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LTC 202-2007 Status of Fiscal Year 2007/08 Cultural Grantsm MIAMIBEACH OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER NO. LTC # 202-2007 LETTER TO COMMISSION TO: Mayor David Dermer and Members of the City Commission FROM: Jorge M. Gonzalez, City Manager t DATE: August 28, 2007 SUBJECT: Status of Fiscal Year 2007/08 Cultural Grants The purpose of this LTC is to provide an overview of changes made to the cultural arts grants programs over the past few years, and to provide information on the present status of the grants process for Fiscal Year 2007/08, especially in light of inquiries you may have received from local cultural arts organizations. As you know, the CAC makes funding recommendations for the grants programs; these recommendations are submitted to the Commission as part of the budget approval process. The Commission retains the right to accept all or some of the recommendations. In addition, staff reviews the recommendations and provides information to assist the Commission in their deliberations. Regardless of the process used, it is important to point out that theamount of funding requested by applicants this year (as in most years) exceeded the funding available for the grants program A total of $1,130,000 in funding requests was submitted. OVERVIEW OF CHANGES TO THE CULTURAL GRANTS PROGRAM In an effort to address the needs of the arts community, the CAC and Cultural Affairs staff review the grants program on an annual basis to determine if any changes to the grant application and review process would be beneficial for purposes of enhancing and/or expanding cultural arts programming in the City. Suggestions are also received from grantees, grants panelists, members of the Cultural Arts Council and other granting organizations. Over the years this application and review process has evolved/ changed as a result of these various recommendations. Adjustments were made to the grant application and review process for this year's application cycle. The grants program has traditionally been divided into various categories so that groups with similar programs and/or missions maybe equitably presented and compared during the review process. The current grant categories for Fiscal Year 2007/08 and their objectives are listed below. These grant program categories have been in effect since Fiscal Year 2003/04, with a few changes over the years as referenced below. One of the most significant changes since the program began was the adoption of a new manner of addressing the pool of available grant funds. Prior to last year, the available funds were divided between the various grant categories before the scoring process began, with specified amounts earmarked for each discipline or program. In the fall of 2005, the CAC voted to keep the funding pool whole, so that all applicants would be in competition with each other regardless of program category, with the goal of rewarding excellence and making fewer- but larger- grant awards. This system was used during the 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 grant application periods. While funding was not divided by categories, the following distinct categories do exist for purposes of distinguishing the applications: Cultural Anchors -This category funds the major, preeminent arts institutions based in Miami Beach, whose primary mission is year-round artistic and cultural programming that contributes to the cultural life of the City. For Fiscal Year 2007/08, the CAC added three Miami Beach-based cultural organizations into the Cultural Anchors category. These organizations meet all the above listed objectives but have organizational budget levels below $750,000, and are called "Junior" Cultural Anchors Cultural Heritage- This category provides project-specific grants for arts programming to no~for-profit Page 2 of 4 CAC Grants Programs 501(c)(3) Miami Beach-based institutions devoted to promoting and protecting the diverse heritage, traditions and culture of Miami Beach. Artistic Disciplines -Funding is limited to arts and cultural organizations whose primary mission is to create and present work in one of the following artistic disciplines; Dance, Music Theater, Film and Visual Arts. For Fiscal Year 2006/07, this category was modified to fund only organizations applying for projects presenting work that is new or has never before been presented in Miami Beach Arts and Cultural Education -Provides grants to cultural organizations whose primary mission is to provide arts learning opportunities for children and adults in City schools and neighborhoods. Cultural Presenters -Provides grants to organizations whose primary mission is to produce and present cultural and artistic productions. Cultural Tourism -This category is jointly funded by the CAC and the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority (VCA) and provides grants to support major cultural arts performances, festivals, and events that attract a significant number of tourists to the City of Miami Beach. Similar to the CAC grants panel process, board members comprise the panel; three (3) members from the VCA and three (3) members from the CAC. APPLICATION PROCESS Applications and guidelines are made available in January in both English and Spanish, and are also available electronically (www.miamibeachfl.govand www.mbculture.org). Additionally, the grant programs are publicized in English and Spanish media and via electronic mail. Only non-profit