Track 1:Individual Artist Professional Development (IA-PD) Overview

Deadline:

• eGrant application submission: 5:00 pm, Friday, September 14, 2012
• work samples and other required materials:
  • If hand-delivering – 4:30 pm, Friday, September 14, 2012
  • If sending via USPS or other mailing service: postmarked September 14, 2012

​Focus: Professional development opportunities related to an artist’s career.

Examples of activities IA-PD will support:

• artist residency related to the development of your career, e.g. writers, artists retreats or workshops,
• attendance at conferences, symposia,
• production of a demo reel, documentation of artwork,
• duplication costs of manuscripts or media (film, video, audio, etc.),
• website development for individual artist, and/or
• marketing, e.g. artist’ brochures, actors’ headshots.

IA-PD will not support:

• applicant compensation (payment to yourself),
• apprenticeships or mentorships,
• capital purchases, capital improvements, construction, or purchase of permanent equipment,
• enrollment in higher education classes or programs, presentation of classes or workshops,
• vanity press publishing,
• website development for a specific project,
• Projects and activities which take place outside the United States
• collaborative projects.

Grant Period: IA-PD activities must take place between January 1, 2013 and August 31, 2013.

Grant Amounts: Artists applying for an IA-PD grant may request either $500 or $750.  Grants will be awarded for the full amount requested.

Cash Match: There is no cash match required of artists receiving an IA-PD grant. However, if the activity’s budget for which IAC support is being requested is greater than the IA-PD grant amount being sought, then the applicant must demonstrate that sufficient funds are available to complete the activity.

Evaluation Criteria - Applications will be evaluated on the following:

• Clarity of activity as indicated in the application narrative,
• Impact - Potential of the proposed activity to advance the applicant’s work and career as indicated in the application narrative, artistic resume, and artist statement,
• Feasibility - Evidence of the applicant’s ability to carry out the activity, as indicated in the application narrative, budget, and artistic resume,
• Quality of the applicant's work as demonstrated by the work samples submitted.

Review Process: reviewed & approved by IAC Program staff, the Executive Director and the Council.

Submission Notification: eGrant provides an electronic notification of application submission. In addition, applicants will receive notification via email of receipt of their application and required materials from the Illinois Arts Council within four weeks of the application deadline. Receipt of application will not be acknowledged by phone.

Decision Notification: Applicants will be notified of the Council's decisions on their applications via email by mid December 2012.

Impact of the state's fiscal crisis of fiscal year 2013 IAS Grants

As you should be aware, the state of Illinois is experiencing an ongoing fiscal crisis. This crisis may affect the amount of funding available for grant awards. Since Fiscal Year 2010, the state’s financial situation has impeded the timely payment of its bills and obligations, including Illinois Arts Council grants and we expect this to continue for FY2013.

Although payments from the State Comptroller’s Office will, more than likely, run several months behind schedule, grantees are legally obligated to complete their proposed activities as outlined in their grant agreements. Activities must be completed within the time frame and by the manner specified in the grantee’s application even if the grantee has not received the IAC funds awarded for this activity.

While we believe this is a valuable individual artist support program and we want artists to take advantage of these resources, we strongly advise potential applicants to thoroughly understand the possible implications for them of the verities of this initiative.

If you are awarded an IA-PD or an IA-Project grant you need to be aware of the significant delay in receiving grant funds. For example, in the last three fiscal years many grants to individuals were delayed up to six months.

Therefore grantees should ensure they have access to available resources (monetary and otherwise) with which to fully complete the funded activity in the timeframe and manner specified before they receive the actual grant award.

Taxability of Awards

The Internal Revenue Code provides that the full amount of an Individual Artist Support Initiative award is taxable to its recipient. If applicants have any questions about their own income tax liability, contact the Internal Revenue Service or tax counsel.