Application checklist

Things to keep in mind

• Make sure your application meets the general eligibility requirements.
• Understand how you can qualify for funding priority by submitting a Star Project application (see below).
• Assess your season and determine which of your engagements would be a successful application for the Performing Arts Fund.

Applications & awards

Applications must meet all general eligibility requirements to be considered for funding.

• Applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Organizations may submit up to two applications.
• Only one application will be reviewed per day, per organization.

Eligible applications will receive 20% of the artist/ensemble's contracted fee (dependent upon available funds).

• Minimum support of $500 per application (contracted fee of at least $2,500).
• Maximum support of $5,000 per application.
• Applications must be accompanied by a letter of intent or fully executed contract between applicant and artist/ensemble or its agent. Either document must be signed by both parties and include date(s) of engagement, contracted fee, and all activities included in the engagement.

General Eligibility Requirements

• Applicant must be a presenting organization (contracts with artists to perform in its venues) that is located in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, or Wisconsin.

• Applicant must hold federal tax-exempt status, either as a nonprofit 501|c||3| organization or a unit of state, local, or tribal government.

• Engagement applied for must take place between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2011.

• Engagement must feature a professional performing artist/ensemble from outside the applicant's state. Applicants can apply for artists/ensembles from anywhere else in the United States or the world.

• Engagement features the fine arts of dance, theater, music, youth and family entertainment, or other meaningful, "non-commercial" performing arts forms appropriate for your community.

• Engagement must include at least one performance that is open and promoted to the general public. Performance(s) specifically for K-12 student qualify as an educational activity(ies), but must be in addition to a performance conducted at a suitable time for a general audience to attend.

• Engagement must include at least one in-depth educational activity, preferably conducted by the artist/ensemble and focusing on their art form, performance technique, training/background, etc., with the intent of educating adult and/or student audiences about the fine arts. Some examples of activities include workshops, masterclasses, educational lecture/demonstrations, and performances specifically for K-12 students.

• Engagement must reach an underserved audience through the public performance(s) and/or in-depth educational activity(ies). For the purposes of the Performing Arts Fund, an underserved audience is composed of people who lack access to the performing arts due to economic conditions, ethnic background, disability, or age. Applicants must provide detailed information about their plans to reach an underserved audience as defined above, and how they will ensure that this underserved audience will participate in the engagement.
  • Applicants located in a non-Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) automatically reach a geographically underserved audience. The U.S. Census Bureau's most recent determination (by county) of Metropolitan Statistical Area is used for this purpose. (View your state's MSA map.) If this situation applies to your organization, you must provide a description of how your audience lacks access due to its geographic location.
  • A community's lack of access to a particular art form does not fulfill this requirement.
  • The ethnic background/makeup of your community does not automatically fulfill this requirement, because the audience for your engagement may be different than your community in general.
  • Marketing or offering tickets to a specific audience without guaranteeing their participation in your engagement is not sufficient.

• Engagement must be open to the general public and accessible to all, including people with disabilities. Applicants must have an accessibility plan and policies in place in order to accommodate people with disabilities according to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Arts Midwest has a variety of tools and resources available at our Accessibility Center to assess your venue, create an accessibility plan, download access symbols, and much more.

Download the Applicant Checklist to prepare for applying to the Performing Arts Fund. [37 KB PDF]