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Authorize a Town of Chapel Hill Community Arts & Culture Award Program.
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Staff: |
Department: |
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Susan Brown, Executive Director |
Community Arts & Culture |
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Meeghan Rosen, Assistant Director |
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Overview: Council voted to increase funding for “arts nonprofits” from $23,500 to $43,500 in the Town’s FY23 budget. To distribute these funds equitably, transparently, and accessibly, the Cultural Arts Commission and Town staff would like to implement a formal process for providing arts & culture funding to outside agencies. We are asking Council to authorize the Town Manager to create and implement a new Town Arts & Culture Award Program process in FY24, and to approve distribution of FY23 funds to the four agencies the Town has historically funded, The ArtsCenter, Kidzu, the Community Dinner, and the Orange County Veterans Memorial. To receive future funding, these agencies could apply for consideration via the new Town Arts & Culture Award Program in 2024.
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Recommendation(s): |
That the Council authorize the Town Manager to create a formal process for providing arts & culture funding to outside agencies and approve the distribution of FY23 funds.
BACKGROUND
Prior to 2018, local arts & culture nonprofits were eligible to apply for outside agency funding through the Town’s Human Services program. Three arts & culture nonprofits were consistently awarded Human Services funds - The ArtsCenter, Kidzu, and the Community Dinner. Funds were awarded as reimbursements for work previously conducted.
In 2018, after an extensive community engagement and data analysis process, the Town adopted a new “Results Framework” for the Human Services program. Under the new framework, arts & culture nonprofits generally, and these three nonprofits specifically, were no longer eligible to receive funds from the Human Services program.
In May 2018, with the development of the Town’s FY 2019 Budget, the Council allocated $23,500 to continue funding for The ArtsCenter, Kidzu, and the Community Dinner, as well as a one-time funding request from the Orange County Veteran’s Memorial Project. Staff created a separate budget line for this funding but were not directed to tie distribution of these funds to a formal application process.
FY2019 ALLOCATION
• $12,500 to The ArtsCenter
• $5,000 to Kidzu
• $1,000 to the Community Dinner
• $5,000 to the Orange County Veterans Memorial project.
Since FY2019, the Town has continued to allocate this funding and The ArtsCenter and Kidzu have continued to receive it annually, as a reimbursement, in the same amount as FY2019. Organizers of the Community Dinner cancelled the event from 2020-2022 due to the pandemic, and the Veteran’s Memorial project was a one-time, not ongoing, request. Both the Community Dinner and the Veteran’s Memorial have requested funds this FY23.
In May 2022, Council approved $20,000 in the Town’s FY 2023 Budget for additional funding to “arts nonprofits.” The total amount allocated for arts & culture outside agency funding this year is $43,500. This total reflects the historic level of funding from FY19 of $23,500 - plus the additional $20,000 that Council designated in FY23.
CURRENT PROGRAM STATUS
Based on the Cultural Arts Commission’s interest in making outside agency funding for arts & culture more transparent and equitable, in August 2022 Community Arts & Culture staff began work to design and implement an equitable, transparent, accessible process to award funds to nonprofit agencies supporting arts & culture projects and programs. Staff have drafted program guidelines for Council consideration.
The attached guidelines are based on input from the Community Arts & Culture Advisory Board, the Director of the Orange County Arts Commission, the Town’s Director of Affordable Housing & Community Connections, the Town’s DEI Officer, and the Update on the Racial Equity Assessment of the Human Services Program <https://chapelhill.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5955317&GUID=2DE40C52-7E2D-48C0-9FAA-8F19CDD45BA9&Options=&Search=&FullText=1>, presented to Council on Dec 7, 2022.
We are asking Council to approve these program guidelines and authorize the Manager to complete and implement a process to be launched in August 2024. The process will include outreach efforts to potential awardees, application forms, scoring rubrics, etc.
One of the challenges in developing this program will be moving from a reimbursement-based program to an upfront funding model. This creates a “gap year” for the agencies that have been historically funded through a reimbursement process and must now transition to a competitive award process that distributes funds upon Council approval and completion of a performance agreement.
Staff are asking Council to approve the entire FY23 allocation of $43,500 be distributed to the four agencies that applied in 2019 in order to cover the 2023-2024 “gap year” as follows.
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Kidzu |
$5,000 |
Projects conducted & reported on in 2022-23 |
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Kidzu |
$5,000 |
Gap year 2023-24 |
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The ArtsCenter |
$12,500 |
Projects conducted & reported on in 2022-23 |
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The ArtsCenter |
$12,500 |
Gap year 2023-24 |
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The Community Dinner /OC Off. of Equity & Inclusion |
$1,000 |
April 2023 event |
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The Community Dinner/OC Off. of Equity & Inclusion |
$1,000 |
April 2024 event |
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Orange County Veterans Memorial |
$6,500 |
One-time award |
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TOTAL |
$43,500 |
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PROPOSED NEXT STEPS
• Feb ‘23 Council to consider proposed guidelines and distribution of FY23 funds.
• Mar-Jun ‘23 Staff to prepare online application, scoring rubric, applicant outreach plan, etc. based on approved guidelines.
• May ’23 Remaining FY23 funds will be distributed to Kidzu, The Arts Center, the Community Dinner, and OC Veterans Memorial based on 2019 distributions and work they will conduct in FY24.
• Jun ’23 Council approves the FY24 Budget. The amount allocated to Town Arts & Culture Award Program amount is currently TBD.
Fiscal Impact/Resources: No impact on current FY. Council approved $43,500 in FY23 funds for Town Arts & Culture Awards. Staff recommend distributing these funds to the same agencies that received funds in 2019 as outlined above. Future fiscal impacts would be limited to annual approved budget.
Establishing a new Town Arts & Culture Award Program will create additional workload and will have significant impacts on existing staff capacity and resources.
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Attachments: |
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• Resolution |
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• Draft Guidelines for Town Arts & Culture Award Program |
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• Draft Timeline for Town Arts & Culture Award Program |
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MANAGER TO CREATE A FORMAL PROCESS FOR PROVIDING ARTS & CULTURE FUNDING TO OUTSIDE AGENCIES AND TO APPROVE THE DISTRIBUTION OF FY23 FUNDS (2023-02-22/R-2)
WHEREAS, the Town of Chapel Hill aspires to be a vibrant and inclusive community; and
WHEREAS, the Town values and supports nonprofit agencies providing local arts & cultural projects and programs for the benefit of the residents of Chapel Hill; and
WHEREAS, the Town has historically awarded funds to several nonprofit agencies in support of community events or arts-related programming; and
WHEREAS, the Town aspires to equitably and transparently fund a variety of nonprofit agencies reflecting the diverse people, perspectives, and traditions of our community, especially those whose missions focus on serving BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other historically marginalized communities; and
WHEREAS, the Cultural Arts Commission and Town staff have drafted guidelines for creating a new process and timeline for awarding arts & culture funding to outside agencies.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council authorizes the Town Manager to create and implement an equitable, transparent, and accessible process for providing arts & culture funding to outside agencies as described in the February 22, 2023 meeting materials; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council approve distribution of all FY23 funds to Kidzu, The ArtsCenter, the Veterans Memorial, and the fiscal agent for the Community Dinner as outlined in the Feb 22, 2023 meeting materials in lieu of a having formal Town Arts & Culture award application process in place at this time.
This the 22nd day of February, 2023.
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The Agenda will reflect the text below and/or the motion text will be used during the meeting. |
presenter
By adopting the resolution, the Council authorizes the Town Manager to implement a formal process for providing arts & culture funding to outside agencies in FY24 and approves the distribution of FY23 funds.