Supports community arts and cultural development organisations to deliver innovative projects

A grant to deliver an annual program of projects
Applications for this grant close 25 May 2012
Decisions will be advised in August 2012
Funded projects can start from 1 January 2013

About the grant

Program grants provide support for significant community arts and cultural development programs consisting of a range of projects, targeting a variety of different groups and engaging a number of cross-sectoral partners.

The Community Partnerships Committee may decide to offer support on the condition that co-funding is secured. If co-funding is not secured then the offer may be withdrawn.

Program grants represent one of an organisation's five applications to the Australia Council per year.

If you are successful with your Program grant application for activity in 2013, you are not eligible to apply for any other Community Partnerships grant in that calendar year.

If you are not successful with your Program grant application for activity in 2013, you can apply for project funding to Community Partnerships in Round 3, closing on 7 September 2012.

An organisation cannot receive multi-year funding and a Program grant at the same time, except in specific circumstances, and where that organisation has multi-arts status.

The Community Partnerships Committee supports a number of priority areas that cover a range of geographic, demographic and social contexts. These priority areas serve to focus effective use of the resources of Community Partnerships and include regional Australia, disability, young people, cultural diversity, emerging communities, Indigenous people, remote Indigenous communities and specific critical social and cultural issues requiring focused attention.

Contact

Potential applicants must discuss their proposal with Community Partnerships staff.

For further information, or to discuss your proposal, please contact:

       Community Partnerships
       Phone 02 9215 9034, Email cp@australiacouncil.gov.au

Supports community arts and cultural development organisations to deliver innovative projects

A grant to deliver an annual program of projects
Applications for this grant close 25 May 2012
Decisions will be advised in August 2012
Funded projects can start from 1 January 2013

Eligibility

This category is open to organisations only.

To be eligible to apply applicants must discuss their proposal with Community Partnerships staff.

Applicants must meet the general eligibility requirements

Applicants must demonstrate that at least 40 per cent of the total budget for their proposed program is derived from sources other than the Australia Council:

• 20% will need to be confirmed by 1 January 2013.
• An additional 20% will need to be confirmed before the second payment is made.

Organisations currently receiving Community Partnerships Key Producer funding are not eligible to apply to this category.

Selection criteria

Proposals will be selected that best demonstrate the following:

• Quality of the proposed program based on innovation and excellence over a sustained range of projects, engaging a number of cross-sectoral partners
• Level of capacity, skills and appropriate experience of artists and/or facilitators to achieve the program’s outcomes
• Evidence of effective community participation in the creative process, direction and management of the projects
• Potential for significant long-term developmental outcomes for the participating communities
• Evidence of effective project planning including budget planning, use of resources, cross-sectoral partnerships, evaluation and relative demand in the area where the program will be delivered
• Capacity to deliver against one or more of the Community Partnerships priority areas with developmental outcomes for communities (regional Australia, disability, young people, cultural diversity, emerging communities, Indigenous people, remote Indigenous communities, and specific critical social and cultural issues requiring focused attention).

Selection process

The Community Partnerships Committee will assess applications according to the selection criteria above. The outcomes will be published as a Grant Assessment Report.

For more information on the assessment process, please see the page on Assessment of applications in the Information for applicants section.

Supports community arts and cultural development organisations to deliver innovative projects

A grant to deliver an annual program of projects
Applications for this grant close 25 May 2012
Decisions will be advised in August 2012
Funded projects can start from 1 January 2013

How to apply

You are encouraged to apply online for this category. To begin an online application, use the 'Apply online' button in the right-hand column. Please select 'Arts Funding Division' when prompted to choose a board for your application.

If you would like a hard copy application form, contact Community Partnerships staff.

You must submit evidence of your eligibility and the required support material as part of the application.

For other ways to apply, please see the information on making an application in the Funding Guide for 2012.

Supporting materials

Ensure the material you choose best reflects the nature of your project and the purpose of this category.

Any material supplied in addition to the requested support material will not be considered in the assessment of your application.

Please contact Community Partnerships staff if you don't have the required support material or if you need assistance in determining what support material will best advocate on behalf of your application.

