Opportunity Information: Apply for 2011NEA01CAFT
Apply for 2011NEA01CAFT
- The National Endowment for the Arts in the arts (see cultural affairs in cfda) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NEA Challenge America Fast Track, FY 2012" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 45.024 Promotion of the ArtsGrants to Organizations and Individuals.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jan 13, 2011 and posted on Jan 13, 2011.
- Applicants must submit their applications by May 26, 2011 Deadline May 26, 2011 The Grants.gov system must receive your validated and accepted application no later than 1159 p.m., Eastern Time, on May 26, 2011.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $10,000.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: County governments Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) Public and State controlled institutions of higher education Independent school districts City or township governments Private institutions of higher education Special district governments State governments.
- This category supports focused, distinct projects that take place over limited periods of time and involve limited geographic areas. Such projects generally are smaller in scale and shorter in duration than those in the Art Works category. All projects must extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations that have limited access to the arts due to geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. The involvement of professionally trained, experienced artists and arts professionals is essential. Each applicant must present a simple, straightforward project that reflects only one of the project types below. Fast Track grants are available only for Engagement Americans throughout the nation experience art. An arts event or events that will feature one or more guest artists. The project (such as a festival, exhibit, recital, reading, performance, screening, broadcast, lecture) must include the participation of guest artist(s). Artistic staff and resident artists of an applicant organization do not qualify as guest artists. In addition to artists fees, the project may include public relations, professional documentation, and program enhancements that are integral to the event. Examples of program enhancements include interpretive material, transportation, program accommodations (e.g., sign language interpretation, audio description), catalogues, brochures, or publications. Other enhancements such as specific lecture demonstrations, pre or post event talks, or workshops relevant to the proposed arts event also are eligible. NOTE Projects that involve curriculum based arts instruction are not eligible (see Arts Education in the Arts Works category). The unified promotion of community wide arts activities and resources to enhance cultural tourism or activities in cultural districts. Unified promotion is defined as the professional assessment, design, and/or distribution of public relations tools (calendars, Web sites, brochures, rack cards, signage, etc.) designed to benefit several local organizations. NOTE Promotional projects for a single organization are not eligible. The development of professionally directed public art projects. This project type is for visual arts projects only (such as murals, sculptures, or environmental art) that are developed through community engagement. Evidence of community involvement in the planning, design, or fabrication of the work must be apparent. The anticipated results for Engagement projects are direct experiences with the arts for the public. If a grant is received, at the end of the project grantees will need to describe the participants experiences as well as provide evidence of the participant group as underserved. If the nature of the project does not allow for the documentation of participants experiences explicitly, grantees may document the composition of the participant group and the number of participants and activities, and describe the activities used to engage the public with art. Before applying, please review the reporting requirements for Engagement. Livability American communities are strengthened through the arts. Design activities for new or existing cultural facilities or civic spaces. Projects may include the preliminary planning or design process for new cultural facilities or spaces, as well as the engagement of professional design services such as streetscapes, wayfinding signage, or landscape architecture. Work may consist of, but is not limited to, architectural studies, charrettes (design workshops), design competitions, or facility feasibility or predevelopment studies. Activities also may include all design stages for the renovation, restoration, or adaptive reuse of existing structures to be used as cultural facilities. Funding is not available for fund raising, donor research, or actual renovation or construction costs.
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Opportunity Summary:
The NEA Challenge America Fast Track program for FY 2012 is a National Endowment for the Arts grant opportunity designed mainly for small to mid-sized organizations that want to bring professional arts experiences to underserved populations. In this context, "underserved" means people whose access to the arts is limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. Age by itself (for example, projects aimed only at youth or only at seniors) does not qualify a group as underserved unless at least one of the listed barriers is also present. The program supports straightforward, focused projects that are typically smaller in scale, shorter in duration, and more geographically limited than projects funded through the NEA's Art Works category.
A key structural rule is that an organization may submit only one application total under the FY 2012 Grants for Arts Projects umbrella, meaning applicants must choose between applying to Art Works or to Challenge America Fast Track, but not both. NEA-supported project activity funded through this opportunity may begin on or after January 1, 2012. Awards are fixed at $10,000 (both the floor and the ceiling), and the program requires cost sharing or matching funds. Fast Track is also built around speed: applications receive an expedited review, and organizations are typically notified about six months after applying, allowing projects to start relatively soon after a recommendation.
