POINT ARENA CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
AGENDA ITEM: VIII A
MEETING DATE: 4/25/2023
TITLE
Request for Support of Creative Corps Grant to Create Mural in Point Arena
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Receive report and direct staff
ANALYSIS
The California Creative Corps program follows an unprecedented period in which communities globally have suffered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. During these years, creative sector professionals across the United States have been proposing ways to employ and deploy artists in programs similar to the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA).
The launch of a statewide Creative Corps pilot program is the result of a recommendation from the Governor’s economic and jobs recovery task force and is the first of its kind in the nation. $60 million from the 2021-22 state budget has been invested in the California Arts Council to create a program through which Administering Organizations, appointed through a competitive process, are responsible for regranting monies across their service areas, or “Regions.”
Nevada County Arts Council has been selected as the Administering Organization (DBA “Upstate California Creative Corps”) for the Upstate Region, responsible for distributing $3.38 million in grant funding across nineteen counties, including Mendocino County.
Artists, culture bearers and organizations are invited to apply for funding to implement media, outreach, and engagement campaigns that increase awareness for one or more of these program goals:
• Public awareness of environment-related issues, such as water and energy conservation, climate mitigation, and emergency preparedness, relief, and recovery
• Civic engagement, such as election participation
• Social justice and community engagement
• Public health awareness messages, such as mitigating the spread of COVID-19 The grant would fund the project from planning to completion. The grant does require extensive public participation in the
Lauren Sinnott is submitting a Creative Corps grant proposal and is seeking the Council’s a support letter from the City Couincil to be submitted with the grant application. Her proposal envisions a historical mural at the city parking lot along the lines of her recently completed mural in Ukiah. Lauren will be at the meeting to provide more information,
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
ATTACHMENTS
Creative Corps Grant Guidelines
CITY MANAGER SIGNATURE
_________________________________
Paul Andersen, City Manager
GRANT APPLICATION GUIDELINES
UPSTATE
CALIFORNIA CREATIVE CORPS
GRANT APPLICATION DEADLINE: April 28, 2023 at 11:59 PM
______________________________________
Total Allocation: $3,384,043.20
Grant Request Amount: Individual Artists / Culture Bearers – $5,000-$30,000 Groups of Artists / Culture Bearers working together – $5,000-$60,000 Community Residencies – $15,000-$150,000
Regional or Multi-County Coalitions – up to $250,000
Grantee Activity Period: June 26, 2023–June 25, 2024
Matching Funds: Not required
Apply at: upstatecreativecorps.org
Staff Contact: info@upstatecreativecorps
530.264.7031
Partner Agency Contacts: County Arts Agency contacts can be found here.
BACKGROUND, VISION & APPROACH
The State has allocated $60 million to the California Creative Corps, a workforce development pilot program, through which artists, culture bearers and organizations might implement media, outreach, or engagement campaigns that increase awareness for one or more of these program goals:
1. Public health awareness messages, such as mitigating the spread of COVID-19
2. Public awareness of environment-related issues, such as water and energy conservation, climate mitigation, and emergency preparedness, relief, and recovery
3. Civic engagement, such as election participation
4. Social justice and community engagement
Nevada County Arts Council has been selected as the Administering Organization (DBA “Upstate California Creative Corps”) for the Upstate Region, responsible for distributing $3.38 million in grant funding across nineteen counties.
The release of our Guidelines and Application takes into account input received during a Listening Tour of the Upstate Region in late 2022 and early 2023. Our grant application and review process is shaped by the voices of artists and culture bearers, as well as representatives of arts organizations, social service organizations, local government, including Tribal authorities, educators and community members. Our approach can be summarized through:
• Simplicity in our application format.
• Flexibility in adjudicating different types of projects. • Sensitivity to local issues and local ways of defining and measuring those issues, including the lived experience of artists and culture bearers, and their communities. • An equitable distribution of funds that aligns us as equal partners with our grantees to ensure positive change for our most vulnerable communities in rural Upstate California.
The Upstate California Creative Corps aligns with a vision that the lives of all Californians are enriched through a diverse spectrum of artists and culture bearers and arts and cultural experiences, and that the arts can be a key factor in addressing our challenges. The presence of the arts and creativity in daily life revitalizes communities and promotes civic engagement, encourages collective problem solving and builds bridges across cultures.
WHO CAN APPLY
Applicants must live in, work in, or serve one of the following Upstate Region counties: Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity and Yuba.
If applying as individual artists or culture bearers, the lead applicant must be aged 18 or over, and live in, work in, or serve one of the Upstate Region counties listed above. They do not need a fiscal sponsor to apply.
If applying as a unit of government, including a Tribal authority, or a social service entity or nonprofit organization (both arts-and non-arts-based) the lead applicant must meet the following eligibility criteria:
• 501(c)(3) organization as applicant or fiscal sponsor – Nongovernmental applicant organizations must demonstrate proof of nonprofit status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or section 23701d of the California Revenue and Taxation Code. • Local government – A unit of municipal or county government; or a Tribal authority. • Applicant organizations using fiscal sponsors – An applicant organization that is without nonprofit status must use a California-based fiscal sponsor with a federal 501(c)(3) designation to apply for funding. For-profit businesses and individuals may not use a fiscal sponsor to apply toCAC organizational grants.
