2013 Edward & Sally Van Lier Arts Fellowships Request for Proposals

Advancing the Professional Development of Disadvantaged Young Artists at the Post-College Level in All Artistic Disciplines

Overview

The New York Community Trust’s Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund provides support for talented, culturally diverse, economically disadvantaged young people who are seriously dedicated to a career in the arts.

This round of grants will provide assistance to arts organizations and training programs in all disciplines to help individual artists at the post-college level make the transition from formal training to professional careers. Grants will provide education, training, or other support for young people from New York City.

We will award grants of up to three years to a small number of arts organizations to sponsor two or more artist fellowships. The purpose of the fellowships is to help young artists not currently enrolled in any undergraduate or graduate programs achieve a significant professional credit that can lead to future career opportunities. Grants will range up to a maximum of $90,000 for each organization, depending upon the number and size of fellowships covered. The Fund will contribute up to $15,000 a year per individual fellowship. (For example, an organization may request $90,000, $45,000 for each of two years, to assist three or more fellows.) We will also cover a limited amount of organizational costs.

Proposals are due at The Trust no later than 12 p.m. April 25, 2013. Only complete proposals as specified in this Request for Proposals (RFP) will be considered. We will announce the grants in October 2013.

Background of the Van Lier Fund

Two major goals of The New York Community Trust’s arts program are:

• Promoting diversity, equity, and access in and to the arts; and
• Developing talented young, culturally diverse, and disadvantaged artists.

The Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund, created by the will of Sally Van Lier, gave The Trust with the opportunity to establish a fellowship program for young artists to further these goals. Sally Van Lier was a theatrical performer in the New York theater in the 1920s and appeared in the original production of Showboat. Throughout their lives, she and her husband were avid visitors to the City’s museums, concerts, and plays, and introduced many young people to the arts. We made grants to arts organizations and training programs to provide education, training, or other support at two stages of development:

• Pre-College—The period of training and self-development to prepare for college, conservatory, or advanced professional training.
• Post-College—The first few years after completion of formal training when the artist seeks to establish a professional career.

We issue separate RFPs for each level of development. This RFP requests applications only from organizations serving young artists at the Post-College Level in all artistic disciplines.

Qualifications of Organizations

Grants will be made to tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organizations in New York City administering educational or fellowship programs that promote the professional development of talented young people in all artistic disciplines. Applicant organizations must request support for at least two artists, and may request more than that number.

The fellowship activities and support may be provided directly by the sponsoring organization or in cooperation with another group. In all cases, the grantee organization will be responsible for recruiting and selecting fellowship recipients; assuring that resources are provided; monitoring the artists’ progress over the term of the fellowship and tracking professional career developments after its completion.
 
Organizations with current Van Lier grants are not eligible to apply for this round.   

Qualifications of Fellowship Program

We will consider programs that provide fellowships or equivalent support at the post-college and post-formal training levels. Grants will not be made to provide fellowships to students enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs.

Fellowship activities must take place in New York and will be awarded primarily to artists who reside in New York. Recipients should generally be age 30 or younger, with demonstrated financial need. We especially encourage programs serving culturally diverse and particularly disadvantaged populations, and groups that are underrepresented in the arts disciplines.

Fellowship activities should be appropriate to both the art form and the development needs of the individual artists. We support for a broad range of activities and related costs, such as advanced training and coaching; equipment, instruments, and supplies; commissioning; mentoring; rehearsal and work space; opportunities to create, produce, perform, or publish; professional conferences; and travel and living expenses. We will consider grants only where the primary purpose is to benefit the professional development of the fellowship recipient, rather than the sponsoring organization.
   

Terms of Award

Grant awards will:

• Range up to a maximum of $90,000 ($45,000 per year for two years or $30,000 per year for three years) depending upon the number and size of fellowships offered;
• Sponsor two or more fellowships (a maximum of $15,000 per fellow, per year);
• Extend for a period of two or three years.

The purpose of the award is to provide direct support to specific young artists. Funds may be used to support or expand an existing effort, or to begin a new program. Grants are intended primarily to cover fellowship costs; however, a limited amount of organizational costs attributable to the fellowship program may be included in the total amount requested. Supplemental grants and funds from other sources are encouraged.

