Arts Recovery Program

Applicant Eligibility Requirements

1. Be an arts organization as defined as an entity whose primary purpose is arts producing, promoting, presenting service, or teaching organization as demonstrated by ALL of the following:
a. Significant evidence that it is viewed as an arts organization by its community;
b. Arts as a core purpose, mission, and focus. The organization’s Articles of Incorporation and/or Bylaws must reflect this core purpose;
c. The majority of public programs are arts programs and occur with regular, scheduled frequency throughout the (non-pandemic) year (e.g. festivals are not eligible);
d. Facility space (indoor and/or outdoor) is utilized predominantly as arts production or arts activity space (as applicable);
e. A proportionate amount of operating budget is allocated to direct arts programs and services;
f. Provide significant, verifiable arts education-focused programming.

2. By March 1, 2020, and at the time of the application deadline, the organization must be an active private, nonprofit tax-exempt organization with either 501(c)(3) status from the Internal Revenue  Service (IRS) OR be an Indiana public entity (part of city or county);
3. Organizations whose primary purpose is educational or instructional e.g., schools, universities, colleges, etc. are ineligible;
4. Any organization whose sole or primary purpose is to fundraise (e.g., “friends of” groups, foundations, etc.) are ineligible;
5. Entities that receive state-level operating support or non-project support directly from the Indiana General Assembly are ineligible. This includes any line items/support or contributions from the state within the organization’s operating, facility, or other organizational budgets.
6. Must be physically located in Indiana with the majority of its arts programming, services, or activities taking place in Indiana, and must primarily serve and engage Indiana audiences and participants;
7. Must provide a financial Profit and Loss statement for the organization’s most recently completed fiscal year.
8. If required by the state of Indiana Office of the Auditor, must have an annual, independent financial audit conducted by a CPA; at a minimum, a Financial Statement is required by the IAC;
9. Must have a DUNS number that reflects the organization's legal name and current physical address;
10. Must not have any outstanding Final Grant Reports due to the Indiana Arts Commission; and,
11. Must comply with all federal, state, and local laws and ordinances, including but not limited to those that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability.

The full Arts Recovery Program Guidelines can be accessed here.

Peer review panelists will meet virtually to review applications to the Arts Recovery Program on Wednesday,  August 18th at 10:30am ET.  Click here to stream the panel on YouTube. (Please note: This is for observation only; applicants cannot lobby or address the panel before, during, or after the panel meeting.)

All applications receive an initial review by IAC staff to ensure that all required information was submitted and that the application is eligible for panel review. If any discrepancies are found (such as incomplete answers or uploads), the application may be deemed ineligible to move forward to panel review.

Each eligible application will be reviewed and evaluated by a conflict-free panel of field professionals. The panel review will be open to applicants and the public for observation only, and will be recorded. Applicants may observe the panel review online, but cannot lobby or address the panel on behalf of their application before, during, or after the panel meeting. 

Panelists will assess the applicant’s:

1. Artistic Excellence based upon the extent to which the organization is preserving and/or advancing the arts form;
2. Artistic Merit based upon the extent provides relevant arts activities and access to the arts for underserved populations (people lacking access to arts programs, services or resources due to isolated geographic location, low income, age race/ethnicity, cultural differences, disability or other circumstances.)
3. Organizational Resiliency based upon the extent to which the organization demonstrates it is currently operating and will continue to operate during the funding period.

Panelists will evaluate eligible applications based upon a Yes or No process

• Yes = recommend for funding (demonstrates it meets the above criteria)
• No = do not recommend for funding (does not demonstrate it meets the above criteria)

Arts Recovery Program Contact
Paige Sharp
Deputy Director of Programs
Indiana Arts Commission

psharp@iac.in.gov

(317) 416-8536

For accessibility accommodation requests, contact Stephanie Haines shaines@iac.in.gov or 317-450-9937.

For technical concerns with the online system, contact Deanna Poelsma at dpoelsma@iac.in.gov or 941-932-5395.

Log into the online grant system