The City recognizes the importance of arts and culture in creating a vibrant and healthy community reflecting the character of the city and its citizens. These assets should be shared, experienced, nurtured and supported so that all of El Paso citizens have an opportunity to experience first rate arts and culture programs.
One of the primary roles of the Museums and Cultural Affairs Department of the City of El Paso is to Implement a Cultural Funding Program to assist in the development of El Paso's creative sector, its artists and cultural organizations, and to support access to arts and cultural activities for El Paso residents and visitors alike.
The City of El Paso will award cultural services contracts through the following funding programs:
Operating Support Program (OSP): OSP is designed to support the organizational stability of El Paso's arts and cultural assets and to cultivate organizational growth and professional development. This category is open to organizations with a minimum of a three (3) year operating history and a 3 year history of funding support by the Museums and Cultural Affairs Department (MCAD).
Project Support Program (PSP): PSP supports programs that provide high quality arts experiences that are innovative, accessible and appealing to local residents and visitors alike. Project support funds can be used for all project related expenses such as, administration, production costs, artistic fees, coordination (including staffing), audience development, outreach and marketing.
Community Arts Program (CAP): Provides funding for non-profit arts and cultural organizations and individual artists to provide a variety of arts and cultural activities that have a focus on arts education and community arts development. The program will create a roster of arts and culture providers available to provide services throughout the city. It is designed to encourage creative interaction among artists, residents and neighborhoods, as well as to encourage collaboration between artists and community-based organizations/services. (Please Visit Arts & Education for more Info)
Artist Incubator Program (AIP): This program promotes awareness of the contribution that El Paso artist make in our community. This program will provide funding directly to individual artists. Individuals funded through this program must provide a report at the conclusion of a program or event that includes attendance, location, an evaluation of the program, and financial statement.
Each applicant will be responsible for printing their own copy of the Cultural Funding Guidelines and the application of the program in which you will apply.
Early Bird March 13, 2012
Late session April 10, 2012
Orientation Sessions
Operational Support Program
[Arts Organization with 501(c) 3
a budget of at least $100,000 and
Part time Exec. Director]
Project Support Program
[organizations with 501 (c) 3
Requesting for specific project]
Community Arts Program
[emerging organizations and
Individual artist for arts services]
Artist Incubator Program
[Individual artist creating new work] NOTE: Mandatory for all applicants
Early Bird: March 13,2012
Late session: April 10, 2012
AM session 9:00 -9:45am
AM session 9:45 -10:30am
PM session 5:30 - 6:15pm
AM session 10:30-11:15am
PM session 6:15-7:00pm
AM session 11:15-12pm
PM session 7-7:45pm
April 16, 2012
5:00 PM
Application Due
All applications due, no exceptions. Applications must be hand delivered or postmarked by the deadline date. OSP, PSP, CAP, AIP.Late incomplete applications will not be accepted. No exceptions
May 22, 2012
5:00 PM
Schedule of Applicants panel review times will be posted on the web:
it is the applicant’s responsibility to check the applicants time, no other notices will be sent
June 5, 2012
June 12 and 13, 2012
June 19 and 20, 2012
June 26 and 27, 2012
Panel Review Sessions
Operational Support Program (OSP) Panel
Project Support Program (PSP) Panel
Community Arts Program (CAP) Panel
Artist Incubator Program (AIP) Panel
July 16, 2012
Funding Recommendations
Based on Applicant’s scores and availability of funds, recommendations are forwarded to Museums and Cultural Affairs Advisory Board (MCAAB) for review and approval
End of August, 2012
City Council approves FY 2013 City Budget
Funding amount determination letter will be sent out to all awardees after City Council Approval of the Budget for FY 2013
September, 2012
Contracts will be drafted for Fiscal Year 2013
[September 1, 2012 through August 15, 2013]
All contracts have to be signed by November 15, 2012
Monthly Report
Operational Support Program has a monthly report that is due the 15th of each month
March 19, 2013
Operational Support Program
Mid-year reports due; reports will not be accepted before March 1, 2013 (this is in addition to the monthly report) *
August 15, 2013
Final Reports
OSP, End of the year report and monthly attendance cumulative report
PSP Final reports are due and the monthly attendance report
AIP, CAP are measured as services are completed.
The attendance has to be reported in the invoice after each service.
APPLICATION DEADLINES
Applications must be received in the MCAD office by 5:00 p.m. or postmarked by midnight on the deadline date: April 16, 2012.
The Museums and Cultural Affairs Department (MCAD) will contract with each of the artists and organizations receiving funding under the operating support program, project support program and the community arts program to ensure that the City of El Paso achieves its public purpose of providing arts and culture to the El Paso community. The contracts will contain sufficient controls to assure that the public purpose sought to be accomplished will be met. Such controls are outlined for each program below:
Cultural Funding Program General Guidelines FY13 (for all funding categories) will be available by March 1, 2012
Cultural Funding Program Forms For FY2011 (Fiscal Year 2011-2012)
