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Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission Funding for 2018 Special Project-Operating Support Copyrighted August 7, 2017 City of Dubuque Action Items # 2. ITEM TITLE: Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission Funding Recommendations for Fiscal Year 2018 Operating Support and Special Projects. SUMMARY: Arts and Cultural Advisory Affairs Advisory Commission recommending approval of the Fiscal Year 2018 funding requests for operating support and special projects. SUGGESTED DISPOSITION: Suggested Disposition: Receive and File; Approve ATTACHMENTS: Description Type Arts Commission Recommendation Supporting Documentation THE CrrY OF City of Dubuque DUB E Masterpiece on the Mississippi Arts & Cultural Affairs Commission Date: July 25,2017 The Honorable Mayor and City Council City of Dubuque 50 W.13th Street Dubuque, IA 52001 Re: Arts and Culture Funding Program for Operating Support and Special Projects FY 2017 Funding Requests and Commission Recommendations Dear Mayor and City Council Members: Introduction The Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission has reviewed Operating Support funding requests from sixteen mainstay Dubuque arts and culture organizations with total operating budgets of $10,641,829. Of that amount, the commission funds from the FY 2018 budget a cap of$30,000 or 6% of the request through the Operating Support Grant. The commission has also reviewed the funding requests from six organizations vying for the competitive Special Projects grant funding stream that total $37973.00. This memo conveys the Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commissions funding recommendations and requests that the Council approve the recommendations and associated funding schemes. Background In March 2005,the City Council approved a$200,000 budget decision package providing resources for the Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission to make recommendations to City Council for the best investment in the community for arts and culture. In May 2005,the City Council approved the Commissions recommendation to establish an Arts and Culture Funding Program for Operating Support. The Commission recommended that operating support be provided to established 501(c)(3)arts and culture organizations located in the City of Dubuque that primarily serve Dubuque residents with year-round arts and culture events,programs and services, that can demonstrate a record of programmatic and administrative stability and artistic merit. Local arts and culture advocates worked for many years to rally the support of the community regarding the value of arts and cultural organizations, the reasons for the City funding and how this financial investment is improving the cultural vibrancy and livability of Dubuque. The Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission believes that city support is imperative to both sustain and ensure long-term viability for existing arts and cultural organizations as well as to create a model and a welcoming environment for new organizations. During the FY 2013 budget process,the Arts Commission recommended that the Operating Support program be increased by 10%, to $220,000 but was granted a 5% ($10,000)increase. Past funding has been awarded to: 12 organizations for FY 2006 totaling$200,000 9 organizations for FY 2007 totaling$200,000 11 organizations in FY 2008 totaling$200,000 12 organizations for FY 2009 totaling$200,000 11 organizations in FY 2010 totaling$200,000 13 organizations in FY 2011 totaling$200,000 50 W. 13th Street, Dubuque, Iowa 52001 1 www.cityofdubuque.org/artsandculture THE CrrY OF City of Dubuque DUB E Masterpiece on the Mississippi Arts & Cultural Affairs Commission 14 organizations in FY 2012 totaling$200,000 10 organizations in FY 2013 totaling$210,000 16 organizations in FY 2014 totaling$210,000 16 organizations in FY 2015 totaling$210,000 16 organizations in FY 2016 totaling$210,000 13 organizations in FY 2017 totaling$210,000 Both funding streams,Operating Support and Special Projects,for FY 18 were announced and arts and culture organizations were notified of opening of the applications online via,media releases, "notify me" notifications, social media and posting on the City's web site.Staff also conducted three grant workshops per grant for potential applicants. Staff was also available to provide assistance to applicant organizations on an individual basis throughout the application period. Total funding available in the FY 2018 budget