ARTS LEARNING: ARTS PARTNERSHIP

ARTS EDUCATION PROJECT SUPPORT

There are many ways to promote learning, inspire the imagination and foster creative and engaging learning environments. The Arts Partnership program is designed to provide a flexible source of support for arts learning projects that address the needs of individual learners and their communities, particularly underserved populations. Arts Partnership funds may be used to:

• Enhance the skills and knowledge necessary for learners of any age to engage in, interpret or understand the arts;
• Assist professional development efforts that prepare educators or artists to engage arts learners;
• Conduct research that advances the depth and breadth of knowledge about best practices in arts education;
• Undertake planning efforts that aim for greater access to arts learning in schools and communities.

Grant recipients should engage in collaborative planning with partners or participants, emphasize in-depth study of the arts and use arts learning outcomes and standards-based arts education practices. The support of projects and programs that share these characteristics allows the OAC to strengthen arts education locally, regionally or statewide.

Application Deadline: March 1

• What the Program Supports
• Who May Apply
• How to Apply
• Review Criteria

View of a list of Application questions for Arts Partnership.

This section of Guidelines is available as a PDF for you to download and print out if you prefer to read it offline. You must also read Appendix A: Legal Requirements if you plan to apply for OAC funding. A PDF of the complete version of the Guidelines is available in the Introduction.

WHAT THE PROGRAM SUPPORTS

The Arts Partnership program provides one- or two-year grants to schools and organizations for activities that enhance the quality of and access to learning in the arts for people of all ages, backgrounds, experience levels and abilities. This program supports Ohio schools and organizations that plan and conduct projects or long-term initiatives with arts learning at their core. Priority will be given to projects targeting underserved populations, including but not limited to, rural and urban youth. Applicants are encouraged to use professional artists, including but not limited to artists from the Arts Learning Artist Directory, in the planning and implementation of projects.

Allowable Expenses
OAC funds may be used for a wide variety of expenses. Organizations often choose to dedicate Arts Partnership funds to artistic or educational expenses. Other allowable expenses include program planning and evaluation. In addition to the general Funding Restrictions stated in the OAC Guidelines, OAC funding cannot be awarded for:

Transportation for participants is an allowable expense but cannot be more than ten percent of the program budget or exceed $1,000. Meals or snacks that are part of programming are permissible; however, hospitality expenses, such as food for exhibition openings, receptions or public performances, may not be funded by the program.

Grant Awards
Applicants may request up to $25,000. All Arts Partnership grants require at least a 1:1 cash match. Applicants may request two-year funding in odd-numbered calendar years only. If two-year funding is awarded, grantees may not submit additional requests the following even-numbered calendar year.

WHO MAY APPLY

HOW TO APPLY

Applications
All applications to the Arts Partnership program must be submitted via the OAC OnLine Grant Application system (OLGA). No paper applications are accepted.

Organizations applying for an Arts Partnership grant are encouraged to notify an Arts Learning staff member of their intent to apply. All applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a draft application at least 30 days before the final deadline date. To submit a draft application, follow the instructions on the final page of the online application.

Applicants must submit their application electronically via OLGA by 5 p.m. on the final deadline date. If the application is not officially submitted electronically, the application will not be accepted. Applicants will be notified via e-mail (sent through OLGA to your organization's primary contact) when your application is received.

In the second year of a two-year Arts Partnership grant, applicants are required to submit to the OAC updated information regarding programming and budget. Your organization will be given further instruction via e-mail (sent through OLGA to your organization's primary contact) when this updated information is required.

Support Materials
To complete an application for this program, all applicants must submit one set of support materials in hard copy to the OAC. Applications that do not include support materials will not be accepted.

Each OAC program has different support material requirements. To learn which materials are required for this program, as well as other materials that are optional but may strengthen your application, refer to the Support Materials Grid for Organizations.

A signature page and support materials must be received in the OAC office by 5 p.m. seven calendar days following the final application deadline date (regardless of postmarked date). If the signature page and support materials do not reach the OAC within this timeframe, the application will not be accepted. Applicants will be notified via e-mail (sent through OLGA to the organization's primary contact) when the support materials are received.