The program is organized around two outcomes applicants must align with: Engagement and Livability. Engagement focuses on public engagement with diverse and excellent art, emphasizing direct public experiences with art. Livability focuses on strengthening communities through the arts, particularly through planning and design efforts that support cultural spaces and community infrastructure. Applicants pick the primary outcome that best fits their project (and may select a secondary one), and if funded, they must later provide evidence showing the results they said they would achieve, including documentation that the participants served were in fact an underserved population.
Challenge America Fast Track funding is limited to specific eligible project types. Under the Engagement outcome, eligible projects include arts events featuring one or more guest artists (festivals, exhibits, performances, screenings, readings, lectures, broadcasts, and similar events), as long as the guest artists are not simply the applicant organization's own staff or resident artists. The grant can cover artist fees and also support essential project components like public relations, professional documentation, and program enhancements that are integral to the event, including interpretive materials and accessibility supports such as sign language interpretation and audio description, transportation assistance, printed or digital publications, and related workshops or talks connected to the event. Another eligible Engagement project type is unified promotion of community-wide arts activities and resources that benefit multiple organizations, such as professionally designed and distributed calendars, websites, brochures, rack cards, or signage intended to strengthen cultural tourism or activity in cultural districts; promotion for a single organization is explicitly not eligible. A third Engagement option is the development of professionally directed public art projects in the visual arts (murals, sculptures, environmental art) that are built through community engagement, with clear evidence that community members were involved in planning, design, or fabrication.
Under the Livability outcome, the eligible project type centers on design activities for new or existing cultural facilities or civic spaces. This can include early-stage planning or preliminary design work for new cultural facilities, design services that improve civic space (such as streetscapes, wayfinding signage, and landscape architecture), and professional processes like architectural studies, design charrettes, design competitions, feasibility studies, or predevelopment work. The NEA makes clear that the grant does not pay for fundraising, donor research, or the actual renovation or construction itself; the support is for the design and planning phases rather than capital costs.
Eligibility for applying is broad across public and nonprofit sectors. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in that specific nonprofit category), federally recognized tribal governments, and multiple levels of government and education entities such as city/township governments, county governments, special district governments, state governments, independent school districts, and public or state-controlled institutions of higher education, as well as private institutions of higher education. Regardless of organizational type, the project must involve professionally trained and experienced artists and arts professionals, and the application must present a simple, single-project proposal that fits one of the defined project types.
The NEA encourages partnerships as a way to improve project reach and effectiveness, including collaborations between arts organizations and non-arts organizations, although partnerships are not required. The program also includes a policy intended to spread funding to new organizations and communities by limiting consecutive-year awards. Beginning with FY 2011 awards, any organization that receives Challenge America Fast Track grants for three consecutive years becomes ineligible to apply to Fast Track for the following year. As a practical example given in the announcement, an organization funded through Fast Track in FY 2009, FY 2010, and FY 2011 would not be eligible to apply to Fast Track in FY 2012, but could still seek NEA support through other opportunities such as Art Works and could return to Fast Track in FY 2013.
From an administrative standpoint, this was a discretionary grant opportunity offered under CFDA 45.024 (Promotion of the Arts - Grants to Organizations and Individuals). The funding opportunity number is 2011NEA01CAFT, and applications were due through Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on May 26, 2011. The posting date was January 13, 2011, and the opportunity was later archived on June 25, 2011.
NEA Challenge America Fast Track (FY 2012) - FAQs
What is the NEA Challenge America Fast Track program for FY 2012?
Challenge America Fast Track (FY 2012) is a National Endowment for the Arts grant opportunity aimed primarily at small to mid-sized organizations that want to bring professional arts experiences to underserved populations through straightforward, focused projects.
Who is this program mainly designed for?
The program is designed mainly for small to mid-sized organizations. It supports projects that are typically smaller in scale, shorter in duration, and more geographically limited than projects funded through the NEA's Art Works category.
What does "underserved" mean in this opportunity?
In this context, "underserved" refers to people whose access to the arts is limited by one or more of the following barriers: geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability.
Do projects focused only on youth or seniors automatically qualify as serving an underserved group?
No. Age by itself (for example, serving only youth or only seniors) does not qualify a group as underserved unless at least one of the listed barriers (geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability) is also present.
How is Fast Track different from the NEA's Art Works category?