is$210,000. Budget constraints have limited the Commissions ability to fully fund the eligible organizations at the predetermined 6% or$30,000 cap. Over the history of this funding program,the Commission has never been able to fully fund all eligible organizations. The program guidelines state"It is unlikely that qualified organizations will be funded at this level. Funding levels over the past few years have ranged from 2-6% and depending upon the number of eligible applicants,caps have fallen in an attempt to fund all applicants. This year the cap has dropped even further to $30,000. In recent years,resources have been severely strained and there has been an increased challenge due to the number of eligible applicants. Discussion In accordance with the Arts and Cultural Master Plan(Priority B-section b-part ii) "Establish and follow guidelines and procedures in accordance with best practice, eliminating potential for conflicts of interest", the commission began reviewing and updating their granting processes. As such, staff once again sought guidance from the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs,specifically,the Iowa Arts Council. This state organization is the source from which the original format of both Operating Support and Special Projects grants were derived in 2005. After an in-person consultation with the Iowa Arts Council grant manager,recommendations for updates in keeping with best practices were outlined and presented to the commission. These recommendations were adopted in October 2016 and the commission began the task of revising and creating materials as per the recommendations. Included in these recommendations was the assembly of an independent, unaffiliated jury to review and score applications. The esteemed,experienced jury panel was assembled from Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa. On each panel was one local,unaffiliated juror. Each grant also went through a rigorous financial review by the city's finance director to further refine the process and ensure that city funds were being accurately awarded. All members of the jury were appraised of the process and provided with granting materials by staff as requested by the commission. Staff was also present at the time of adjudication to ensure that guidelines were followed and equitably applied. The jury was not appraised of the financial implications of their scores or ranking to ensure an objective result. In addition to the best practice updates from the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs,staff informed the commission of the city's renewed commitment to diversity,equity and inclusion(DEI). This was an optimal time to include these elements as the grants were already in the process of reformation. The Arts 50 W. 13th Street, Dubuque, Iowa 52001 1 www.cityofdubuque.org/artsandculture THE CrrY OF City of Dubuque DUB E Masterpiece on the Mississippi Arts & Cultural Affairs Commission and Cultural Affairs Commission then became the first to include elements of DEI in the body of their granting application,and scoring rubric. These updates were presented to the city council in conjunction with the Human Rights department. The Commission also updated the scoring in keeping with the recommendations of the Iowa Arts Council. It utilizes a 1,2 or 3-point value system(or 1,3,5-point value system for more weighted questions)associated with a rubric for a clear yet rigorous grading directive. Applicants are awarded points for the various rating criteria to determine the ranking of the funding requests.Selection criteria for the Operating Support program are: Operating Support rating criteria Points Special Projects rating criteria Points Dubuque arts and culture organizations whose 3 Project description: How well the 3 mission is primarily arts and culture and the project is explained. degree to which their programs and services support that mission and the city's cultural arts goals Organization's demonstrated management 3 Uniqueness: How is the project 5 abilities(financial position or condition,fiscal interesting and different from the responsibility, and management) ongoing,traditional programing of the organizations involved. Organization's demonstrated artistic or 3 Diversity,Equity and Inclusion: 3 cultural excellence and leadership How does the project demonstrate inclusiveness in the planning and marketing? Impact of the organization on the Dubuque 3 Diversity,Equity and Inclusion: 3 community How does the project demonstrate inclusiveness in the execution Planning and timeline 3 Partnership: