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Our Five Top Tips for Great Grant Applications |
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A ritual of the new year: applications for Missouri Arts Council annual grants. The deadline for draft reviews is January 25; for final submission, February 29. Our program specialists are on call to help. They’ve also come up with their personal best tips for creating effective grant applications. Start early. “Call the program specialist for the grant program you are applying for before you start your grant. This will ensure that you are applying for the correct grant—don’t waste time on a grant you’re not eligible for! Start as early as possible, so you’ll have time to ask any questions that might come up.” – Courtney Schlueter Read the guidelines and instructions. “Most of the questions I get are already answered in the guidelines. If applicants read the guidelines first, our conversations will be more productive.” – Donald Rice Say it once. “Don’t use the same information to answer different questions.” – Julie Hale Define your community precisely. “The answer for ‘who are the target audiences for the project?’ is not ‘everyone.’ There should be several target audiences defined by geographic, demographic, psychographic (attitudes, values, lifestyles, etc.), behavioral, relationship (first-time consumer/attendee, former consumer, never attended, etc.), and benefits sought by consumer. Describe how your programs relate to these groups of people. Use specific activities to demonstrate your point.” – Keiko Ishida Choose support materials judiciously. “Submit items that will directly address the evaluation criteria. Your materials can add detail or verification that is not included in the narrative or required attachments. Your support materials should answer questions, not raise additional ones.” – Jill Williams |
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Does the approach of tax season cause your brain to freeze? Here a few straightforward resources, applying especially to artists, to help jump-start your thoughts about tax preparations. An evergreen caveat: when in any doubt, talk with a professional. Taxes for Artists – A short 101 including five questions to help you decide whether you should or shouldn’t do your taxes yourself. What Artists Can Potentially Deduct – Magazine subscriptions, attendance at workshops, advertising, tutorial DVDs, entries into contests, your home studio, membership dues? You might be able to take these art-related expenses as deductions. Simplified Home Office Business Deduction Explained – The IRS has created a simplified way for home-based businesses to calculate this deduction. Judge Overturns IRS Rule on Tax Deductions – Ben Martin, executive director of the Missouri Alliance for Arts Education, brought our attention to this ruling by the U.S. Tax Court that a visual artist employed as a professor could still claim tax deductions on her independent artwork. “Could this also apply to music teachers who derive income from outside gigs or compositions/arrangements?” he wonders. “Or theatre and dance teachers who have expenses related to their work in professional situations?” Music, Money, and Uncle Sam –Tax implications for independent artists (focusing mostly on performers but applicable to others) are covered in this 50-minute video of a seminar by Chamber Music America. Topics range through self-employment, quarterly filing, setting up a retirement account, when it’s good to incorporate, and more. |
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As Missouri floodwaters recede, the Craft Relief Emergency Fund is reaching out to be sure that professional craft artists who have been seriously affected by the storms know that CERF+ offers emergency assistance. New Year’s resolution: convey this key message to all our audiences. “I see you. I hear you. I welcome you.” Another resolution in the form of one man’s single favorite “productivity hack.” Though you could also resolve to stop using “hack.” Since it was voted last year to be banned. Words that often show up in arts organizations’ communications are on this year’s brand-new list: stakeholder, conversation, problematic. Sometimes you just want to print something from the internet. This free site cleans off “ads, navigation and web page junk” to make any page print-friendly. Three January webinars give pre-application help for major awards and grants: 1) National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards for after-school and out-of-school programs. Deadline February 2. Webinar January 11, 3:30 p.m. CST. 2) National Endowment for the Arts’ Art Works grants. Deadline February 18. Webinar January 20, 2 p.m. CST. 3) NEA’s new Creativity Connects grant for partnerships between the arts and non-arts organizations. Deadline March 3. Webinar January 27, 2 p.m. CST. Photo: The Big Muddy Dance Company of St. Louis rehearses for Penny Saunders’ Ghost Light, November 2015. Dancers, Emily Baker and Thom Dancy. Photo by Meredith Wallace. |
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Dancing is poetry with arms and legs. Charles Baudelaire |
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| Our dedicated granting website is packed with information about our grant opportunities including types of grants, guidelines and forms, FAQs, scoring guide, sample materials and more. |
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| “State of the State” January 20 |
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| Starting at 7 p.m., Governor Nixon presents his legislative and economic priorities along with his FY17 recommended budget. His address streams live at the State’s web portal. |
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