Organizations may choose to support either the same artists over the term of the grant, or different artists for shorter periods. The size and duration of each fellowship should be based upon the activities involved, and the resources and time needed for the artists to achieve a significant professional credit.

The Trust will require grantee organizations to submit periodic reports on the program as a whole and on the status of each fellowship recipient; generate line-item budgets that demonstrate how the grant money is spent; and establish procedures for tracking the artistic achievement of recipients following the completion of the fellowships.

Review Criteria

Factors considered in selecting grantees include:

1. Diversity of artists, disciplines, and geographic location of programs.
2. Quality of programs and services offered.
3. History of achievement in programs targeted to disadvantaged young artists, especially culturally diverse populations underrepresented in the arts disciplines.
4. Likelihood that the proposed fellowship program will help artists from target populations.
5. Program design and the probability that it will advance a young artist’s career.
6. Extent of knowledge about the issues involved in helping young artists launch professional careers.
7. Soundness of the organization’s management and qualifications of staff.
8. Scope of monitoring and tracking procedures.
9. Commitment and ability of the organization to continue the fellowship program after the term of The Trust’s grant.

Proposed Specifications and Support Material

Proposals should not exceed 5 pages exclusive of budget and support materials, and should cover at least the following topics:

1. The organization’s current programs for individual artists, including history; purpose; arts disciplines covered; activities; measures of success; outreach procedures; numbers served annually; ethnic groups, ages, and special populations served; and geographic areas covered.
2. The methods used to identify and select fellowship recipients, including how financial need will be determined.
3. The number of fellowships to be provided, with the name and a profile of the recipients or of prototypes to be selected (recipients must be age 30 or younger).
4. A detailed description of the activities, resources, opportunities, and support services to be provided to fellowship recipients, including any direct financial support.  If another organization will be involved, describe its role and provide information on its qualifications for this role.
5. The organization’s approach to helping fellowship recipients identify career goals and establish plans to achieve them.
6. The organization’s plan for monitoring each artist’s progress.
7. Procedures for tracking the artist’s career development after the term of the fellowship.
8. The organization’s plan for continuing the fellowship program after Trust support has concluded.
9. Previous Van Lier grant recipients should include a description of how Trust support has affected the organization overall.  For example, did the Van Lier program help attract new culturally diverse artists or help reinforce the organization’s commitment to diversity? How did previous fellows benefit and how have those careers progressed?
10. Provide an overall budget for the fellowship program that includes The Trust’s contribution, along with other sources of support, if applicable.

The expense budget should indicate the total cost of fellowships, and an itemization of the individual fellowships that shows the cost of each direct artist benefit, e.g., stipend, space rental, supplies, etc.; and an itemization of organizational costs to implement the program, if applicable.  (A limited amount of these costs is allowable.)

The income budget should indicate the total requested from The Trust specifying the amount requested for each fellowship; and, if applicable, other resources that the organization will commit to the program, including grants and funds from other sources, and in-kind contributions.  Please note confirmed funding.

Support materials should include:

1. A cover letter requesting support from the Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund of The New York Community Trust for Post-College fellowships, on your stationery, signed by your director.
2. The New York Community Trust proposal cover sheet.
3. 501(c)(3) letter.
4. Most recent organization flyer, brochure, or annual report (if available).
5. Annotated list of board of directors.
6. List of current funders.
7. Most recent Audited Financial Statement.
8. Agency operating budget for the current year and projected budget(s) for the period of the grant request.
9. Affirmative Action Policy.
10. Brief bios of the organization’s artistic and professional staff.

Proposals must be delivered by 12 p.m., April 25, 2013, to the offices of The New York Community Trust, 909 Third Avenue, 22nd Floor, New York, NY 10022.  Faxed and emailed proposals will not be accepted. Please note that this is not a postmark deadline. Proposals received after the deadline will not be considered.

Contact and Program Administrator

Representatives of organizations interested in responding to this call for proposals may telephone The New York Community Trust for further information and answers to questions.  All inquiries and applications should be addressed to:

                Ms. Kerry McCarthy
                Program Officer for Arts and Historic Preservation
                The New York Community Trust
                909 Third Avenue, 22nd Floor
                New York, NY 10022

                (212) 686-0010 Ext. 520
                kem@nyct-cfi.org