cultural organizations with a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status or cultural departments within an institution of higher learning (college or university) with tax-exempt status under other subsections of 501(c)(3) are eligible to apply. Cultural Affairs staff determines an application's eligibility and discusses guidelines with applicants during a required, one-on- one consultation. Organizations that received prior year grant funding but did not comply with the requirements of the Grant Agreement are not eligible to apply. Additionally, organizations that received funding from the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority (VCA) during the same fiscal year are not eligible to apply. Applicants are required to furnish a minimum $1 to $1 funding match, in cash, ir}kind, or combination of both. The application process, including the Cultural Tourism program, yields an average of 50 to 65 viable applications each year, and every year the grants program attracts new applicants. In fact, since the development of the Cultural Affairs Program's website in 2005, along with other marketing initiatives, the program has seen a steady increase in applicants. For the Fiscal Year 2007/08 grants application process the program received 16 new applicants (as compared to six new in Fiscal Year 2006/07). GRANTS PANELS Applications are scored at a series of publicly noticed Panel Meetings by program category each spring. Applicants are encouraged to attend but are not required to be present. During the Panel Meeting, applicants are permitted only to respond to questions from panelists. Miami Beach Cultural Arts Council panelists follow applicable conflict-of-interest guidelines; they do not participate in funding deliberations affecting organizations with which they have been affiliated as employees or board members within the past three years. Once the Panel has reviewed and scored an application, the scores of the Panel are final. Prior to the Fiscal Year 2006/07 application process, the panels were co-chaired by two CAC members with the remaining five to six panel members comprised of citizens and members of business community and professionals from the various artistic disciplines through out Miami Dade County. In the fall of 2005, and in order to have greater participation in the evaluation and scoring process, the CAC decided to have the panels be comprised solely of the eleven CAC members. Prior to Fiscal Year 2006/07, funding recommendations were made by the panelists at the conclusion of each panel meeting. Panels were assigned a percentage of the total proposed grant funding for the next fiscal year based on the number of applicants in each category and the total award amounts requested. The CAC would then review all panel recommendations and forward their final approved recommendations to the Page 3 of 4 CAC Grants Programs Mayor and Commission. In Fiscal Year 2006/07, funding recommendations were taken out of the panel meeting process. Once all panels had concluded their evaluations, the CAC reviewed all final scores at their July meeting. Funding was allocated by the CAC from the top scoring applicant, down the list until no funds remained. EVALUATION CRITERIA The criteria for each program category have changed minimally since the applications and criteria were first revised to their present format and content for Fiscal Year 2004/05. Minor revisions to specific questions on the applications have been made to reduce repetitiveness or where duplication of intent was noted. Evaluation criteria vary slightly for each program but generally include questions highlighting Artistic and/or Cultural Merit and Program Quality, Artistic/Educational Merit and Program Quality, Project Merit Curatorial Methodology, Community Impact, Organization Management, and Budget Feasibility and Fiscal Responsibility. However, for Fiscal Year 2007/08, the panelists' evaluation sheets were condensed from 15 questions down to 4 questions, with the intention of providing greater ease and simplicity. Specifically, scoring changed from 0 - 100 (maximum possible), to 0 - 20 (maximum possible). While this new scoring method was adopted specifically to eliminate a larger number of the weaker applications, it had the unexpected effect of also eliminating a number of applicants that a majority of CAC members felt worthy of funding. This scoring system will be revisited during the CAC's annual grants process reviewin September. MINIMUM SCORE REQUIREMENT- Competitive Grants Funding The use of a minimum score requirement as competitive criteria for an application to be eligible to receive funding has been in place since Fiscal Year 2005/06, and applicants are advised of this criteria. Any applications scoring below 80% of the maximum possible score are ineligible to receive grant funds. A couple of variations have been applied over the past two years. All grant categories for Fiscal Year 2007/08 were assigned the 80% minimum score requirement. Last year, only the Cultural Anchors and Cultural Heritage categories were assigned the 80% minimum score requirement. STATUS OF FISCAL YEAR 2007/08 CULTURAL GRANTS Between January 8, 2007, and April 20, 2007, Cultural Affairs staff met individually with all applicants to determine eligibility and offer guidance. Final grant application deadlines varied depending upon Program category. The eleven CAC members comprised the CAC grants panels exclusively again this year. Please reference Attachment "A" page 