Community Arts Fund (CAF)

 Community Arts Fund provides project support for arts activities that:

• Promote artistic excellence while reflecting the dynamic, diverse, and innovative character of Santa Clara County.
• Stimulate local support, particularly at the grassroots level.
• Recognize and encourage non-professional, volunteer involvement as an essential part of the County’s cultural environment.

Community Arts Fund provides grants of up to $4,000 to organizations in two budget categories.

• Level 1:
  
  
  • Expenses in past fiscal year of $8,000 to $100,000 – may apply for $4,000
  • Expenses of less than $8,000 – may apply for 50% of their last year’s total expenses
     
• Level 2
  
  
  • Organizations with total expenses greater than $100,000 may apply for $4,000 to support an arts project or department that is independently budgeted (i.e. a program of a university or project of a government agency or other nonprofit organization).

The 2012 Community Arts Fund grant application process is now completely online. There is no hardware or software to install. All you need is a browser. We’ve streamlined the process and eliminated the stress of assembling submission packets. You will be submitting your application via Common Grant Application.

The Common Grant Application is similar to the common college application. Other organizations also use this form. While we are able to select those items that apply to Arts Council grant programs, there are some elements that we cannot alter, namely character limits and a few required fields that you must fill out. While going through the application, always look for the Review Grantmaker Advisory button – if it appears on a page, click it to read our special instructions.

All CAF applicants are still required to submit a Cultural Data Project funder report for the past fiscal years 2010 (2009-2010) and 2011 (2010-2011). Do not wait until the last days before application due date to set up or update your profiles. You can sign up for a free webinar training now by going to: www.caculturaldata.org.

READY …

• See CAF Guidelines & Information on Eligibility & Restrictions, Assistance for Applicants, Review Process, Required Attachments & Support Materials.
• Download a Printer-friendly version of CAF Guidelines
• Read the Introduction to Common Grant Application

SET …

• Prepare your narratives and gather your required attachments – see the Summary of Narratives, Attachments, and Support Materials.
  
  
  • Board Roster CAF
  • CAF Project Budget
  • Report CAF
     
• Watch the 2-part tutorial that takes you through the application process step by step.
  
  
  • ACSV Online Application – Part One
  • ACSV Online Application – Part Two

GO!
Go to the Common Grant Application website, sign in, and start. www.commongrantapplication.com.

APPLICATION DEADLINE
Monday, March 5, 2012 | 10:00pm (Pacific Time)
ONLINE SUBMISSIONS ONLY, with the exception of Support Materials sent directly to ACSV*

* See details in “Guidelines” and “Summary of Narratives, Attachments, and Support Materials”

For information about Community Arts Fund:

Audrey Wong, Grants Program Manager
408.998.2787 ext. 214 | awong@artscouncil.org

For information about and assistance with Common Grant Application:

310.490.1277 | www.commongrantapplication.com/contact.php

Community Arts Fund is funded by the County of Santa Clara, the National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Adobe Foundation, Workplace Giving Campaign, and Santa Clara County Property Tax Donors.