The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is offering the Our Town Grant to support Creative Placemaking initiatives for community livability.

Partnerships involving a minimum of two organizations (one a nonprofit design or cultural organization, and one a governmental entity) are required of all applications. Additional partners are welcomed.

One of the partners must act as the official applicant (lead applicant). This lead applicant must meet the eligibility requirements, submit the application, and assume full responsibility for the grant.

Eligible lead applicants are:

• County or local (city, town, village) governments. Each application must include a statement from the nonprofit design or cultural organization serving as the required partner reflecting its support for and involvement in the project.

• A public entity or a nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization. Each application must include a statement from the relevant government that reflects its support for and involvement in the project.

A government arts agency can serve as both the government entity and the cultural organization. However, these organizations must have at least one additional nonprofit partner. Potential partners for any project may include an appropriate variety of entities such as foundations, arts organizations and artists, nonprofit organizations, design professionals and design centers, educational institutions, developers, business leaders, and community organizations, as well as public and governmental entities. Federal agencies cannot be monetary partners.

The designated fifty state and six jurisdictional arts agencies (SAAs) and their regional arts organizations (RAOs) may serve as partners, but not lead applicants, in Our Town projects. However, all grant funds must be passed on to the other partners.

To be eligible, the lead applicant organization must:

• For an organization other than a county or local government, have a three-year history of programming prior to the application deadline.
• Meet the Arts Endowment’s "Legal Requirements," including nonprofit, tax-exempt status, as detailed in the FY 2012 Grants for Arts Projects guidelines, at the time of application.
• Have submitted acceptable Final Report packages by the due date(s) for all Arts Endowment award(s) previously received.

All applicants must have a DUNS number (www.dnb.com) and be registered with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR, www.ccr.gov) and maintain an active CCR registration until the application process is complete, and should a grant be made, throughout the life of the award.

Mayors’ Institute on City Design 25th Anniversary Initiative grantees may apply for Our Town, but must come in with a different phase of a project or a different project from that which was funded.

Each county or local government — whether applying directly or as part of a partnership with some other lead organization — is limited to one Statement of Interest and, if invited to apply, one application. Each government must coordinate internally to ensure that only one application per government is submitted. The chosen project from a municipality or region must be identified by a formal endorsement letter from the mayor or county executive. For example, ABC City may submit or be a partner in only one application — not one through the mayor’s office and another through the parks and recreation department. Governments with multiple applications will not be considered.

An application in response to this announcement does not preclude an organization from applying under other Arts Endowment funding opportunities including Grants for Arts Projects. In each case, the request must be for a distinctly different project, which includes a distinctly different phase of a project.

How t

The Arts Endowment’s support of a project may start on or after July 1, 2011.

Grant Program Description

Art works to improve the lives of America’s citizens in many ways. Communities across our nation are using smart design and leveraging the arts to create livable, sustainable neighborhoods with enhanced quality of life, increased creative activity, distinct identities, a sense of place, and vibrant local economies. The NEA defines these efforts as Creative Placemaking:

“In creative placemaking, partners from public, private, nonprofit, and community sectors strategically shape the physical and social character of a neighborhood, town, city, or region around arts and cultural activities. Creative placemaking animates public and private spaces, rejuvenates structures and streetscapes, improves local business viability and public safety, and brings diverse people together to celebrate, inspire, and be inspired.”

Ann Markusen, Markusen Economic Research Services
Anne Gadwa, Metris Arts Consulting
From Creative Placemaking

Through Our Town, based on the availability of funding, the National Endowment for the Arts will provide a limited number of grants, ranging from $25,000 to $250,000, for creative placemaking projects that contribute toward the livability of communities and help transform them into lively, beautiful, and sustainable places with the arts at their core. Our Town will invest in creative and innovative projects in which communities, together with their arts and design organizations and artists, are looking to increase their livability, and specifically are seeking to:

• Improve their quality of life.
• Encourage creative activity.
• Create community identity and a sense of place.
• Revitalize local economies.

A key to the success of creative placemaking involves the arts in partnership with a committed governmental leadership and the philanthropic sector. All Our Town applications must reflect a partnership that will provide leadership for the project. These partnerships must involve at least two organizations: one a nonprofit design or cultural organization, and one a government entity. Additional partners are encouraged and may include an appropriate variety of entities such as foundations, arts organizations and artists, nonprofit organizations, design professionals and design centers, educational institutions, developers, business leaders, and community organizations, as well as public and governmental entities. Federal agencies cannot be monetary partners.

In addition, each Our Town project must have:

• A systemic approach to civic development with a persuasive vision for change.
• Clearly defined civic development goals and objectives that recognize and enhance the role the arts play at the center of community life.
• An action plan aligned with the project vision and civic development goals.
• A funding plan that is appropriate, feasible, indicates strong community support, and includes a well-conceived sustainability strategy.

Funding under Our Town is not available for:

• Projects that do not involve a partnership of at least two organizations (one a nonprofit design or cultural organization, and one a government entity) that are willing to provide leadership for the project.
• Activities that are not tied directly to long-term civic development goals.
• Projects where the arts, design, or cultural activity are not core to the project’s plan.
• Capacity building initiatives for artists that are not integral to a broader civic development strategy.
• Construction, purchase, or renovation of facilities. (Predevelopment, design fees, and community planning are eligible; however, no Arts Endowment or matching funds may be directed to the costs of physical construction or renovation or toward the purchase costs of facilities or land.)
• Subgranting or regranting.
• Financial awards to winners of design competitions.

Note: The Grants for Arts Projects guidelines provide additional information on what we do not fund; see “Administrative Requirements” for more information.

Projects

Each project should represent the distinct character and quality of its community.

The Arts Endowment plans to support a variety of diverse projects, across the country in urban and rural communities of all sizes. Projects may include planning, design, and arts engagement activities such as:

Planning

• The development of plans for cultural and/or creative sector growth. This includes activities such as planning for arts/cultural districts and creative industry hubs/districts/clusters, cultural asset mapping, and other cultural planning activities.

• The engagement of artists and/or arts organizations in place-based planning such as community engagement activities.

Design

• The use of design to enhance/revitalize public spaces. This includes design activities such as charrettes, competitions, community engagement, and the development of design specifications for streetscapes, pedestrian bridges, sustainable parks, and landscapes, or for the renovation, restoration, or adaptive reuse of existing structures to be used as cultural facilities or for mixed use purposes (e.g., for affordable housing for artists and others, artist studios, or live/work space).

Arts Engagement

• New arts activities to foster interaction among community members, arts organizations, and artists, including festivals, outdoor exhibitions, innovative programming, performances in public spaces, and activities that encourage the activation of existing cultural and community assets and facilities.

• The commissioning and/or installation of new art to improve public spaces. This includes the commissioning of permanent and/or temporary site-specific public art such as murals and sculptures, sculpture gardens, and waterfront art.

All phases of a project — planning, development, design, and implementation — are eligible for support. Applicants generally should limit their projects to a single phase.