/ CITY OF AURORA, CO
Northwest Aurora
General Operating Grants
FY 2018

Guidelines

The purpose of Northwest Aurora Arts Grants is to support non-profit arts and culture organizations located within or significantly serving the Arts District in northwest Aurora.
Goals

  • To promote the creation of a civic and cultural core.
  • To build upon existing community assets and to support and cultivate organizations, destinations and events that add to the vitality of the area and increase visitors and area sales.
  • To draw visitors to the Arts District and enhance the area’s identity by providing high density and high quality arts and culture programs and services.
  • To develop the capacity of arts and culture organizations, foster organizational sustainability, and help generate and leverage future resources for marketing, events and development within the Arts District.

Arts District Boundaries

  • North – 26th Avenue
  • South – 13th Avenue
  • West – Yosemite Street
  • East – Peoria Street

Eligibility Criteria

  • Applicants must have a mission statement which focuses on the delivery of arts and/or culture programs and/or services for the general public.
  • A significant portion of mission-related activities must take place within the boundaries identified above.
  • Activities must help to achieve one or more of the goals listed above.
  • Applicants must hold a current city of Aurora Business License.
  • Applicants must be an IRS approved and registered non-profit in good standing.

Deadline

Hand-delivered, postmarked or emailed by Friday, January 26, 2018, 4:00 p.m.

Where to submit

Gary Margolis

Cultural Services Division Administration

Aurora Central Library, 2nd Floor

14949 E. Alameda Parkway

Aurora, CO 80012

Format

  • Answers to the narrative questions must not exceed 10 pages.
  • Applications must be double-sided (1 doubled-sided sheet of paper is 2 pages).
  • Applications must use a size 12 standard font with 1 inch margins on all 4 sides of every page.

Email Submissions

  • Email submissions must be submitted as 1 attachment (Word or Adobe Acrobat).
  • Multiple attachments will not be accepted.
  • If you cannot combine the various parts of the application into 1 file, then you must mail or hand-deliver it.

Review Processes

Complete applications will be reviewed and scored by the City’s Cultural Affairs Commission on February 14, 2018 – time and location to be determined.

Questions may be directed to

Gary Margolis

/ CITY OF AURORA, CO
Northwest Aurora General Operating Grants
FY 2018 Application

Top of Form

* Organization Information

Legal Name
D.B.A. (if applicable)
Home County
Address
City
State
Zip
Website
Federal EIN #
Year Established
Years in ACAD
Full-time Employees
Part-time Employees
Independent Contractors
Board Members

* Contact Information

First Name
Last Name
Title
Email
Work Phone
Mobile Phone

Secondary Contact

First Name
Last Name
Title
Email
Work Phone
Mobile Phone

Current Fiscal Year

Start Date
End Date

Narrative Questions

  • Not to exceed 10 double-sided pages with 1 inch margins on all 4 sides.
  • Size 12 standard font is required.
  1. Provide the current mission statement of the organization. If your mission statement has changed since the last grant application please also provide the previous mission statement.
  1. Provide a brief history of the organization.
  1. Describe the organization's overall approach to program evaluation and how the organization measures impact.
  1. Other than fundraising, list your organization's challenges. What plans have been made to address these challenges?
  1. Describe your organization's education programs (both on and offsite), and/or your most significant collaborations/interactions with other organizations and efforts.
  1. What is your organization's plan to increase the diversity, inclusiveness and engagement of your board, staff, visitors and patrons to better serve all of the citizens of our diverse district and how will you evaluate or gauge your progress?
  1. Describe the role of the board of directors in advancing the mission of the organization.
  1. Do any members of your organization serve in capacity of both paid staff and board member?
  1. What means does your organization use to track attendance (both paid and free), for example, ticketing system, survey, manual count at door, etc.
  1. If the organization has/had a deficit and/or debt, describe how this issue is being addressed at the board and organizational level. You must answer this question if the organization had a deficit or if the organization has a short or long-term debt (such as loans from individuals or banks). State N/A if no deficit or debt.
  1. Describe your organization’s current fiscal year activities within the arts district.
  1. Describe your organization’s efforts to attract audiences to the arts district.
  1. Describe your organization’s efforts to contribute to the overall success of the arts district.
  1. Describe how your organization involves volunteers and unpaid personnel (other than board members) within a typical 12-month period. Include number of volunteers and hours (if tracked).

* Performance Measures

For each of the following measures, consider arts district activities only. / 2 Years Ago / Last Completed Fiscal Year
# of Paid Admissions
# of Free Admissions
# of Youth Served (age 18 or younger)
# of Performances / Days Open to the Public
Total Unrestricted Earned Revenue
Total Unrestricted Contributed Revenue
Total Spending (non-capital)

Definitions

  • Activities: Programs and services that are open to the public, are produced by the applicant and fulfill the organization’s mission, e.g., exhibits, performances, educational programs, workshops, and lectures. This does not include: rehearsals, fundraisers, board meetings, private events, parades and fairs, and events that take place during religious services.
  • Attendance: The total number of people who attend an organization's activities.