Timeline
The timeline below presents a general outline of the grant process for Arts Partnership. Please note that if a deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or state holiday, the deadline will be extended until the next business day.

Timeline
Grant application available in OLGA	November 1
Draft application deadline	February 1
Final application deadline	March 1
Support material deadline	7 calendar days following the application deadline
Panel Meeting	May
Grant award announcement	July
Signed grant agreement deadline	August 30
Grant period	July 1 - June 30
Final report deadline	30 days after program ends

For 2-year grantees only
Year 2 update available in OLGA	January 1
Year 2 update deadline	April 1
Year 2 grant award announcement	July
Year 2 signed grant agreement deadline	August 30
Year 2 grant period	July 1 - June 30
Year 2 final report deadline	30 days after program ends

Evaluation and Scoring
A panel consisting of arts and cultural professionals, educators, Ohio artists and other community members meets to evaluate and score Arts Partnership grant applications and support materials. This panel meeting is open to the public and organization representatives are encouraged to attend so they may hear the panel's comments about their application.

At the panel meeting, an evaluative discussion will take place for each application. Following the discussion, a vote will be taken to determine whether the application advances to the scoring round. If an application moves to the scoring round, it will be given a score based on how well the project meets the review criteria. After the panel meeting, the score and the organization's request will be used to determine the funding recommendations to the OAC Board, which will make the final funding decision.

The review process is competitive; not all applications are funded. Applicants not voted into the scoring round will not be funded. A cutoff point in the scores may be determined, so that applications below a certain score are not funded. Priority will be given to projects targeting underserved populations, including but not limited to, rural and urban youth.

Review Criteria
A competitive application will show that an organization meets the following criteria. Evidence should be demonstrated through the components of the grant application, including OLGA responses and support materials, the organization's Web site, and most recent fi nal report. Applicants will be given a numerical score and can receive a maximum of 100 points across four criteria categories: Artistic/Educational/Cultural Value; Community Participation and Accessibility; Planning, Evaluation and Documentation; and Organizational and Financial Management.

Organizations will be evaluated according to how well they meet these criteria:

• Project activities demonstrate artistic, educational and cultural value for the community being served;
• Project satisfies artistic, educational and cultural needs within the community;
• Project activities advance the organization's mission;
• Project activities are strengthened by well-qualified personnel and professional artists, as appropriate;
• An Arts Learning outcome is addressed through the design, implementation and evaluation of the proposed activities;
• The arts learning experiences are of high quality and in-depth with an emphasis on imagination and creative process;
• Professional development activities reflect best practices in arts education;
• Educational materials reflect research or professional standards and are appropriate for the individuals being served;
• Arts integration efforts demonstrate conceptual alignment between academic and fine arts content;
• K-12 in-school educational programming must address the Ohio Fine Arts Acdademic Content Standards.

• Project description demonstrates understanding of and responsiveness to the diverse needs and interests of the community;
• Project targets underserved populations including, but not limited to, rural and urban youth;
• Barriers to cultural participation, including but not limited to barriers which prevent participation by people with disabilities, have been identified and minimized;
• Needs assessment for project or initiative is based upon input from community members and potential participants;
• Applicant is recognized and valued as a contributor to the economic, educational and/or cultural wellbeing of the community;
• Proposed collaborations or partnerships strengthen the organization's ability to fulfi ll project goals;
• Project includes plans to publicize and promote activities to the target audience and the community at large.

• Project has clearly defined goals and a clear planning process to identify the means to reach those goals;
• Applicant's staff and board involve community members, volunteers, participants and artists in planning and evaluation, if feasible;
• Applicant's proposed evaluation and assessment strategies measure progress toward project goals;
• Project evaluation results are used to strengthen current and future planning and programming.

• Applicant demonstrates ability to develop and effectively manage resources for project goals;
• Staff, volunteers and/or proposed consultants demonstrate capacity to complete the proposed project;
• Project budget is realistic and correlates to the applicant's narrative;
• Project budget reflects a mix of revenue and support, from earned, private, government and in-kind sources, if feasible.

This section of Guidelines is available as a PDF for you to download and print out if you prefer to read it offline. You must also read Appendix A: Legal Requirements if you plan to apply for OAC funding. A PDF of the complete version of the Guidelines is available in the Introduction.