CulverCity.org/PAG 1
WELCOME!
The City of Culver City sponsors dance, music
and theatre performances through its Performing
Arts Grant Program which is under the purview
of the City’s Office of Economic and Cultural
Development and Cultural Affairs Commission.
These performances provide enriching and
accessible cultural opportunities for the city’s
community, including residents, businesses
and visitors.
For questions about the
application process, please contact:
Lee Lawlor at
[email protected] or
(310) 253-5772
The City of Culver City is dedicated to achieving
cultural equity and inclusion through the
Performing Arts Grant Program. Cultural equity
and inclusion embodies the values, policies,
and practices that ensure that all people—
including but not limited to those who have been
historically underrepresented based on race,
ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation,
gender, gender identity, socioeconomic status,
geography, citizenship status, or religion—are
represented in the development of arts policy;
the support of artists; the nurturing of accessible,
thriving venues for expression; and the fair
distribution of programmatic, financial, and
informational resources.
2024 Culver City
Photo by Joshua Hoehne, Unsplash
APPLICATION GUIDELINES AND NOTICE OF FUNDING AVAILABILITY Performing Arts Grant Program
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Award Amount
and Matching Funds
The Culver City City Council has allocated funding
for this program from the Art in Public Places
Program’s Cultural Trust Fund. Sony Pictures
Entertainment and Culver City Arts Foundation
have provided additional contributions to the
program. There is a grant limit of $15,000
per organization, and applicants must provide
matching funds that are equal to, or greater than,
their requested grant amount.
Workshops and
Technical Assistance
Grant workshops will be available to discuss the
application and answer any questions. It is strongly
recommended that applicants attend a workshop.
Previous grantees have found it to be helpful. To
attend a workshop, send an email to cultural.
[email protected]. See Grant Schedule for
dates.
It is recommended that all potential applicants
contact Cultural Affairs staff at least two weeks prior to the application deadline to discuss the guidelines
and to request technical assistance.
Culver City Public Theatre. Photo by Caleb Knueven
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Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for consideration, organizations and projects must meet all the following criteria:
• The primary mission of the organization must
include performances in one or more of the
following disciplines: dance, music, theatre.
• The organization must be a current 501(c)(3)
and provide proof of non-profit status; or the
organization must provide a current agreement
with an established fiscal receiver that is a
501(c)(3).
• The organization must be based within
Los Angeles County.
• Projects must be scheduled to take place
from January 1 – December 31, 2024.
• Performances must take place in an
ADA-compliant venue or location.
• Performances may not be staged in conjunction
with a fundraiser or class presentation.
• Applicants must include their SMU DataArts
Funder Report for a minimum of one year.
• Applicants must demonstrate significant plans for
outreach and promotion to attract the Culver City
community.
• Applicants may not submit multiple applications
for different projects.
• Applicants may not apply to the City’s Performing
Arts Grant Program and the City’s Special Events
Grant Program for the same project.
Venue Eligibility
All events must take place in an ADA-compliant
building, facility, or location that meets one or
more of the following criteria:
• wholly or partially located within Culver City,
• under the purview of the City of Culver City,
• is assigned a USPS zip code in 90230 or 90232.
Checklist
• Online application – signed and submitted
• Venue Letter of Intent – signed by applicant
and venue representative
• Project Budget – using approved template
• SMU DataArts Funder Report
• IRS Nonprofit Determination Letter or
Fiscal Receiver Agreement
• CA Secretary of State active status confirmation
• Artistic Video Sample
• Support and/or Collateral Materials
• All the above must be submitted prior to
the deadline.
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Photo by Kobe Subramaniam
Grant Application
Schedule
August 8, 2023
2024 Guidelines, Instructions and
Application Available on Culver City
website
August 17, 2023 (Virtual) and
August 18, 2023 (In-Person)
W orkshops begin at 10 AM; email cultural.