Fast Track supports projects that are generally more straightforward and focused, and they tend to be smaller, shorter, and more geographically limited than projects funded through Art Works. Fast Track also uses an expedited review process and typically notifies organizations about six months after applying.
Can an organization apply to both Art Works and Challenge America Fast Track in FY 2012?
No. An organization may submit only one application total under the FY 2012 Grants for Arts Projects umbrella, which means you must choose between applying to Art Works or to Challenge America Fast Track, but not both.
When may NEA-supported project activity begin if funded through this opportunity?
NEA-supported project activity funded through this opportunity may begin on or after January 1, 2012.
What is the grant amount for Fast Track awards?
Awards are fixed at $10,000. This amount is both the minimum and the maximum (the floor and the ceiling).
Is cost sharing or matching required?
Yes. The program requires cost sharing or matching funds.
How fast is the Fast Track review and notification timeline?
Fast Track is built around speed. Applications receive an expedited review, and organizations are typically notified about six months after applying, which is intended to let projects start relatively soon after a recommendation.
What outcomes must projects align with?
Applicants must align their project with one of two outcomes: Engagement or Livability. Applicants select the primary outcome that best fits their project and may also select a secondary outcome.
What does the Engagement outcome mean?
Engagement focuses on public engagement with diverse and excellent art, emphasizing direct public experiences with art.
What does the Livability outcome mean?
Livability focuses on strengthening communities through the arts, particularly through planning and design efforts that support cultural spaces and community infrastructure.
Do funded applicants have to report results after the project?
Yes. If funded, organizations must provide evidence showing the results they said they would achieve, including documentation that the participants served were in fact an underserved population.
What kinds of projects are eligible under the Engagement outcome?
Eligible Engagement projects are limited to specific types, including: (1) arts events featuring one or more guest artists; (2) unified promotion of community-wide arts activities and resources benefiting multiple organizations; and (3) development of professionally directed public art projects created through community engagement.
What counts as an eligible arts event under Engagement?
Eligible arts events include festivals, exhibits, performances, screenings, readings, lectures, broadcasts, and similar events that feature one or more guest artists.
Can the guest artists be the applicant organization's own staff or resident artists?
No. For Engagement arts events, the guest artists may not simply be the applicant organization's own staff or resident artists.
What project costs can be supported for an eligible Engagement arts event?
The grant can cover artist fees and can also support essential project components that are integral to the event, such as public relations, professional documentation, and program enhancements (including interpretive materials and accessibility supports like sign language interpretation and audio description). It may also support transportation assistance, printed or digital publications, and related workshops or talks connected to the event.
What does "unified promotion" mean, and what is eligible?
Unified promotion refers to promoting community-wide arts activities and resources that benefit multiple organizations. Eligible examples include professionally designed and distributed calendars, websites, brochures, rack cards, or signage intended to strengthen cultural tourism or cultural activity in places like cultural districts.
Is marketing or promotion for a single organization eligible under unified promotion?
No. Promotion for a single organization is explicitly not eligible under this project type.
What kinds of public art projects are eligible under Engagement?
Eligible public art projects are professionally directed visual arts projects (such as murals, sculptures, or environmental art) that are built through community engagement, with clear evidence that community members were involved in planning, design, or fabrication.
What kinds of projects are eligible under the Livability outcome?
Under Livability, the eligible project type centers on design activities for new or existing cultural facilities or civic spaces. This includes early-stage planning or preliminary design for new cultural facilities, and design services that improve civic space (such as streetscapes, wayfinding signage, and landscape architecture).
What professional planning and design processes are eligible under Livability?
Examples include architectural studies, design charrettes, design competitions, feasibility studies, and predevelopment work.
Does the grant pay for renovation or construction?
No. The NEA states that the grant supports design and planning phases rather than capital costs. It does not pay for actual renovation or construction.
Does the grant pay for fundraising or donor research?
No. The NEA makes clear that the grant does not pay for fundraising or donor research.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in that specific nonprofit category), federally recognized tribal governments, and various government and education entities such as city/township governments, county governments, special district governments, state governments, independent school districts, public or state-controlled institutions of higher education, and private institutions of higher education.
Are institutions of higher education eligible?
Yes, institutions of higher education are listed as eligible if they are public or state-controlled institutions of higher education or private institutions of higher education. Separately, nonprofit 501(c)(3) eligibility excludes institutions of higher education in that specific nonprofit category.
