Matching Requirement
Organization applicants must realistically estimate a minimum 1:1 non-City match for the investment requested. The match can be all cash or a combination of cash, philanthropic support outside of City funding, and in-kind donation(s) of time, services and/or materials. If a combination of cash and in-kind is estimated, no more than 70% of the match can be in-kind (e.g. donated space, supplies, volunteer services).
Maximum Allowable Requests
Review the following guidelines to estimate an allowable DCA grant request. Applicants who have completed their DataArts reporting and prepared a project budget can use DCA’s Allowable Grant Request Calculator to confirm an eligible grant request based on organization budget category, operating revenue, proposed project type, and estimated project budget.
Extra Large Budget Organization (XLBO) Project Support – A nonprofit arts organization with prior operating budgets consistently of $10,000,000 or greater may request up to 4% of its most recently completed fiscal year budget to a maximum of $80,000. XL applicants should demonstrate at least 20% of requested DCA funds would go toward artists fees, salaries, or similar payments (or XL applicants should plan to provide a detailed justification for projects in which more than 50% of the grant request would fund administrative costs/staff). Opportunities in this category are cycled by artistic disciplines, so new XL applicants should contact the Grant Director before applying.
Large Budget Organization (LBO) Project Support – A nonprofit arts organization with prior operating budgets consistently greater than $800,000 may request up to 4% of its most recently completed fiscal year budget to a maximum of $80,000. LBO applicants should demonstrate at least 20% of requested DCA funds would go toward artists fees, salaries, or similar payments (or LBO applicants should plan to provide a detailed justification for projects in which more than 50% of the grant request would fund administrative costs/staff). Opportunities in this category are cycled by artistic disciplines, so new LBO applicants must contact the Grant Director before applying.
Mid-Size Organization Project Support – A mid-size nonprofit arts organization with an operating budget greater than $75,000 in its most recently completed fiscal year may request up to 10% of its last completed fiscal year budget to a maximum of $40,000.
Small Organization Project Support – A small nonprofit arts organization with an operating budget between $10,000 and $100,000 in its most recently completed fiscal year may request up to 20% of its last completed fiscal year budget to a maximum of $10,000. The $25,000 overlap between small and mid-size is intended to provide additional support for small organizations transitioning to mid-sized organizations.
Emerging Arts Organization Project Support – A very small nonprofit arts organization with an operating budget of less than $20,000 in its most recently completed fiscal year, or a newly incorporated organization with fewer than two completed fiscal years in its DataArts report. Emerging applicants may request between $1,500 and $3,000 for an artistic project. Emerging applicants are encouraged to but not required to submit a Data Arts profile but must submit a financial summary signed by the board Treasurer as the primary supplemental attachment (verifying one year of previous artistic activity, prior budget size, and recent expenses). DCA can support up to 10 20 emerging groups per year, and priority is given to applicants that are headquartered within and/or serving arts-underserved council districts. Contact DCA grants staff for further details.
Outdoor Festival/Parades – The primary applicant must be a nonprofit organization that leads the organizing, hosting, and promoting of a thematic set of presentations by four or more groups (which may include the host organization) during one day or one weekend, at a single outdoor address or street-corridor. Outdoor Festival/Parade applicants should frame their proposal around a DCA grant request of up to $6,000, $15,000, or $40,000 depending upon prior-year metrics:
Tier I: Up to $6,000 if the proposed festival/parade gathered fewer than 500 attendees in the prior year
Tier II: Up to $15,000 for a proposed festival/parade that gathered between 500 and 2,000 in-person attendees in the prior year
Tier III: Up to $40,000 for a proposed festival/parade that gathered more than 2,000 in-person attendees in prior year