Iowa Arts & Culture Marketing Grants support efforts by arts and cultural organizations to remarket their reopening or to publicize the resumption of activities and steps taken to ensure a safe experience re-engaging in creative and cultural experiences. These grants recognize the vital role of arts and culture in strengthening local economies and communities.

Arts and cultural organizations of all kinds are encouraged to apply for this opportunity. This may include performing arts organizations and venues; museums, zoos and aquariums; film and cultural festivals; historical sites and local historical societies; art and science centers; community arts organizations; cultural and entertainment districts; and eligible units of government.

Funding for this program has been established with $1 million of Coronavirus Relief Funds from the CARES Act, directed to the department by Governor Kim Reynolds, Office of the Governor of Iowa, consistent with the Office's authority to provide economic relief to small businesses impacted by the public health emergency. Applicants must adhere to the funding policies of the Iowa Arts Council and federal government through 2 CFR Part 200.

Timeline

October 11, 2021 - Application Deadline
The application will close on October 11, 2021 at 12:00 noon.

October 26, 2021 - Award Notification
Applicants will be notified of their status and funding decisions by October 26, 2021.

May 1 - December 31, 2021 - Funding Period
Grant funds must be spent on eligible expenses between May 1 and December 31, 2021.

February 1, 2022 - Final Report Deadline
Grant recipients are required to complete a final report by February 1, 2022.

Funding

Grant Amount

Applicants can apply for funds to support eligible marketing expenses incurred and expended within the funding period between May 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021.

• Minimum Grant Request: $1,500
• Maximum Grant Request: $20,000

Funding Ranges and Limits

• Award amounts will not exceed 15% of an applicant's average annual operating expenses for their three most recently completed fiscal years. 
• The department reserves the right to adjust funding award amounts and limits. 

Matching Requirements

There are no matching requirements for this grant.

Eligible Use of Funds

Eligible expenses must be directly tied to costs incurred to publicize the safe resumption of activities and/or to promote steps taken to ensure a safe experience at arts and cultural organizations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes the costs of goods and/or services associated with executing marketing tactics and strategies, including design and production of advertising, print materials, and digital assets.

Eligible expenses include marketing costs such as:

• Advertising (e.g., radio, TV, billboard, newspaper, social media, etc.)
• Print production (e.g., signage, banners, fliers, postcards, postage, etc.)
• Multimedia production (e.g., video, podcasts, animation graphics, etc.)
• Fees or stipends for contract marketing personnel (e.g., graphic designer, videographer, content creator, etc.)

Consistent with the purpose of the CARES Act and the U.S. Treasury’s Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) guidelines, CRF payments will only be awarded for expenses that are:

• necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19);
• not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 3, 2020 (the date of enactment of the CARES Act) for the State or government; and
• incurred during the period that begins on May 1, 2021 and ends on December 31, 2021.

Ineligible Use of Funds

Grant funds may not be used for any of the following expenses:

• Salaries, wages, and benefits of staff or non-contract personnel
• Ongoing and routine marketing expenses incurred in the regular course of promoting the entity as an attraction or for special events (e.g., software, salaries, annual programming, etc.)
• Marketing expenses for events or programming canceled due to the public health emergency
• Marketing expenses spent outside of the eligible funding period of May 1 to December 31, 2021
• Expenses funded or reimbursed by other state, federal, or private funding sources including but not limited to CARES Act, Shuttered Venue Operators Grants and American Rescue Plan funding
• Capital expenditures
• Fundraisers or benefits
• Reimbursement to donors for donated items or services
• Lobbying activity
• Prizes and awards
• Religious activity

Funding Priorities

Applications are encouraged from all applicants that meet the eligibility requirements; however, priority will be placed on applications from entities that:

• have not received relief during the public health emergency from federal sources including the Paycheck Protection Program and/or Shuttered Venue Operators Grant;
• are led by and/or primarily serve populations that have historically been under-resourced by arts and cultural funding due to geography, race/ethnicity, or socioeconomic status as defined in the Grant Terms and Definitions.

Federal Funding Requirements

Applicants and grant recipients must adhere to all Federal Funding, Records and Future Audit Requirements outlined in the CARES Act and 2 CFR Part 200 Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. For additional information, see Coronavirus Relief Fund Guidance for State, Territorial, Local, and Tribal Governments.

Applicant Requirements

Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants must meet the criteria for one of the following entity types and all of the corresponding requirements for that entity. Applicants that do not meet the criteria for an eligible entity type and all of the corresponding requirements are not eligible to apply.

All applicants, regardless of entity type, must certify and be able to demonstrate that the additional expenditures are a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic and public health emergency in the State of Iowa.

Nonprofit Cultural Organization

Defined as an organization with a primary purpose to create, educate, produce, present or preserve content related to the arts, humanities, or interpretative sciences. This may include but is not limited to performing arts organizations and venues; museums, zoos and aquariums; film and cultural festivals; historical sites and local historical societies; art and science centers; and community arts organizations. The organization must also:

• Be located in Iowa and incorporated in Iowa under the Iowa Nonprofit Corporation Act and hold federal tax-exempt status
• Be registered to do business in the State of Iowa with the Secretary of State’s Office
• Have an arts, humanities, or interpretative sciences focused mission statement and at least 50% of the organization’s events promote the arts, humanities, and/or interpretive sciences
  • Organizations that have a mission focused on other areas such as economic development or social services, but include some arts and/or cultural programming, are not eligible
• Have been in existence since March 1, 2019
• Have annual operating expenses of $10,000 or more for the most recent fiscal year

