132-1999 LTC
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
CITY HALL 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA 33139
http:\\cLmiami-beach.fl.us
L.T.C. No.
132-1999
LETTER TO COMMISSION
June 16, 1999
TO: Mayor Neisen O. Kasdin and
Members of the City C mmission
FROM: Sergio Rodriguez
City Manager
SUBJECT: Update on the City's Cultural Arts Grants Program for FY 99/00
The Miami Beach Cultural Arts Council (MBCAC) is now in the process of evaluating proposals
for the City's 1999/2000 cultural grants program. The Council's recommendations will be submitted
for action at the July 21 Commission meeting, subject to final approval of the budget in September.
These grants support not-for-profit visual and performing arts benefiting Miami Beach between
October 1, 1999 and September 30,2000. A summary of the Council's progress follows:
May 5 to June 11, 1999: Application period
May 20: Group orientation held for prospective applicants.
May 20 to June 10: Council staff interviewed and advised 96 prospective applicants representing
75 not-for-profit organizations in sessions of 20 to 40 minutes per grant proposal.
June 16: Group orientation heldfor the grants panelists. (With individual briefings for absentees.)
June 16 to June 30: Evaluation period
June 28 to June 30: Grants panels convene.
July 1: Final recommendations of Council.
July 21: Commission action.
MBCAC has appointed three panels to evaluate the 71 viable grant applications received by the June
11 deadline. The 33 volunteer panelists include representatives of the Cultural Arts Council, Visitor
and Convention Authority, Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the public. All
panels reflect the diversity of Miami Beach and include citizens knowledgeable about the visual and
performing arts and their growing economic importance to our community. Panelists review the
proposals and audiovisual support materials and, if possible, attend related cultural events or make
site visits during the evaluation period. They then convene in public meetings to discuss the
proposals and make funding recommendations to the Council.
Applicants, elected officials, media representatives, and interested citizens are invited to attend the
panel meetings on June 28, 29, and 30 as well as the Council's meeting on July 1:
Monday, June 28, 9AM-Noon, Miami Beach Botanical Garden.
Panel 1 (annual budgets above $500,000; 18 applications; $300,000 available;
$792,000 requested; maximum grant $50,000).
Tuesday, June 29, 9AM-IPM, Miami Beach Botanical Garden.
Panel 2 (annual budgets between $100,000 and $500,000; 31 applications;
$200,000 available; $603,000 requested; maximum grant $20,000).
Wednesday, June 30, 9AM-Noon, Miami Beach Botanical Garden.
Panel 3 (annual budgets below $100,000; 22 applications; $85,000 available;
$201,000 requested; maximum grant $10,000).
Thursday, July 1, 8:30-9:30AM, First Floor Conference Room, City Hall.
Special meeting of the Council to consider recommendations of the three grants
panels and make final recommendations to the Commission for action on July 21.
The Council's grants committee (Nancy Wolcott, chair; Alvaro Fernandez, Diane Star Heller,
Pauline Winick), Council chair I. Stanley Levine, Council director David Whitman and assistant
Craig Carpentieri have worked hard to make this a fair, efficient, inclusive, and user-friendly
process that the City of Miami Beach can take pride in. They project that the 33 volunteer panelists
will spend more than 1,400 collective hours between today and June 30 reading, researching, and
evaluating the proposals.
Requests for these grants total $1.6 million, exceeding available funds by nearly 3 times. The
Council has allocated $585,000 of its proposed 99/00 budget for these grants, including a $35,000
quality-of-life matching grant from the North Beach Development Corporation for cultural events
in North Beach. Again this year, the VCA has allocated $300,000 and requested that the City
contribute $200,000 from resort taxes to the cultural grants program. The balance of $50,000 comes
from the Council's budget with an additional $50,000 slated for the Cultural Advancement Grants
Program for Miami Beach administered by the Miami-Dade Cultural Affairs Council. During the
coming year, the Council will work to augment outside support for cultural grants, principally
through its 501(c)(3) corporation-in-formation, "The Miami Beach Arts Trust."
sJl~
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH CULTURAL ARTS COUNCIL
305 672 ARTS FAX 305 673 7063 ARTSBEACH@YAHOO.COM 4TH FLOOR, MIAMI BEACH CITY HALL
CULTURAL ARTS GRANTS PANELS, 1999-2000 6.14.99
PANEL 1 (Budgets above $500,000. 18 applications. Grant pool: $300,000. Max: $50,000.)
Monday, June 28, 9AM-Noon, Botanical Garden, Convention Center Dr. at Dade Blvd.
Required orientation for panelists: Wednesday, June 16, 9-10AM, Botanical Garden.
Drop-in session to review audio-visual support materials: Monday, June 21, 2-5PM,
City Manager's Large Conference Room, 4th Floor, City Hall (or by appointment).
PAULINE WINICK, Chair
DARRELL BURKS
EDITH GELBER
ELSIE HOWARD
ROLAND KOHEN
LISA PALLEY
CLARK REYNOLDS
JORGE RODRIGUEZ
GENE SULZBERGER
AMY VILLAFANE
MICHAEL VITA
Staff: DAVID WHITMAN & CRAIG CARPENTIERI
PANEL 2 (Budgets $100,000-$500,000. 31 applications. Grant pool: $200,000. Max: $20,000.)
Tuesday, June 29, 9AM-1PM, Botanical Garden, Convention Center Dr. at Dade Blvd.
Required orientation for panelists: Wednesday, June 16, 9-10AM, Botanical Garden.
Drop-in session to review audio-visual support materials: Tuesday, June 22, 2-SPM,
City Manager's Large Conference Room, 4th Floor, City Hall (or by appointment).
NANCY WOLCOlT, Chair
GRACE CALVANI
MARILYN GOlTLIEB-ROBERTS
BOB HOSMON
STEPHEN JULIEN
MITCHELL KAPLAN
HELEN KOHEN
JOSE LIMA
1. STANLEY levINE
BLAKE PRESTON
MIKE THOMPSON
LENORE TOBy-SIMMONS
Staff: DAVID WHITMAN & CRAIG CARPENTIERI
PANEL 3 (Budgets below $100,000. 22 applications. Grant pool: $85,000. Max: $10,000.)
Wed., June 30, 9AM-Noon, Botanical Garden, Convention Center Dr. at Dade Blvd.
Required orientation for panelists: Wednesday, June 16, 9-10AM, Botanical Garden.
Drop-in session to review audio-visual support materials: Friday, June 25, 2-5PM,
City Manager's Large Conference Room, 4th Floor, City Hall (or by appointment).
ALVARO FERNANDEZ, Chair
LISA COLE
SUSAN ERVIN
CHARISSE GRANT
RAYMOND HULEN
CLAUDIA MILLER
GORDON MILLER
KATHRYN OROSZ
STEVE SAULS
CARL V ALLDEJULI
Staff: DAVID WHITMAN & CRAIG CARPENTIERI