[email protected] to reserve
September 15, 2023, at 5 PM
DEADLINE TO SUBMIT APPLICATION
October 2023
Peer Panel - Review Meeting and
Recommendations
November 21, 2023
Cultural Affairs Commission Meeting and
Recommendations
December 2023
City Council Approves Final Grant Awards
January 1 to December 31, 2024
Grant Performances in Culver City
Submission Requirements
All applicants must adhere to the procedures
specified in these guidelines and in the Performing
Arts Grant Application. Incomplete applications
will not be considered. No exceptions. It is the
responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the
application form and the required attachments are
complete. All applications deemed complete by
staff will be forwarded to the peer review panel for
consideration. City staff is not obligated to contact
applicants for missing information and applications
deemed incomplete will be disqualified.
Completed applications must be submitted by 5 PM
on September 15, 2023.
The online application is available on the Culver City
Performing Arts Grant webpage.
Project Budget
Project budgets must be submitted using the
approved format only. You may attach the budget to
your application. The budget template is available in
Excel and Word formats on the Culver City website.
The budget is for your proposed project only.
Detailed budget notes are highly recommended. The
Culver City grant request must be included in the
budget, as well as other sources of funding. In-kind
income and expenses must also be included, with
details.
Do not provide an organizational budget.
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Performance Venues
The Venue Letter of Intent, signed by the grant
applicant and signed by a representative of
the venue, is required. Performances must be
available to the public at an affordable price or
for free.
Events must take place in an ADA-compliant
building, facility, or location that meets one or
more of the following criteria:
• wholly or partially located within Culver City,
• under the purview of the City of Culver City,
• immediately adjacent to Culver City, or
• is assigned a USPS zip code in 90230 or
90232.
Please contact Cultural Affairs staff in advance to
verify venue addresses if necessary.
All applicants must demonstrate significant
plans to attract Culver City audiences, and the
performance location is an important aspect of
those efforts.
A partial list of frequently used indoor and outdoor
performance venues is included as Attachment
A. There is an additional list of potential venues,
with contact information, posted on the Culver City
website. Please note that you are not limited to the
venues on these lists and the Cultural Affairs staff
is available to review other creative ideas for your
performance.
Contract, Acknowledgement,
Marketing
Grant recipients will be required to sign a contract,
defining requirements to be fulfilled, including
provision of credit and logo in promotional materials
and programs. If your grant project or performance
details change, it is required that you notify the City staff. Should the requirements not be met, the grant
award is subject to withdrawal.
Grant recipients are required to contact Cultural
Affairs staff two months prior to their first
performance date to review marketing plans for
performances in Culver City and to ensure receipt of
the approved sponsor logos.
To ensure that acknowledgment is given to the City
of Culver City and its Cultural Affairs Commission,
Sony Pictures Entertainment and Culver City Arts
Foundation, grant recipients are required to include
a credit line, as well as logos, in all marketing
materials as well as the event program. All grantees
shall provide a draft of the marketing materials and
event program to Cultural Affairs staff prior to their
publication.
This performance is made possible in part by
the City of Culver City and its Cultural Affairs
Commission, with support from Sony Pictures
Entertainment and the Culver City Arts Foundation.
Cultural Data Profile
Funder Report
The City of Culver City is participating with SMU
DataArts to utilize the Cultural Data Profile (CDP).
The City of Culver City, along with other funders,
requires applicants to complete an annual survey
that collects financial and programmatic data.
Applicants will complete the online Cultural Data
Profile and use that data as part of their application
to all participating funders throughout the state.
Organizations with expenses below $50K can
opt to complete a shorter Cultural Data Profile,
making the data entry process faster and more
equitable for small nonprofits. All applications must
include the DataArts Funder Report for the Culver
City Performing Arts Grant Program with their
application. See Attachment B for further instructions. www.culturaldata.org
(877) 707-3282
[email protected]
Jazz Hands for Autism concert at The Culver Steps
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Tax Exempt Status Verification
Applicant organizations, or their fiscal receiver, must qualify as tax exempt – as defined by the Internal
Revenue Service and CA Secretary of State – at
the time the application is submitted. A copy of the
non-profit determination letter issued by the IRS and
a screenshot or confirmation page from the CA
Secretary of State showing ACTIVE NONPROFIT
STATUS within 60 days of the deadline, must be
submitted with the application to be considered
eligible. See samples on the Culver City website.
