Fee-Support Grants
Click here to download a PDF of the entire guidelines .
Fee-Support Program Description
PennPAT Fee-Support Grants provide funding to presenters in support of touring engagements with artists approved for the PennPAT Artist Roster. Projects must include one or more public performances. Residency activities are strongly encouraged.
Fee-Support Program Goals
To increase opportunities for professional Pennsylvania performing artists to obtain successful touring engagements
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for Fee-Support grants, the applicant organization must:
be an IRS designated 501 (c) (3) organization or a unit of government and be located in Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia or West Virginia; meet PennPAT's definition of "presenter";
have a tentative contract with a PennPAT roster artist who lives or is based outside the presenter's community, for an engagement during the appropriate grant period;*
include at least one public performance as part of the proposed engagement; and
have submitted all final reports for PennPAT or Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation grants that were due on or before the application deadline date.
PennPAT will not fund:
programs or events that serve primarily a confined audience such as K-12 schools, university classes, summer camps, nursing homes, etc.;
Arts-in-education projects. For K-12, college and university applicants, projects must include substantive participation and attendance from outside the school population. This must be clearly described in the proposal;
programs or events in which the roster artist is not the primary focus of the performance;
fundraising events;
programs or events that are commercial in nature or in which the arts are not the primary focus (e.g., sidewalk sales, food festivals, fireworks displays, etc.); or
home-season engagements.*
* Because the geographic size of the artist's home community may vary, applications for engagements that are less than 50 miles from the artist's home community must explain why the project should be considered a touring engagement.
Grant Amounts
Grants are available for up to 50% of contracted roster artist fees and travel expenses for a touring engagement with a PennPAT roster artist or company.
Because this is a competitive grants program, not all applications will be selected for funding. Presenters must provide funds to cover the balance of artist fees and program costs, but may not use grant dollars received from any PennPAT funding partner (see inside front cover) in support of the same program. The cumulative PennPAT award to any one presenter for engagements within a calendar year is $50,000. Individual grants generally will not exceed $20,000. Only one PennPAT grant will be awarded per project.
Grants are awarded as a percentage of the eligible expenses (contracted artist fees, travel and lodging), rather than a fixed dollar amount. Percentages are determined by the score assigned to the application by the panel. If the eligible expenses for a funded project decrease, the grant amount may be adjusted downward to reflect the approved percentage of eligible costs.
Roster artist fees for all activities such as performances, lecture/demonstrations, master classes, or other residency activities should be included in the artist/presenter contract for the engagement and may be funded up to 50%. Travel and/or lodging expenses that will be paid directly by the presenter must be stated in the contract in order to be eligible for up to 50% funding.
In rare instances, PennPAT may also fund up to 50% of any extraordinary technical production costs (ETPC) needed for an engagement (e.g., rental of extra lighting, a dance floor, other equipment or extra technicians, etc.). This funding is intended to help presenters that wish to hire an artist whose technical support requirements are beyond the presenter's normal capacity.
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation (MAAF) also supports touring in the region through several other programs. Presenters may apply for both PennPAT and MAAF grants for the same project, but if funded by more than one program, the total amount awarded by MAAF/PennPAT to a single presenter will not exceed 60% of contracted artist fees and travel expenses for that engagement. For more information on other MAAF programs, visit www.midatlanticarts.org.
Fee-Support Evaluation Criteria
Applications will be reviewed by a panel composed of professionals from the field of presenting and touring based on two criteria:
Quality of the Proposed Project
Indicators may include:
Project enables the artist to reach a new audience and/or build on any previous engagements.
Project clearly relates to the applicant's mission and goals for presenting.
Project is thoroughly planned by all collaborators and includes a detailed description of planned artist activities, marketing of public events, project evaluation, financial and personnel support.
Project includes, whenever possible, residency activities that serve to enhance the audience's understanding of the work.*
Project includes, whenever possible, the development of collaborative opportunities with other community organizations, which maximize the artist's visit to the community and reach larger and more diverse audiences.*
* The inclusion of residency activities and collaborations with community organizations will significantly strengthen your application.
Organizational Capacity/Presenting Skills and Sensibilities
Indicators may include:
Proven fiscal and managerial ability to implement and evaluate the project.
