FUNDING FOR ARTISTS

GRANT PROCESS FOR ARTISTS

The OAC wants you to understand its grant-making process from start to finish. Below you will find an overview of the life cycle of a grant. Understanding this process is an important first step that will help you sharpen your grant-writing skills, develop a competitive application, submit it through the OnLine Grant Application system (OLGA) and, if you are recommended for funding, manage your award.

If you have not already done so, you may wish to consult the How to Use Guidelines section for more information on how best to use this publication for your needs. Additional information about specific applications, support materials, evaluation and review criteria can be found in the “How to Apply” section within each program section.

Please note: Many tips for using OLGA and accomplishing the steps described here are also included in Appendix F: Ohio Online Grant Application (OLGA) FAQs.

Step One: Read the OAC Guidelines!
Before beginning any application, you should familiarize yourself with the OAC Guidelines, paying particular attention to each funding program for which you intend to apply. It is also very important to read Appendix A: Legal Requirements and OAC Rules.

Note: Applicants to the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program Only
All applicants to the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship program (especially new applicants) should contact the Individual Artist Grants and Services office at least eight weeks prior to the deadline. A program coordinator will help applicants by discussing eligibility and addressing any questions about the application process or the OAC Guidelines. Applicants should refer to the OAC’s staff directory to find contact information.

Step Two: Visit OLGA
All applications must be submitted electronically through the OLGA system; the OAC does not accept paper applications. Before applying, please familiarize yourself with OLGA and its functions. You should begin each funding cycle by creating or updating your applicant profile in OLGA. It is critical that the OAC has your current contact information. Particularly important are up-to-date e-mail addresses, as information about the application and grant updates are sent exclusively through e-mail to these contacts.

For assistance with OLGA, call the help desk at 614/728-4449 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays, or e-mail olgahelpdesk@oac.state.oh.us.

Step Three: Submit Your Draft Application (Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Applicants Only)
For the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship program, applicants are strongly encouraged to complete a draft application. The draft application should be submitted electronically via OLGA by 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the funding program’s draft deadline date, listed on the main page of OLGA. The draft deadline usually occurs 30 days before the final deadline. Please note that if a draft deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or state holiday, the deadline will be extended until the next business day.

To submit a draft application, applicants should follow the directions in OLGA through the last page of the application. On the last page of the application in OLGA, applicants should check the box next to the statement: “Check this box to submit this application for DRAFT REVIEW by the OAC staff. This does not constitute final submission.” Then, applicants should click the “Submit” button on the same page in OLGA.

No support materials are required for a draft application.

Program coordinators will provide feedback on draft applications via phone, e-mail, fax or a scheduled appointment at the OAC office. Applicants are then permitted to revise their applications based on the program coordinator’s feedback. This step helps applicants produce a well-written, thorough proposal that increases the chances of successfully competing with other applicants.

THE INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE AWARD PROGRAM DOES NOT REQUIRE A DRAFT APPLICATION.

Step Four: Submit Your Application and Support Materials
Your completed application must be submitted electronically via OLGA by 5 p.m. EST on the final deadline date. If a deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or state holiday, the deadline will be extended until the next business day.

Support materials and a signature page are required parts of the application process. These items must be submitted in accordance with the directions in the last section of the OLGA application titled “Signature/Assurances.” Your materials must be received in the OAC office by 5 p.m. EST within seven calendar days of the final application deadline date (regardless of postmarked date). If your support materials and signature page do not reach the OAC within this timeframe, then your application will not be accepted. You will be notified via e-mail (sent through OLGA) when your support materials are received.

Within three weeks after the deadline, the Office of Grants Administration & Operations will notify you regarding the date, time and location of your panel meeting. Most panel meetings are open to the public and applicants are encouraged to attend. The appropriate program coordinator will review your application packet and may call you for clarification regarding your application and/or related materials.

Step Five: Attend Your Panel Meeting (Optional but Encouraged) In general, panel meetings are scheduled within two to three months following a final deadline. Panelists meet to discuss, evaluate and score applications in each program area. OAC staff members present the scores and a summary of each applicant’s panel comments to the OAC board at one of the board’s three annual meetings for final funding decisions. While applicants are not permitted to participate in the panel meeting discussions, you are encouraged to attend the meeting in order to hear the full discussion about your application and other applications within the same funding program.

Note: Applicants to the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program Only
At the panel meeting, an evaluative discussion will take place for each application. Following the discussion, a vote will be taken to determine whether the application advances to the scoring round. If an application moves to the scoring round, it will be given a numerical score based on how well the applicant meets the review criteria. This score will be used to determine the panel’s funding recommendations to the OAC board.

The review process is competitive; not all applications are funded. Applicants not voted into the scoring round will not be funded. A cutoff point in the scores may be determined, so that applications below a certain score are not funded.

