Do I need to attend a workshop or webinar? Yes, we strongly recommend you attend a workshop or webinar, even if you have received a Cultural Grant in the prior year. Guidelines change each year.
Is the number of awards in each DCA grant category the same each year? No, DCA reserves the right to cancel any grant program, category or discipline competition at any time, subject to the number of qualified proposals and/or availability of City funding.
What is RAMP LA?
It is the Regional Alliance Marketplace for Procurement – RAMP (formerly BAVN)
If your organization has previously received grants or contracts from the City of LA, then you have already registered on RAMP.
If you are a new applicant, go to https://www.rampla.org/s/ to register to bid for a City of LA business grant or contract. Technical support may be requested by emailing bca.eeoe@lacity.org
Sometime thereafter you may receive requests from RAMP to verify your location, the percentage of your workforce that lives in the City of LA, your status as a minority owned/operated business, and your status as a women owned/operated business. We encourage you to respond accurately so that the LA nonprofit arts sector is understood as a significant contributor to equity.
What is a BTRC (Business Tax Registration Certificate) Number or a Vendor Registration Number and how do I get one? All persons who do business with or within the City of Los Angeles, must first file with the Office of Finance (Tax/Permit Division), and obtain from that office a Business Tax Registration Certificate account number (BTRC) or Vendor Registration Number (VRN). If you are granted an award, you will be required to obtain one or the other before you can receive any payment from the City of Los Angeles. For further information, call the Office of Finance at (844) 663-4411 or go to http://finance.lacity.org/ for office locations and hours.
How does DCA define a Social Justice Organization? DCA defines a social justice organization as any social service nonprofit organization that has a board-approved and publicly printed/repeated mission statement that names a primary “cause for equality” (which can be: cultural, economic, environmental, immigration, healthcare, or housing based); as well as a history of both advocacy to rebalance public policies, and community-based programs to address the same historic/current inequity. Religious, political and legal nonprofits are not eligible under this definition. Likewise, nonprofits that are statewide, national, or international in scale are not eligible at this time, because the pilot years of both the NEAR and CO-UP categories are aimed at local neighborhood and community impact. Arts-based nonprofits should apply directly to DCA’s Cultural Grant Program category each August and should not be the primary applicant of a CO-UP proposal (although arts organizations in LA County may partner by lending an employee with expertise to collaborate with a social justice organization-applicant headquartered in the City of LA).
What if something important to my application changes after I submit it? You cannot amend your application after it has been submitted. However, you may contact DCA staff and alert them of any pertinent and critical updates in case those changes can be considered if your category’s panel has not already convened. If you are recommended to receive a grant, there will be opportunities during the contract and payment phases for you to clarify information that may affect contract language. All requests for changes or amendments to projects after panel recommendations are considered, but not all will be approved. Incorporating or adopting extreme changes to your project after an award is recommended by a peer panel compromises the integrity of the peer panel review process and may jeopardize your award.
When will I find out if I have received a grant? Applicants who apply to either or both the Fellowship and Residency Grant Programs in October are notified of their grant results by the following May.
What do I need to know in advance about payment? DCA Grants are reimbursement monies. Artists-In-Residence may invoice 50% upon submission of a list of expenditures, and the remaining 50% is reimbursed after the project is completed, and final report and final invoice are received and approved. Invoices submitted to DCA may take up to 4-6 weeks to process.
Where can I find definitions on the terminology used in this and other DCA Grant program guidelines? To view a glossary of terms, click here: Grant Application Glossary 9-22-15
How can I determine in which Council District my host venue organization is located? Where can I learn about each of the City’s Council Districts?
Please use the following link for geographic maps of the City: Council district maps.
Please use the following link to the City of Los Angeles Neighborhood Information search engine to verify the council district location of a specific address: Neighborhood information link.