For classes or other programs with multiple sessions:

Attendance = Number of people x number of classes attended

Attachments

  1. Board of Directors List
  2. Current Staff
  3. Detail of Activities Record – Three Years
  4. Detail of arts district attendance – Three Years
  5. Detail of Contributors/Corporate – Two Years
  6. Detail of Contributors/Foundation – Two Years
  7. Detail of Contributors/Government – Two Years
  8. Detail of Contributors/Individuals less than $1,000 – Two Years
  9. Detail of Contributors/Individuals greater than or equal to $1,000 – Two Years
  10. Financial Overview – Three Years
  11. Provide explanations for significant changes from year to year in any of the “other” line items and any other line that may raise questions in any of the financials provided.
  12. Minutes of the meeting signed by the Treasurer of the Board of Directors at which the most recent fiscal year budget was approved
  13. Breakdown of most recent year SCFD Funding (see example below).

Notes:

  • Do not provide the names of donors/contributors. See example below.
  • Provide Received Contributions Only.

EXAMPLE (#6): Detail of Contributors/Foundations

Name of Foundation / Last Year
Contribution Received / This Year
Contribution Received
Foundation 1 / $5000 / $1000
Foundation 2 / - / $2000
Total / $5000 / $3000

EXAMPLE (#13): Breakdown of SCFD Funding – Most Recent Year

County / Amount of Funding
Adams
Arapahoe
Boulder
Broomfield
Denver
Douglas
Jefferson
TOTAL

Assurances

Please answer all required assurances.

Assurances / Yes / No
  1. A representative from my organization attended a grant workshop/webinar.
/ NA / NA
  1. The applicant understands that this application is considered a public record and thus subject to an open records request.

  1. The applicant certifies that all information in this application, including attachments and supporting materials, is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge.

  1. The applicant assures that its Board has adopted a nondiscrimination policy that ensures that all employment and activities are conducted without regard to race, color, creed, age, religion, gender, gender identification, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

  1. The applicant assures that it is compliant with all state and federal filings and requirements and is not included on any “exclusion” lists.

  1. The applicant understands it is responsible for updating all contact information for the organization in a timely manner.

  1. The applicant agrees to display the city of Aurora logo on promotional materials (including website) and to verbally acknowledge the city of Aurora at programs, activities or events as appropriate.

  1. The applicant agrees to comply with city of Aurora fund reporting requirements, if any, including Change Request Forms and Final Grant Reports.

  1. The applicant understands a complete application must be submitted by the published deadline. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.

  1. The applicant agrees that a representative of the city of Aurora may request and will receive within an appropriate amount of time any and all organizational records.

Authorizing Person (Print)
Title
Signature / Date

The following will not be scored for FY2018 but will be scored in subsequent years.

Regarding your Board of Directors… / YES / NO
Our board ensures our organization adheres to federal, state and local legal standards and ethical norms for nonprofit organizations, stays current with all its required nonprofit filings, obeys tax laws, safeguards our assets and furthers our mission.
Our board works to enhance the organization's public standing.
Our board protects assets and provides proper financial oversight including ensuring that proper financial controls are in place.
Our board decides which programs and services are consistent with the organization's mission.
Our board ensures organizational resources are dedicated to fulfilling the mission through at least quarterly reviews of expenditures.
Our board annually evaluates the chief executive officer according to an adopted criteria.
None of our board members are paid staff, including executive director and/or founder.
None of our board members are paid contractors, vendors, etc.
None of our board members are related to each other, to staff, or to vendors, contractors, etc.
Our board has term limits for officers.
Our board has term limits for members.
Our board has adopted a code of ethics for the board, staff and volunteers.
Our board periodically and comprehensively evaluates our own performance.
Our board annually reviews its mission statement.
Our board annually reviews its core organizational documents, for example articles of incorporation and by-laws.
Our board selects the chief executive officer and ensures that he/she has the moral and professional support he/she needs to further the goals of the organization.
Our board ensures that executive compensation is reasonable and that appropriate taxes are withheld and reported.
Our board ensures effective planning byactively participating in an overall planning process.
Our board assists with and/or monitors the implementation and monitoring of the plan's goals.
Our board monitors the effectiveness of programs and services.
Our board assists in the development of the annual budget.
Our board approves an annual budget.
Our board has a fundraising policy and ensures all fundraising materials are accurate, truthful and candid.
Regarding your Board of Directors… / YES / NO
Our board secures adequate financial resources for the organization to fulfill its mission.
Our board has adopted a written policy on investments.
Our board annually reviews financial statements and our Form 990 for accuracy.
Our board supports transparency and accountability for all financial reports and public information
Our board has implemented a Whistleblower policy.
Our board is adequately sized and genuinely independent (not dominated by family, employees or business partners).
Our board has a written description of prerequisites for new members.
Our board provides an orientation for new members.
Our board has developed, implemented and annually reviews a conflict of interest policy for all board members and staff.
Our board has conflict of interest language in by-laws.
Our board provides conflict of interest training to our members and staff.
Our board keeps written minutes of all board and committee meetings.
Our board has adopted and monitors a policy for document integrity, retention and destruction.

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