How has your 3 organization made meaningful and unique partnerships Workshop attendance 1 Artistic merit: How does your 3 project's concepts,leaders, artists, and collaborators demonstrate quality and best practices. Evaluation: How the project will be 3 evaluated? Budget and Timeline: The likelihood 5 the project will be successful based on careful event and financial planning Workshop: Attending one of the 1 available workshops provided Total points possible 16 29 The Commission then unanimously recommends the following to the City Council: 50 W. 13th Street, Dubuque, Iowa 52001 1 www.cityofdubuque.org/artsandculture THE Cr1Y OF City of Dubuque DUB E Masterpiece on the Mississippi Arts & Cultural Affairs Commission Operating Support grants were scored ranked and staff created options that follow the commission recommendation of 6% or$30,000 cap. In descending order of rank the organizations are funded at different levels. Commission blindly reviewed 6 possible funding formulas settling on Option 5 as it most fairly distributed the funds based on total scores and maximized the budget to its fullest. 100% = 6% or cap$30,000 98% =5.5% or cap$30,000 96% =5% or cap$30,000 94% =4.7% or cap$25,000 92% =4.2% or cap$25,000 88% =3.7% or cap$20,000 85%-81% =3.5% or cap$20,000 75% &below=3% or cap$15,000 Operating Support recommended funding levels in ranked order are: FY 2018 Arts Operating % Total OP Funding Recommendation Support Score expenses DUMA 100% $517,651 $30,000.00 DSO 98% $957,892 $30,000.00 Dubuque County Historical Society 96% $5,855,955 $30,000.00 The Grand Opera House 96% $633,579.39 $30,000.00 Dubuque Arboretum& Botanical Gardens 94% $234,504.59 $11,021.72 Bell Tower Productions 92% $322,918.34 $13,885.49 Dubuque County Fine Arts Society 92% $107,701.75 $4,631.18 Leigon-Aires Drum& Bugle Corps 92% $1,063,438 $25,000.00 NISOM 92% $293,640.16 $12,626.53 DDCC-Downtown Dubuque Cultural Corridor 88% $156,129.22 $5,776.78 Dubuque Chorale 88% $61,612.00 $2,279.64 Fly-By-Night Productions 85% $6,731 $249.05 Matter 81% $250,120 $9,004.32 Dubuque Arts Council 73% 1 $75,581 1 $2,267.43 Rising Star Theater Company 67% $88,821.04 $2,664.63 50 W. 13th Street, Dubuque, Iowa 52001 1 www.cityofdubuque.org/artsandculture Ecru )FCity of Dubuque DUB E Masterpiece on the Mississippi Arts & Cultural Affairs Commission Dubuque Barbershop 63% $15,554.81 $466.64 $209,873.40 The Special Projects grants are fully funded in descending order of rank till the budget of$35,000 is exhausted.Special Projects funding recommendation in order of rank are: Organization Project Total Grant Granted request Amt. Dreaming The Grand Opera House Allegiance Hip Hop Revolution 29 $8,000.00 $8,000.00 'Herstory' Dubuque Museum of Art Community Public Art Project 28.5 $5,000.00 $5,000.00 Dubuque County Historical Society Rivers to the Seas Mural Project 23.6 $4,408.00 $4,408.00 Downtown Dubuque Cultural Corridor G.O.A.T. Downtown 22.3 $4,565.00 $4,565.00 Music Crawl Dubuque Arts Council, Vienna Boys 22.3 $8,000.00 $8,000.00 Inc Choir Dubuque Chorale Choral Country 21 $8000.00 $5027 Music concert Recommendation/Action The Arts and Cultural Affairs Coordinator and the Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission recommends that the City Council accepts the recommendations for the Special Projects and Operating Support for FY2018. Our funded arts organizations often convey to us the critical positive impact this funding has on their organizations and their ability to provide quality cultural opportunities to the citizens of Dubuque. As such,we would like to reiterate the need for expanded funding to offer more significant support to these organizations that contribute so heavily to social and cultural vibrancy of the city and$47 million in economic impact. 50 W. 13th Street, Dubuque, Iowa 52001 1 www.cityofdubuque.org/artsandculture THE CrrY OF City of Dubuque DuB E Masterpiece on the Mississippi Arts & Cultural Affairs Commission In conclusion,the Commission is extremely appreciative of the City Council's continued support of arts and culture in Dubuque. As we move to incrementally adopt the recommendations of the Arts and Cultural Master Plan,we will continue to look to the city council for guidance and support for the changes to come. It is both our mission and passion to support the artistic and cultural development of the City of Dubuque. Respectfully submitted, Sue Riedel Chair of Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission Attachment 50 W. 13th Street, Dubuque, Iowa 52001 1 www.cityofdubuque.org/artsandculture