An established process for thoughtfully selecting the artists to be presented.
A track record of successful presenting activity.
Suitable facilities with appropriate technical support to uphold the artistic integrity of the work.
A contract with the artist encompassing appropriate terms for the presentation of that artist.
Required Application Materials
Use the online eGrant, then be sure to mail all of the following materials to PennPAT, postmarked on or before the deadline. If you are unable to access eGrant, please contact us.
To be eligible, you must submit all of the following materials. Please do not staple them; do not bind them into binders; do not insert them into folders; do not double-side or print on non-white paper or paper larger than 8.5" x 11".
Collate and paper clip together 2 sets of:
1. Information/Summary Page (eGrant - 2 copies)
2. Project Budget (eGrant - 2 copies)
Below are definitions for several budget lines that may need explanation.
Roster Artist Fees: fee to be paid to roster artist as listed in the contract - may or may not include travel/lodging.
Roster Artist Lodging: estimated cash amount to be paid by the presenter for roster artist lodging, if not included on line 1. If presenter is paying directly for lodging, this must be stated in the contract.
Roster Artist Transportation: amount presenter intends to pay roster artist for transportation expenses, if not included in line 1. This amount must be in the contract.
Applicant Cash: funds used to pay for the balance of project costs not covered by earned income, contributions or grants (savings, student fees, college/university contribution, etc.)
Extraordinary Technical Production Costs (ETPC): Complete this section ONLY if you are applying for funding towards ETPC. This funding is intended to help presenters hire an artist they would not normally be able to present, due to higher than normal technical production costs. Please provide information in this section on ONLY those expenses that exceed your normal capacity. Expenses shown in this section should also be reflected in the Estimated Cash Expenses section of the budget, under the appropriate line items. If requesting this funding, question #10 in the narrative must also be completed.
In-Kind Contributions: Donations of goods or services related specifically to this project, for which your organization would normally have to pay. For example, a graphic designer donation of design costs would be considered in-kind. Design done by another department at the university (applicant organization) would be a cash cost, not in-kind. Although in-kind contributions do not directly impact your grant amount, it is important
to acknowledge and include them in your application.
3. Project Outline (click to download a writable Word form or printable PDF form - 2 copies)
This should describe all public performances and other activities that involve the roster artist and are part of this project. You may type into the writable Word form, or you may replicate the grid on your own computer. If you have more than six activities/performances as part of this engagement, please copy this form as needed.
Below are descriptions of the information requested.
Activity: Use one row of the grid for each activity. Include public performance(s) and all activities involving the roster artist. Also include any activities that support the public performance and enhance the audience's understanding of the work that are conducted by experts other than the roster artist. List the type of activity, such as performance, master class, workshop, etc., name of person(s) conducting the activity, and a brief description of the activity's focus. If this engagement is part of a festival, do not include other performers' activities unless they directly relate to this artist.
Day/Date/Time: Day of the week, date and time for each activity - be specific.
Target Audience:Briefly describe the targeted audience or participants for this activity.
Projected: Anticipated number of audience members or activity participants.
Admission: List the ticket price or admission fee structure for this event.
Facility: Include name and type of facility, and seating capacity for each event.
Please list all activities in chronological order.
4. Narrative (create on your word processor - 2 copies)
You must submit a narrative that answers the following questions and addresses the evaluation criteria.
Please format your narrative as follows:
No more than 2-3 typed, single-sided, 8.5" x 11" pages (New Directions applications may be longer).
Use 10 point or larger type.
Retype each question number and heading in bold, followed by the corresponding answer.
Include a header on each page with your organization's name and the artist requested.
Do not staple-please use paperclips.
1. Mission and Goals What is your organization's mission? What are your goal(s) for this project and why did you select this particular artist/group? Explain how this project will address your goal(s).
2. Community Briefly describe your community, both the overall community in terms of geography, economics, population, etc., and the specific community you aim to serve, if different. Include demographic and other information that will help the panel understand why this project is relevant.
