteria

Basic Eligibility
1. Applicants must be either:
- A not-for-profit Florida corporation with at least 60% of operating cash budget originating from earned income and classified by the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) as a 501(c)3, sub-class “public charity OR
- A department, museum, or other organization working under the FEID number of a part of the State of Florida, Florida State University, Florida A&M University, or Tallahassee Community College
2. Applicant’s mission must be to produce or promote arts and/or history programming.

County (TDT) Eligibility
1. In addition to arts and culture, applicant must have as one of its main purposes the attraction
of tourists as evidenced by the promotion of the activity, service, venue, or event to tourists.
2. Applicant must clearly identify public relations/promotional/marketing tactics used to reach visitors outside Leon County.
3. Applicant must have a marketing plan that clearly indicates out-of-market advertising or promotion.
4. Applicant must track and report the number of Out of County visitors served by programs.
NOTE: No program may receive grant funding from both the Tourism Grant Program and the Council on Culture & Arts (COCA).

City (Community) Eligibility
1. Applicant must track and report the number of residents served by programs.
NOTE: No program may receive grant funding from both the Community Human Services Partnership (CHSP) or the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and the Council on Culture & Arts (COCA).

For more information on eligibility, see https://www.tallahasseearts.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/www.tallahasseearts.org/images/2023/04/FY24-Cultural-Grant-Guidelines.pdf#page=9

Ineligible

Grant funds may not be used for:
- General overhead that is unrelated to programming and/or promotion (i.e., financial audit, board retreats, decorating the facility, etc.)
- Capital expenses. For the purposes of this grant, capital expenses include building projects, acquisitions, renovations, land acquisition, and other permanent improvements to physical plants (i.e., new roof, air conditioning systems, security fence, lighting grids). Capital expenses also include the purchase of equipment that is not related to the production of events or exhibits.

For information on other non-allowable expenses, see: https://www.tallahasseearts.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/www.tallahasseearts.org/images/2023/04/FY24-Cultural-Grant-Guidelines.pdf#page=15

Pre-Proposal Conference

There will be a grant application webinar on May 16, 2023.

Pre-Application Information

Important dates:
- FY24 COCA Grant Program Calendar
- May 1, 2023 – Grant Application & Guidelines available, Application Portal Opens
- May 16, 2023 – Grant Application Webinar
- June 1, 2023 – Panelist Nomination Deadline
- June 16, 2023 – Last day for grantee consultations
- June 21, 2023 (11:59 PM) – FY24 Application Deadline
- June 22 – 27, 2023 – COCA Staff Eligibility Review
- June 28, 2023 – Panelist Orientation
- June 28 - July 12, 2023 – County TDT Eligibility Verification
- July 17, 2023 - Applicant Revisions Deadline (If Necessary)
- July 21, 2023 – Secondary County TDT Eligibility Verification Results
- August 23, 2023 – Panel Review Meeting
- September 7, 2023 – COCA Board Reviews & Approves FY24 Funding Recommendations
- September 14, 2023 – TDC Reviews & Approves FY24 TDT Funding Recommendations
- September 30, 2023 – City & County Budgets Finalized
- October 1, 2023 – Grant Period Begins

- There may only be one application per year for funds to benefit any single organization.
- All grant fund expenses must be directly related to programs. Tourism funding must include the promotion of activities, services, venues, or events with the attraction of tourists as one of the main purposes of such programming and/or promotion.
- COCA offers a grants workshop and free virtual consultations as questions arise and provides technical consultations to help applicants check their final draft for any errors up until one week prior to the final deadline. All consultations will be held virtually. If an applicant has never participated in this grant program, the COCA urges them to be in contact immediately so that they can get oriented to the process.

Estimated Size of Grant

Please see page 11 of the Guidelines document for information about grant size.

Term of Contract

All funds must be spent within the grant activity period of October 1 through September 30. Funds that are not spent within this period (or for the specific programs and expenses described in the application are subject to repayment.

Contact Information

Apply online: https://tallahasseearts.submittable.com/

For questions, Kathleen Spehar, Executive Director at kathleen@tallahasseearts.org

Council on Cultural Arts
914 Railroad Avenue
Tallahassee, Florida 32310
(850) 224-2500
info@tallahasseearts.org

Grants to Florida Nonprofits and IHEs in Eligible Areas for Arts and Cultural Programs

FY24 Cultural Grant and Cultural Tourism Marketing Grant Program

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