CULTURAL FACILITIES ACCESSIBILITY GRANT

The Cultural Facilities Accessibility Grant is designed to assist professional Maine arts organizations to underwrite new capital projects and renovations as well as technology projects and/or improvements. The Maine Arts Commission will provide funding for new construction, repairs or renovations of existing facilities as well as the repair, upgrade or replacement of capital technology equipment for selected facilities operated by nonprofit, Maine arts organizations.

Deadline TBA
Maximum grant amount $25,000 (with a required match of 1:3)

Although the Maine Arts Commission will continue to prioritize funding for renovations or technology upgrades that provide full accessibility to people with disabilities, projects no longer need to address issues of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to the exclusion of other upgrades. However, no project will be funded without resolution of outstanding compliance issues. This grant offers the rare opportunity to accomplish both goals. For additional information on arts and accessibility please visit http://mainearts.maine.gov/accessibility/index.shtml and http://www.arts.gov/resources/Accessibility/index.html.

Who is Eligible to Apply

Any professional, Maine arts organization that:

promotes, presents, produces and/or teaches art(s) as its primary purpose, and
is a nonprofit organization, legally established in the State of Maine, and
has tax exempt status 501(c)(3) from the Internal Revenue Service, and
owns or holds a long term (10+ years) lease on the facility occupied, and
is freestanding or a part of a larger institution, such as a university, that occupies a facility used only for arts activities, and
has completed and filed all final reports required for previous Maine Arts Commission grants.

An applicant must demonstrate a fiscal structure that allows it to legally and responsibly utilize grant funds. The applicant must provide a minimum of a 1:3 cash match. This demonstrates the applicant’s ability to take on the project and must be documented as part of the application package. Additionally, by providing three dollars to every one dollar the Maine Arts Commission provides the opportunity for the applicant to use these funds as a stimulus to raise additional private community funds for critical bricks and mortar upgrades.
Organizations such as historical museums, libraries or community-based presenters using multi-use facilities may wish to contact one of the other members for Maine’s Cultural Affairs Council for funding.

Examples of recent Cultural Facilities Accessibility Grant recipients

Review Process

Members of the Maine Arts Commission and members of the public are selected for their expertise in specific artistic fields to review applications.

Recommendations are presented to the Maine Arts Commission at its next regularly scheduled meeting for approval of the selection process.

Review Criteria

Cultural Facilities Accessibility proposals are reviewed on a competitive basis using the following criteria:

Ability of the project to create new opportunities for staff, board, audience and community members and provide greater accessibility to the arts for all people.
Evidence that the project will contribute to the long-term viability of the arts organization, neighborhood, community and/or region.
Soundness of the renovation efforts and the ability of this project to sustain the facility or technology systems in question.
Ability of the project to enhance creative economy efforts in the region.
Demonstration of the project’s financial viability and articulation of the role of the grant to serve as a springboard to additional development efforts.
Ability of the grant to help the organization fulfill its artistic and community-based mission.
Evidence that the project will develop or expand jobs in Maine.

Required Application Materials

Please do not submit work in elaborate file folders or packaging. Make copies of all application materials for your records prior to submitting them.

Preparing your documents for submission - All word documents must be saved as .doc or .rtf files and follow the following naming convention: lastname_firstname_TitleOfDocument.rtf (example: veilleux_lisa_resume.doc or veilleux_lisa_narrative.rtf).

eGRANT Application
You will upload all supporting documents (with exception to video, audio or images) through eGRANT.
Application Budget Form and Detail (form below) providing evidence of 1:3 cash match. No substitutions for the budget form are allowed.
An Operating Budget from the most recently completed fiscal year.
Written or Photographic Documentation of the renovation need, to include but not limited to ADA plans, feasibility studies, architectural plans, contractors/bendors estimates and/or other third party assessments or estimates of needed repairs/improvements. The extent of this information should match the significance of the project.
Letters of Support from community members (up to three).
Resume(s) or background material about the significant partners in the project including arts organization staff, architect, planners, etc.
For the applicant and any other artists to be employed by the project.
Application Narrative (form below)
Clear, specific responses to each of the project description statements, addressed sequentially and numbered. Responses can not exceed five pages. The project description is the central element of the grant request. The more information the reviewers have about the project and its relation to the artist's growth, the better they can judge its merits.
Assurances Form (form below) with original signature of an authorizing official. Please mark with name of applicant.
Vendor Form (form below)
This is information used by the Treasury to generate a check if the grant is awarded. Applicants should be sure to indicate the address the check should be sent to. You must mail form with your signature to our office. Faxed copies are not accepted.

Mail assurances form and vendor form to the Maine Arts Commission, CFA, 193 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04333-0025.

STOP!

Each Applicant must speak with Kathy Ann Shaw, senior development associate and accessibility coordinator at 207/287-2750, kathy.shaw@maine.gov or TTY/NexTalk 877/887-3878 User ID kathy.shaw, about the project before submitting an application. Failure to do so will disqualify the application.

How to Apply

Applicants are required to apply through the Maine Arts Commission e-GRANT system. E-GRANT will accept applications until 11:59 pm, E.S.T., however; agency staff is only available to answer questions until 5:00 pm, E.S.T. Because of the volume of e-GRANT submissions on the day of any grant deadline, we strongly recommend you give yourself a 24 hour buffer.

Applicants who are unable to apply through e-GRANT must contact Kathy Ann Shaw at 207/287-2750, 877/887-3878 TTY/NexTalk User ID: kathy.shaw or kathy.shaw@maine.gov to discuss an alternative prior to applying. Alternative submissions will not be accepted without prior authorization.

The agency will not accept late or incomplete applications under any circumstance.

Accessible Print Symbol Grant information is available in large print format by request. All Maine Arts Commission programs are accessible to people with disabilities. All programs funded by the Maine Arts Commission must also be accessible.

Apply Now!

Cultural Facilities Accessibility Grant Program Guidelines and Application Forms
Application eGRANT	Assurances (PDF)	Budget Form	Vendor Form (PDF) or JPG	Narrative