4 for a list of members. The CAC grants panels convened at public meetings in City Hall on March 2, March 30, May 4, and June 1, 2007; the Cultural Tourism grant panel convened at a public meeting on July 11, 2007. There were a total of 61 grant applications (please see note below). The panelists reviewed applications in alphabetical order. Applicants were allowed to address specific questions from the panelists. The applications were scored using evaluation forms based on criteria listed in the application, then averaged dropping the highest and lowest scores. On July 6, 2007, at their regular monthly public meeting at City Hall, the CAC members reviewed the final scores ranked highest to lowest from all the panel meetings combined. As per CAC approved Fiscal Year 2007/08 grant guidelines, an application must had to have scored a minimum average of 16 points (80%) of a maximum possible score of 20 points, to be eligible to receive funding. The CAC recommended maximum grant awards (total amount requested) for all applicants scoring 16 and higher. A total of 21 applicants were recommended for funding. Please see Attachment "B" for a listing of the recommendations discussed and approved July 6th for Fiscal Year 2007/08. (NOTE: The Holocaust Memorial, a regular applicant to the City's cultural grants program since 2001, was disqualified from this year's application process for failing to submit a timely application. An application was submitted twelve (12) days past the advertised grant program deadline. The Cultural Affairs Program staff held the regular series of consultation meetings with the Holocaust Memorial's Executive Director and grant writer, and in addition provided comments and corrections on their initial draft, along with numerous reminders of the final application delivery deadline by phone, email and in conversation. The application was not reviewed by the CAC Panel. During their May 4, 2007, meeting the CAC discussed the Holocaust Memorial's application. A motion to accept the application did not receive a second.) Page 4 of 4 CAC Grants Programs The Cultural Tourism panel meeting was held on July 11, 2007. The panel comprised of members from both the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority and the CAC, reviewed three applications and approved equal awards of $26,666.67 to each organization. STATUS OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUNDING Similarly to the process used for the recommendations made by the Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC) for CDBG, SHIP and HOME funding, staff reviewed the proposed recommendations from the CAC. While the Administration acknowledges the incredible work and commitment of the CAC to furthering cultural arts programming in our community, the Administration believes it is in the best interest of the City and the local arts community for the CAC to consider other potential funding alternatives. A meeting was held with the CAC Chair to discuss the recommendations and alternative funding options should additional funding be available to the CAC. As proposed in their meeting, the CAC had recommended full funding to all applicants that scored a 16 or higher; the 16 represented a score of 80%. This provided funding to all but one of the Cultural Anchors, and funded 12 of the other [general category] applicants. After reviewing the scores of the applicants, staff has recommended that partial funding (50%) also be allocated to applicants scoring between 15 and 16. This would provide funding to an additional 11 applicants. Partial funding (50%) is also recommended to the one unfunded Cultural Anchor. In addition, in response to concerns that no grants might be allocated to groups that perform at the Byron Carlyle, it was also discussed and recommended that the CAC coordinate the process to identify groups that scored less than a 15 that might be interested in receiving rent waivers for use of the Byron Carlyle as their performance venue. The total amount of available funding for rent waivers would be pre-determined, and the process to select the group to receive the waiver would have to be created; the groups would have to cover any hard costs associated with the use of the facility. The net result would be additional programming for the community, even if not funded directly by the Grants program. The CAC will consider these new funding options, as well as the Byron Carlyle rent waiver program, at their meeting on September 7th. The agreed upon recommendations will then be presented to the Commission at the budget hearing on September 26, 2007. As previously mentioned, it is important to note, that regardless of any revised funding alternative developed and/or recommended, funding for all applicants is not possible, unless minimal funding is provided. As you may recall, there has been previous discussion by and with the Commission regarding funding philosophies, including the concept of providing funding levels that can provide impact even if the result is fewer funded agencies, as compared to funding many with minimal funding -and thus minimal impact. As always, please feel free to call me should you have any questions or require additional information JMG\HF\MAS\GF c: Hilda Fernandez, Assistant City Manager Max A. Sklar, Tourism and Cultural Development Director Gary Farmer, Cultural Affairs Program Manager F:\info\$ALL\Roberta\Commission Docs\LTC Grants Program Overview and 0708 Status\LTC 0708 grants program overview and 0708 status (3).doc