Types of applicant organizations eligible to apply using a fiscal sponsor include, but are not limited to artist and culture bearer collectives, guilds, and 501(c)(6) organizations. A Letter of Agreement between the fiscal sponsor and the applicant organization must be signed by a representative from both parties and submitted with the application. A blank signature field will not be accepted. If a grant is awarded, the fiscal sponsor becomes the legal contract holder with Nevada County Arts Council, DBA Upstate California Creative Corps. • A fiscal sponsor change is not permissible during the Grant Activity Period, except in extenuating circumstances based on staff assessment. See additional information our Fiscal Sponsor Policy
Lead applicants, artists and culture bearers may be part of more than one application for California Creative Corps funding. However, if approved for funding, they can only participate as a lead in one California Creative Corps funded project, whether in Upstate California or via any other Creative Corps program elsewhere in California. •
GRANT CATEGORIES
Applicants may apply for one among three grant categories:
1. Individual Artists and Culture Bearers working solo or in small groups, having no affiliation with an agency or formal organization.
Individual artist and culture bearer applicants may apply for $5,000-$30,00 with group applicants being eligible for $5,000-$60,000. (20% of a grant may be used for program expenses, such as art supplies, rentals, etc.)
2. Community Residencies ensuring collaborative efforts in building awareness and engagement processes. Arts organizations, social service organizations and units of government, including Tribal authorities, who wish to employ artists and culture bearers are invited to apply. Multiple agencies collaborating is encouraged.
Applicants may apply for $15,000-$150,000. 20% of the grant award may be used for administrative costs and costs associated with program design and implementation. 80% of funds must be used to hire individual artist(s) and/or culture bearer(s).
3. Regional or Multi-County Coalitions that create systems and processes with a high sustainability quotient. Deep engagement with government agencies, including tribal authorities, should be an essential feature of programs at this level. Matching funds are encouraged but not required.
Applicants may apply for up to $250,000. 20% of the grant award may be used for administrative costs and costs associated with program design and implementation. 80% of funds must be used to hire individual artist(s) and/or culture bearer(s).
WHAT WE DO NOT FUND
Aligning with state guidelines, please review California Arts Council’s What We Do Not Fund document for items that may NOT be funded via Upstate California Creative Corps.
HOW WE DEFINE AN ARTIST
We define an artist, culture bearer, or culture maker (‘artist’) as a human being* who regularly engages in artistic or cultural practice to express themselves with the intention of communicating richly to or sharing with others; pass on traditional knowledge and cultural practices; offer cultural resources to their communities; and/or co-organize and co-create within communities toward social impacts. Artists aspire to sustain themselves through their practice and maintain a commitment to continuing their practice. Artists can work both individually and collaboratively, or as educators within their field of practice. *We further define “human being” in the context our definition of an ‘artist’, as a human agent using human skill to create a refined product that could be a work of the imagination, a physical object, or a reworking of process based on underlying principles of design and function.
OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Please refer to our Glossary of Terms and Conditions if any of the language in our Guidelines or applications is unclear.
APPLICATION REVIEW
Applications from both individuals and eligible organizations shall be reviewed on the following criteria: Health Equity, to include Accessibility; Project Design; Community Engagement; and Creative Process.
Applications for projects that serve only one county within the Upstate Region will be reviewed by a diverse panel adjudicated by our Partner Agency in that county, following an inclusive panelist application process.
Following a local panel review of applications, Upstate California Creative Corps will receive recommendations from Partner Agencies, and will make final decisions on awarded grants, to ensure an equitable distribution across the Upstate Region.
Applications for projects that serve multiple counties will be reviewed by a diverse panel adjudicated by Partner Agencies from those counties, following an inclusive panelist application process. Upstate California Creative Corps will receive recommendations from these agencies and will make final decisions on grants to be awarded.
CALIFORNIA HEALTHY PLACES INDEX
Applicants should be familiar with the California Healthy Places Index (HPI) as a tool for identifying the relative health of communities across the Upstate California Region. We expect applicants to be able to reference how their proposal benefits populations living within areas representing the lowest quartiles of the Healthy Places Index.
See the HPI Learning Center for first time users. We encourage applicants to attend our California Healthy Places Index Training on February 22 at 12-noon (if you cannot attend, we will provide a recording of our training at upstatecreativecorps.org.)
We recognize that there are other ways or metrics for measuring the health of communities, particularly at the local level, including the lived experience of artists and culture bearers and their communities. We encourage applicants to reference studies, assessments and data that point to this in their applications.
ACCESSIBILITY
Aligning with California Arts Council, we are committed to making the arts accessible and inclusive for diverse populations in our Upstate Region. Funded initiatives, services, information, and buildings and facilities where funded activities take place must be accessible, and events must be free of charge.
Upstate California Creative Corps staff are available to offer guidance and clarification in preparing your application, as are our Partner Agencies across the Upstate Region. We recommend that you contact partner agencies well in advance of the deadline to ensure you can be accommodated. People who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Deaf-Blind, or have difficulty speaking may dial 711 to reach the California Relay Service (CRS). Large print is available upon request.
We encourage applicants to attend our Accessibility in the Arts | Panel Discussion for Artists and Agency Applicants on February 27 at 12-noon (if you cannot attend, we will provide a recording of our discussion at upstatecreativecorps.org.)
IMPORTANT NOTICES:
Federal and state laws require authorities to notice applicants to government councils regarding protections from discrimination. The Upstate Region Administering Organization (AO), as the designated agent of the California Arts Council, prohibits discrimination against any job or grant applicant, unpaid intern or volunteer, current or potential employee, independent contractor or sub-grantee, in the hiring and/or selection for program funding, promotions, assignments, or privilege in any facet of the work under the authority of the Administering Organization.
These protections will be afforded to all who engage with the AO, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or belief system or lack thereof, political or social affiliation or lack thereof, economic status, age, home language, level of English proficiency, disability status, nationality or country of origin, status of documentation, family structure, immigration status, sexuality, sexual preference, gender/gender identity/gender expression, or the absence of any personal or family quality, affiliation or categorization, or refutation of any status named herein.