Use of Funds
Grant awards from Culver City may only be used for
direct expenses related to the performances in Culver
City. No grants will be awarded for performances
that are staged in conjunction with a fundraiser or a
class presentation. Funding may be awarded for a
single production or a series of performances.
Culver City Business Tax Certificate
All grant recipients shall be required to obtain a
Culver City Business T ax Certificate before a contract can be issued and before any performances. Visit
the Culver City website or call the Business Support
Center at (310) 594-7847 for information. If you
already have a Business T ax Certificate, it must be
renewed annually. No grant contract may be issued
without a valid Business T ax Certificate.
Final Report and Payment
Grant recipients are required to submit an invoice
after the performance and an evaluation form
detailing audience attendance, comments, and zip
code tally. We recommend that you register for direct
deposit with the Finance Department in advance.
Cultural Affairs staff can assist with that process.
Compliance and Special Permits
Compliance with licensing and insurance
requirements established by the facility at which
the performance will be held is required. If the
applicant’s production requires performance or
staging rights, the applicant is responsible for
ensuring that rights have been secured. Applicant
shall perform all work in accordance with applicable
laws, codes and regulations required by all
authorities having jurisdiction over such work.
Productions may require a permit through the City’s
Committee on Permits and Licenses. Application
must be made with the Finance Department at City
Hall. Please contact the Business License Division at
(310) 253-5870 for information on permit fees. Visit
the Culver City website for the online special permit
application.
Bottom: photo by Kael Bloom
Suggestions for a
Successful Application
• Review the sample application available on the
Culver City website and prepare your answers
in advance.
• The Project Budget must be clear and complete.
Include detailed budget notes so that the review
panel can see how the funds will be spent. Read
the budget instructions and use the appropriate
line items.
• Prepare your Project Budget in advance and
save as a PDF to upload with your application.
• Start early when collecting signatures for the
Venue Letter of Intent.
• Recent, relevant, and high-quality videos are
highly recommended. Uploading your selected
video clips is most effective, rather than relying on
links to YouTube or Vimeo.
• Start the online application early and ask any
technical questions right away. Staff may not be
available to assist you closer to the deadline. You
can save the application in progress and return
to it later. Once you submit, no changes can be
made.
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Evaluation and
Selection Process
Grant applications will be reviewed by staff
to ensure that the application is complete.
The applications will be presented to a peer
review panel for evaluation and scoring. The
recommendations of the review panel will
be presented to the Performing Arts Grant
Program Subcommittee who will forward
its recommendation to the Cultural Affairs
Commission for consideration. The City Council
will review the recommendations made by the
Cultural Affairs Commission and make the final
determination of grant awards.
Artistic excellence and cultural merit
of project
Culver City outreach and
engagement
Realistic project budget and
funding base
Contribution to cultural equity
and inclusion
45 20
20 15
100TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS
Scoring Criteria
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Robert Frost Auditorium
Robert Frost Auditorium is located on the campus of
Culver City High School and is available for rentals.
Wende Museum
The former armory building, adjacent to Veterans
Memorial Park, has been transformed into a modern
museum and includes indoor and outdoor spaces
suitable for events.
Veterans Memorial Complex
The Veterans Memorial Complex includes Veterans
Memorial Auditorium, Rotunda Room, Garden
Room, Culver City Teen Center, and Culver City
Senior Center. All facilities are available for rentals and regularly accommodate performances and
rehearsals.
Kirk Douglas Theatre
Center Theatre Group is the resident company of
the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Only Culver City-based
performing arts organizations are eligible to
participate in the Kirk Douglas Theatre Community
Access Program. 2024 access dates are to
be determined. Please email cultural.affairs@
culvercity.org for further information. Standard
rentals are available for other organizations based
on availability.