Unit of Government

Defined as a publicly-owned venue, department or division of a unit of any local, county or federally-recognized tribal government, including entities who have entered into a 28E agreement, whose primary purpose is to create, educate, produce, present, promote, or preserve content related to the arts or humanities. In addition, the entity must:

• Be located in Iowa
• Be registered to do business in the State of Iowa with the Secretary of State’s Office
• Own the cultural venue (if applicable)
• Have been in existence since March 1, 2019
• Have annual operating expenses of $10,000 or more for the most recent fiscal year

Higher Education Institution

Units within institutions of higher education that are physically located in Iowa that have the arts or humanities as their core mission and offer public programs are eligible. However, institutions of higher education are limited to one application, from one unit, and may neither apply for nor receive grant funds for multiple units. In addition, the entity must:

• Be located in Iowa
• Be registered to do business in the State of Iowa with the Secretary of State’s Office
• Have been in existence since March 1, 2019
• Have annual operating expenses of $10,000 or more for the most recent fiscal year

Iowa Arts Council Administered Program Eligibility

• Applicants that have directly received funding through CARES Act programs from the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, Iowa Economic Development Authority, Small Business Administration, Arts Midwest, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and/or Institute for Museums and Library Services may receive funding from this grant program; however, CARES Act funding from different sources may not be used to support the same expense for the same timeframe
• Eligible applicants are limited to submitting one application to this program
  • Applicants that maintain multiple arts or cultural venues are limited to one request for one arts or cultural venue

Ineligible Applicants

The following types of applicants are not eligible to apply:

• Individuals
• For-profit corporations or businesses
• Public libraries
• County fairs
• Non-arts, humanities, and interpretative sciences organizations
• Academic departments or non-arts units within institutions of higher education
• Organizations physically located outside of Iowa. The border state policy does not apply to this grant program.
• Entities using a fiscal agent or the nonprofit status of another organization
• Auditoriums, arenas, convention centers or similar types of venues whose primary purpose is related to presenting popular entertainment, sporting or recreational events
• Pre-K through 12 schools whose primary orientation, mission and purpose is education and the awarding of academic credits
• Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs grantees with an outstanding final report or who have been placed on a department funding moratorium

Application Submission

Applicants must submit applications via the Iowa Arts Council’s SlideRoom, an online application portal. Applications will not be accepted in any other format. Late, incomplete or ineligible applications will not be accepted. Applicants can access the current online application requirements at iowaartscouncil.slideroom.com. Applicants must create a login to view the full application requirements for the program. Applicants can visit help.liaisonedu.com for SlideRoom assistance related to the online submission process.

Review Process

Applications are reviewed by staff for completion, eligibility and adherence to published guidelines. Applications are reviewed as submitted. New information or subsequent clarification submitted after a program deadline is not considered. Staff will also review an applicant’s record of compliance and good standing with the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, State and Federal government. Applications or applicants determined by staff to be ineligible or incomplete will not be considered for funding and are specifically denied any appeals process.

Review Criteria

Eligible applications will be reviewed and awarded to the extent that funding is available. To maintain equitable access to available funds, applications will be reviewed within their applicant type and the estimated reach of the marketing campaign and/or collateral material will be considered.

Decision Notification

Applicants will be notified of funding decisions via email by November 1, 2021. Applicants are notified of the status of their application whether they are or are not selected to receive funding. Applicants will be contacted if any additional information is required and are encouraged to refrain from contacting staff for application status updates until funding decisions are made.

Scoring Rubric

The Iowa Arts & Culture Marketing Grant Scoring Rubric will be used to evaluate applications. Each section has criteria and corresponding point values to ensure a fair review process. The rubric is on a scale of 12 points. Application questions are for reference only. Applicants must review and complete application requirements in the Slideroom portal.

Budget Form
Detail eligible grant request expenses that will be incurred within the eligible funding period, including a brief expense description and the numeric dollar amount associated with each expense.

Use of Funds
Eligible expenses must be directly tied to costs incurred to publicize the safe resumption of activities and/or to promote steps taken to ensure a safe experience at arts and cultural organizations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Describe how the grant funds will be spent within the eligible funding period, including:

• description of good(s) and/or service(s) to be acquired;
• how the purchased goods and/or services will be used to remarket the recipient’s safe reopening or to publicize the resumption of activities and steps taken to ensure a safe experience due to the public health emergency; and
• the timeline of the marketing campaign and/or use of collateral material.

Estimated Reach
Describe the estimated reach of the marketing campaign and/or collateral material, including:

• demographics of the target audience; and
• expected geographic reach.

Grant Recipient Expectations

Acknowledgement

Funding for this program is provided by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs as directed by Governor Kim Reynolds through an appropriation of Coronavirus Relief Funds to the State of Iowa through the federal CARES Act. Grant recipients will be required to acknowledge support through use of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs logo usage on print and digital communications.

Additionally, and though grant funds may be used to support any eligible marketing expenses, grant recipients must use the Re-imagine Campaign materials in their marketing efforts, as it relates to their safe re-opening and/or safe resumption of activities in response to the public health emergency.

Final Report

Grant recipients will be contractually obligated to complete a final report that includes documentation of use of funds and a demonstration of the impact of the funding.

Glossary of Terms and Definitions

Applicants should refer to the glossary for clarification of program terms and definitions.

Questions

Applicants are encouraged to review all published material and contact Iowa Arts Council staff, Lindsay Keast at lindsay.keast@iowa.gov, with questions well in advance of the application deadline.

Accessibility

The Iowa Arts Council is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to eligible applicants. For technical support submitting the online application, please contact the Accessibility Coordinator, Lindsay Keast at 515-281-8352 or lindsay.keast@iowa.gov, at least two weeks in advance of application deadlines.