January 2015

Important News and Updates from NYSCA

NYSCA Plans to Release FY2016 Funding Guidelines in Late February

NYSCA plans to post the guidelines for the FY2016 funding cycle on the agency�€™s website in late February. Once posted, detailed instructions on how to apply for funding will be sent to your organization and made available on NYSCA's website. Guidelines for the Regional Economic Development Program will be released at a later date and the field will be notified of that release date.

NYSCA will not require applicants or grantees to complete a Cultural Data Project NYS Funder Report as part of its FY2016 application or grant renewal process. It is New York State's goal to streamline the prequalification, application, contracting, payment and reporting processes as much possible. This change is just one of the modifications NYSCA is implementing to help achieve that goal.

Although NYSCA will not require the CDP, organizations are welcome to contribute to the data collection initiative and use its analytic and reporting tools to help increase management capacity, inform decision-making and support evidence-based case making. Organizations can complete a free CDP profile at www.nysculturaldata.org.

Questions on this change? Please review this FAQ and contact NYSCA's program staff with additional questions.

As part of New York State's rebranding initiative, NYSCA has a new logo (seen above). We will send all grantees a memo with new crediting instructions, requirements and the logo files shortly. This information will also be available on our website. Be assured organizations will not be expected to reprint any materials featuring the old NYSCA logo.

All applications to NYSCA are reviewed by outside advisory panels. Each year, NYSCA solicits panelist nominations from NYSCA staff, Council members, current panelists, current grantees and the general public. Please click here for more information and to download a nomination form.

Update your Organization's Contact Information: NYSCA sends important updates and notices to the e-mail and mailing addresses provided in an organization's Organization Info. Please login to your NYSCA account and confirm that these contacts are current and correct. Also, be sure to maintain accurate contact information with the Office of the State Comptroller and Grants Gateway.

Maintain or Secure Prequalified Status: Organizations must be prequalified in Grants Gateway in order to be considered for FY2016 funding. Grantees that have previously prequalified, must be in "prequalified" status as of the application deadline and must be fully compliant with the new Revitalization Act requirements. Document vaults must be updated with the latest organizational and financial information, so they don't fall into "open" status during the application period. For new NYSCA applicants who need to prequalify, please click here for more information on completing the process. The process can often take several weeks, so please get started early!

Complete All Outstanding Grant Final Reports: Applications from organizations with overdue final reports will not be considered for FY2016 funding. Final reports are due no later than 60 days after the end of the contract period. Deadlines are displayed in your NYSCA account.

Find a Fiscal Sponsor: If you are an individual artist or unincorporated arts organization or group interested in applying to NYSCA, you must apply through a fiscal sponsor. Please be sure to secure a fiscal sponsor as soon as possible.

If you have questions on information in this memo or how to best prepare for NYSCA's FY2016 application cycle, please contact NYSCA's program staff or submit your question(s) through NYSCA's Help Desk.

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