3. Proposed Project Describe project details beyond those listed on the Project Outline to provide a more complete understanding of your project. Include more detailed descriptions of roster artist activities, educational materials to be provided, target audience and/or residency participants, technical capacity of the facilities to be used, and other relevant information. If this engagement is part of an outdoor event, include your plans for inclement weather. If this is a return engagement, how will this project build on the previous experience(s) with this artist? (For New Directions projects, be sure to include both creative development and audience development goals.)
4. Personnel What is your organization's staffing structure? List administrative, artistic and technical personnel, both paid and volunteer, especially those who will be involved in this project, with brief information regarding their qualifications for the
work they will do.
5. Curatorial Process How do you locate and select artists for your series or festival? What is the process? Who makes the selections? What are the selection criteria?
6. Collaborators Are there other organizations that will be collaborating on this project? Who are your collaborators? What are they doing in relation to this project? (Please read the definition of "Collaborators" here.)
7. Project Planning List the steps you have taken to plan this project. How has the roster artist been involved in planning? Who else has been involved in planning and how have they been involved?
8. Project Marketing How do you plan to market this public performance and any residency activities? College/University or School-Based Presenters: How are you reaching out to a broader community beyond your campus? Quantify your successes in drawing non-campus audiences.
9. Project Evaluation How will you evaluate your success in reaching your goal(s)? Be specific-describe methods, tools and people involved in evaluation. How do you use evaluation data to shape future programming?
10. Technical Production Costs Answer this question only if applying for funds to assist with extraordinary technical production costs. What are the technical requirements for presenting this program and how does it exceed your normal production capacity?
5. Season Listings (click to download a writable Word form or printable PDF form - 2 copies)
You may type into the writable Word form, or you may replicate the grid on your own computer. This grid should include a listing of both your 2008-2009 season of performing arts events and your 2009-2010 season. Do not include rentals or events that do not feature touring performing artists/groups. For each engagement, list:
Use actual attendance figures when possible; indicate estimated figures with an asterisk.
At the beginning of each season listing, indicate the year and the total dollar amount of artist fees paid, or to be paid, for the season.
6. Statement of Expenses and Income (create your own - 2 copies)
For your most recently completed fiscal year, submit a maximum of 2 pages, 8.5" x 11", detailing your actual expenses and income for public arts programming. If the applicant is part of a larger organization or college/university, submit only the appropriate departmental or total arts programming actual expenses and income. This does not need to be an audited statement. If you would like to see several sample statement formats, please contact us and we can fax them to you. If the income and expense totals on this document differ from the totals shown on the summary page, then please explain in a brief note. Please do not submit budget projections or full audit reports.
7. Contract/Letter of Agreement (2 copies)
Submit a preliminary contract or letter of agreement that includes at a minimum:
We do not need original ink signatures. PennPAT will accept contracts that are contingent upon PennPAT funding, if the artist is in agreement.
For New Directions projects, this letter/contract must state that the artist (not the agent/manager) has participated in planning the project and has read and agreed to the grant proposal and it must be signed by the artist. The letter should also include 1-2 paragraphs, written by the roster artist, that describe the project from the artist's perspective.
Also submit, uncollated:
8. Support Materials (2 copies)
Submit 2 copies of up to three different pieces of printed support materials. These support materials should help panelists understand your marketing capacity, evaluation capacity and/or planned educational activities.
Suggestions:
most recent season or festival brochure, and/or other marketing pieces (send original printed materials, not photocopies)
educational materials developed for this engagement
evaluation instruments for this or a recent engagement
If this project is a co-presentation, a letter of agreement/support from the co-presenter that describes roles and responsibilities would also be helpful.
For New Directions projects: If a non-roster artist is involved in the project, please also submit biographical information for that artist.
9. PennPAT Addendum (eGrant - 1 copy)
This checklist is used for statistical reporting purposes only and is not reviewed by the panel.
10. PennPAT Presenter Profile (eGrant - 1 copy)
Only PennPAT roster artists and staff will have access to this information. It will not be reviewed by the panel.
11. Certification (eGrant - 1 copy)
This page must be completed, and signed in blue ink, by a person who is authorized to sign contracts for the applicant organization.
12. Proof of Non-Profit Status (1 copy)
One copy of either a 501 (c) (3) letter from the IRS or other appropriate proof of federal non-profit status. State tax exempt certificates are not acceptable.