Your score from the panel meeting will be e-mailed to you within three weeks after the panel meets. A summary of the panelist’s comments, however, will not be available until after the OAC board meets. No formal announcement regarding a funding decision and/ or a grant amount will be sent to any applicant until after the OAC board meeting.

Note: About the Appeals Policy (Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Applicants Only)
An applicant who disputes a review panel’s recommendation on grounds of procedural errors may request a review of that recommendation by the OAC board. Procedural errors include a miscounting of votes or failure of a panelist with a known conflict of interest to leave the room for the discussion and/or vote on an application. Appeals may not be made on the basis of an applicant’s disagreement with the panel’s assessment of the artistic quality or merit of the applicant’s work. To file an appeal, the applicant must submit a letter to the executive director at the OAC office within 30 days of the panel meeting stating the reasons for the request for review. Appeals will be reviewed and acted on by the Executive Committee of the OAC board after consultation with OAC staff. Such action will be ratified by the OAC board, whose decision is final.

Step 6: OAC Board Reviews Grant Recommendations (Open to the Public)
Award recommendations and panel comments are reviewed by the OAC board at one of three annual meetings (typically in late June, late September and late February). These meetings are open to the public, per Ohio’s Sunshine Law. The OAC board’s funding decisions are final. Formal announcements of grant awards are made following each OAC board meeting (typically in July, October and March). You will be informed via e-mail of the board’s funding decision.

Note: Applicants to the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program Only
Also at this time, a summary of panel comments regarding your application will be available in OLGA. The OAC asks that you await this formal announcement before inquiring about grant amounts and panel comment summaries or announcing the grant award to the media.

Step Seven: Review and Return Your Grant Agreement
If your application receives a favorable recommendation for funding, you must enter into a legally binding agreement (contract for services) with the state of Ohio. Agreements cannot be altered without prior approval from the director of Grants Administration & Operations.

Upon receiving formal announcement of your grant award via e-mail, you must download and complete your grant agreement via OLGA. If you have any questions regarding the grant agreement, please contact the OAC immediately. Once your grant agreement has been reviewed, it must be signed (original ink signature required) and sent to the OAC. Until a grant agreement is received by the OAC, no funds are officially committed.

Note: Individual Excellence Award Recipients Only
Excellence Award grants are processed once all necessary forms (W-9, vendor information form and signed grant agreement) are received in the OAC office. A check will be sent directly from the State Accounting Office in about six weeks from receipt of forms.

Step Eight: Fulfill Your Credit and Publicity Responsibilities
As part of your grant contract with the state, you are required to credit the OAC as a funder in your promotional and educational materials (both online and in print) and—if applicable—provide written and verbal credit, as well. The requirements differ depending on the type of grant you receive. Please consult Appendix E: Credit and Publicity Responsibilities for details. In addition, because your OAC grant is an investment of public tax dollars, we encourage you to inform the media and your legislators about the value of these dollars to your work as an artist and to your community.

Step Nine: Submit Your Final Report
Most OAC grants are reimbursements. As the grantee, you must successfully complete the project or program and then submit the OAC final report form in OLGA for approval from the Office of Grants Administration & Operations before payment will be made. The final report form will be accessible via your OLGA account after the grant agreement is received. Once the final report is received and approved, final payment of the grant will be processed. Processing a grant payment may take up to six weeks.

If the OAC does not receive your final report within 30 days of your project or program’s end date as noted on your grant agreement, we may cancel your grant. Requests for extensions are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and may be authorized if a written request is submitted before the due date for your final report. Former grantees who have failed to submit required and acceptable final report packages for any grant may not receive any other OAC funding for five years following the due date of the final report they failed to submit or until an acceptable final report is submitted, whichever occurs first. Until the former grantee meets one of those conditions, the OAC will accept no further grant applications from that grantee.

A signature page and support materials are required to complete the final report package and must be received in the OAC office seven calendar days following the final report online submission. The final report will not be reviewed and the grant will not be paid (Traditional Arts Apprenticeship only) until the signature page and support materials reach the OAC.

To access the signature page via OLGA, grantees should click the “Preview Application” button from any page in the online final report or the “View Final Report PDF” link from the “Manage Current Grants/Applications” page in OLGA. The first page of the PDF is the signature page, which should be printed, signed and sent to the OAC offices with support materials. Final reports without signature pages or support materials will not be accepted.

The OAC will review the entire final report package upon receipt of the support materials. A program coordinator or grants associate may contact you for clarification regarding your final report and support materials.

Note: Individual Excellence Award Recipients Only
Since the Individual Excellence Awards are recognition awards for completed work, the required final report is due by December 31 of the grant year. The final report should highlight the award’s effect on the recipient’s artistic work.