For your application to be eligible for funding, you MUST include the following six types of support material:

1.  Support Letters

Applicants to all categories must submit support letter/s from relevant communities or organisations specific to the activities being proposed.

Support letters give communities, organisations or individuals the opportunity to present their reasons as to why the project or activity is important.

A support letter should assist the assessment committee to understand how the project or activity will benefit communities, organisations or individuals. It should reflect the relationship the applicant has with the group(s) involved and/or targeted through the project.

A good support letter might include:

• An explanation of the importance of the project or activity to the community, organisation or individual
• The likely benefits of the proposed project or activity to the community, organisation or individual
• A brief outline of the individual or organisation’s own experiences with the applicant’s previous activities and involvement in the proposed project
• A recommendation of the artists/artsworkers involved, based on previous experience
• Confirmation of cash or in-kind contributions (where relevant)

Support letters are strictly limited in length to one page each.

You can submit between one and five letters of support.

Please note: all support letters, except those from Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander communities or artists, must arrive with the application. To ensure that the support letters will be ready at the time of submitting the application, you will need to approach the ‘letter writers’ well in advance of the submission date.

2.  Your budget using the Excel template that was sent to you by Australia Council staff upon invitation to apply to the Program grant category.

3.  A PDF containing a job description and a short CV extract outlining the relevant community and/or artistic background for each of the artists and/or facilitators to be employed on the program (this MUST not exceed two A4 pages in total).

4.  A PDF containing the following information (this MUST be one A4 page or less):

• Provide an overview of your organisation, including a brief outline of your core business
• List the most significant projects/services provided by your organisation involving artists and communities working together
• Which other key community-based organisations, government bodies, non-profit organisations, etc. do you have links with or work with regularly?

5.  A PDF containing the details of your Board, Group & Steering Committee (this MUST be one A4 page or less).

6.  Examples of previous work (you must submit only ONE of the following):

• Five pages of written material (for example, excerpts of published writing, research, or press coverage.)

OR

• 10 printed photographs or electronic images (showing recent work of the artists and or community.) If more than 10 are submitted, only 10 will be shown

OR

• Five minutes of video or sound recording on either DVD or CD (providing a recent example of the work of the artists and/or community). Only the first five minutes will be presented to the committee. Please ensure the DVD/CD you send has the five minutes you want the committee to review at the very beginning

OR

• Up to three live website links (URL)

Acceptable File formats

• Audio files – .mp3 (128-44.1kb/s)
• Images – .jpg (80 percent quality)
• Moving Images – .mov (Quicktime) . WMV (Windows Media Player)
• Documents – .pdf

Support material to submit before the assessment meeting

In addition to the required support material submitted with your application, you must submit the following by the time of the Community Partnerships assessment meeting. The date by which this material must be received will appear on the letter of acknowledgement sent to you after the Australia Council has received your application.

In line with the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Policy and its underpinning principles, the Australia Council requires that applications for projects containing representations of artistic/cultural practice or intended outcomes relating to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander artists or communities must provide letters from relevant communities or artists. Letters must show clear evidence of support and agreement for the activities undertaken. In preparing your application, you may wish to consult the Indigenous protocol guides in song, performance, writing, new media, and visual arts (hard copies may be obtained from the Australia Council).

For proposals submitted that involve companies funded by the major performing arts board (MPAB), a letter of agreement between the applicant and the MPAB-funded company must be provided to both the MPAB and the Community Partnerships Committee. For further details please contact MPAB staff directly.

We recommend you also read the FAQs for supporting materials submitted with your application.

Application checklist

We encourage you to use this handy checklist to help you prepare and submit your application. You should:

1. read the Funding Guide for 2012, in particular the general eligibility requirements, the information on making an application and the information on how your application will be assessed;
2. read all of the information provided for this grant (across all the tabs above);
3. get in contact with Community Partnerships staff to discuss your application;
4. prepare your application, being mindful that you address all of the eligibility and selection criteria for this grant;
5. submit your application form online using the 'Apply online' button in the right-hand column; and
6. ensure all support material is included with your application by the 25 May 2012 closing date.