Does the project need to involve professional artists or arts professionals?
Yes. Regardless of organizational type, the project must involve professionally trained and experienced artists and arts professionals.
Does the application need to be for a single project?
Yes. The application must present a simple, single-project proposal that fits one of the defined eligible project types.
Are partnerships required?
No. Partnerships are encouraged as a way to improve reach and effectiveness, including collaborations between arts organizations and non-arts organizations, but partnerships are not required.
Is there a limit on how many years in a row an organization can receive Fast Track awards?
Yes. Beginning with FY 2011 awards, any organization that receives Challenge America Fast Track grants for three consecutive years becomes ineligible to apply to Fast Track for the following year.
How does the three-consecutive-year rule work in practice?
The example given is that an organization funded through Fast Track in FY 2009, FY 2010, and FY 2011 would not be eligible to apply to Fast Track in FY 2012. It could still seek NEA support through other opportunities such as Art Works and could return to Fast Track in FY 2013.
What is the CFDA number for this opportunity?
This was a discretionary grant opportunity offered under CFDA 45.024 (Promotion of the Arts - Grants to Organizations and Individuals).
What is the funding opportunity number?
The funding opportunity number is 2011NEA01CAFT.
How and when were applications due?
Applications were due through Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on May 26, 2011.
When was the opportunity posted and when was it archived?
The posting date was January 13, 2011, and the opportunity was later archived on June 25, 2011.
Browse more opportunities from the same category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA)
Next opportunity: NEA Our Town Applications, FY 2011
Previous opportunity: NEA GAP Art Works Applications, FY 2012
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| NEA Our Town Applications, FY 2011 Apply for 2011NEAOT Funding Number: 2011NEAOT Agency: National Endowment for the Arts Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $250,000 |
| NEA GAP Art Works 2, FY2012 Apply for 2011NEA01AW2 Funding Number: 2011NEA01AW2 Agency: National Endowment for the Arts Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $100,000 |
| NEA Art Works I Application, FY2017 Apply for 2016NEA01AW1 Funding Number: 2016NEA01AW1 Agency: NEA Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $100,000 |
| NEA Challenge America Application, FY2017 Apply for 2016NEA01CA Funding Number: 2016NEA01CA Agency: NEA Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $10,000 |
| NEA Literature (Poetry) Fellowships, FY2017 Apply for 2016NEA03LFCW Funding Number: 2016NEA03LFCW Agency: NEA Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $25,000 |
| NEA Art Works Creativity Connects Projects, FY2017 Apply for 2016NEA01AWCC Funding Number: 2016NEA01AWCC Agency: NEA Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $100,000 |
| Cultural Programming in the People's Republic of China Apply for EAPBJ 16 GR 001 EAP 011516 Funding Number: EAPBJ 16 GR 001 EAP 011516 Agency: DOS-CHN Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $50,000 |
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| 2017 National Heritage Fellowships Awards Program Apply for NEAPS1504 Funding Number: NEAPS1504 Agency: NEA Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $310,000 |
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| 2016 “American Day” Cultural Event in Osaka Apply for PAS OSAKA FY2016 002 Funding Number: PAS OSAKA FY2016 002 Agency: DOS Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $40,000 |
| NEA FY 2017 Art Works II Application Apply for 2016NEA01AW2 Funding Number: 2016NEA01AW2 Agency: NEA Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $100,000 |
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| NEA Research Labs, FY2016 Apply for NEAPS1602 Funding Number: NEAPS1602 Agency: NEA Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $150,000 |
| Cultural Programs focused on environment preservation Apply for SDR86016NOFO003 Funding Number: SDR86016NOFO003 Agency: DOS-DOM Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $40,000 |
| Artists in Residence Program Partner program Santa Monica Mountains Fund Apply for P16AS00470 Funding Number: P16AS00470 Agency: Department of the Interior, National Park Service Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $50,000 |
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| Maintenance of Utah Site Data Between the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation , Upper Colorado Region and the Utah State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) Apply for BOR UC 16 N007 Funding Number: BOR UC 16 N007 Agency: Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $26,522 |
| Grant for Long-term Curation Betwen the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Region and the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory Apply for BOR UC 16 N019 Funding Number: BOR UC 16 N019 Agency: Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $36,430 |
| Community Engaged Art and Culture Apply for NPS 16 NERO 0200 Funding Number: NPS 16 NERO 0200 Agency: Department of the Interior, National Park Service Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $50,000 |
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