Ivy Substation
The Actors’ Gang is the resident company of Ivy
Substation. All applicants are eligible to participate
in the Ivy Substation Community Access Program
from June 28th - July 14th, 2024. Standard
rental rates apply.
Culver City Parks
There are several parks within Culver City that
accommodate performances. Visit the Culver City
Parks and Recreation website for a list of parks with
photos, amenities, and contact information.
Attachment A
The following is a selection of venues that are often used for performing arts events. For additional locations and contact information, see the separate document “Partial List of Culver City Venues.” Performances must take place in an ADA-compliant building or location. Please note that you are not limited to the venues or dates on these lists.
The completion of the DataArts CDP will require
an investment of time. Resources are available to
help applicants, including an online Knowledge
Base, training videos, and data literacy courses.
Applicants are encouraged to reach out to the SMU
DataArts Support Center for assistance with the
updated platform during regular business hours.
For new users who need assistance in completing
a Cultural Data Profile or current users who need
guidance using the new platform, there are frequent
online orientation trainings through the DataArts
website. You can register for an Orientation to the
DataArts Platform through the training calendar. You
can also listen to a recording of the latest online
orientation.
Applicants should direct questions concerning the
DataArts Cultural Data Profile to:
SMU DataArts Support Center Toll Free:
(877) 707-3282
Email: [email protected]
The SMU DataArts Support Center is available
Monday - Friday from 7:30 AM to 4 PM PST.
Attachment B
DataArts employs cutting-edge research techniques
and high-powered computing to test hypotheses,
build theory, and increase understanding of the arts
and cultural sector. Their research efforts range from
academic papers published in leading journals,
applied research undertaken with community
partners, and actionable insights shared directly with
arts practitioners. The Cultural Data Profile (CDP) is
a free and secure online survey that collects financial and programmatic data from nonprofit arts, culture,
and humanities organizations so they can apply for
grants, gather insights, use data to strengthen a case
for support, and contribute to nationwide research.
As of 2021, over 19,000 organizations have
contributed data.
The City of Culver City requires all Culver City
Performing Arts Grant Program applicants to
complete a CDP through the SMU DataArts website.
A DataArts Funder Report is a requirement of the
grant application package and must be submitted by
the applicable deadline.
Follow these instructions to complete a CDP:
1. Go to: da.culturaldata.org to access your
already existing DataArts account. If you do not
have a DataArts account, you can create one. If
you create a new account, your next step will be
to join an organization.
2. Once you are logged in to your account, click
‘New Survey’ from your Dashboard to create and
complete a CDP for your most recently completed
fiscal year.
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3. Enter data using your board-approved financial
audit/review or year-end financial statements.
a. If your organization is not audited/reviewed,
enter data based on board-approved, year-end
financial statements.
b. DO NOT enter project budgets, budgets for
future years, or data from incomplete or not-yet-
approved audits/reviews/financial statements.
c. Provide notes in the Funder Report narrative in
your CDP explain any significant financial or
other variances in your Funder Report. Those
notes will appear below those sections in
your Funder report. Applicants are strongly
encouraged to explain significant variances, to
explain a deficit or surplus, to describe plans to
retire a deficit, or to use a surplus. Unexplained
budget or attendance variances may result in
poor reviews or scores.
4. If there are inconsistencies in your data, the built- in error check will alert you and you will be able
to correct any issues as you go.
5. Once you clear the error check, you will
generate a Funder Report for City of Culver City
Cultural Affairs.
6. After clicking the ‘View’ dropdown, select
‘Generate Report.’ This is an important step that
means you are giving The City of Culver City
permission to see your data. While a Funder Report
will generate, it will NOT be automatically sent to
City of Culver City.
7. Save the PDF Funder Report so you can upload
and submit it to with the rest of your grant
application.