Subject: PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO ARTS VENTURE GRANTS INITIATIVE

COUNCIL DISTRICT: City-Wide

RECOMMENDATION

Approval of Arts Commission recommendations to amend certain policies, requirements and guidelines of the Arts Venture Grants Initiative, as described in Attachment A.

BACKGROUND

The Arts Venture Grants Initiative (AVGI) was introduced two years ago by the Office of the Mayor with the support of City Council in an effort to establish a programmatic and regulated alternative to ad hoc cultural grants that had been generated historically through the Mayor’s and City Council offices, outside of the City’s normal Arts Grants and Festival, Parade and Celebration Grants programs.

The Arts Commission and the Office of Cultural Affairs developed a program to meet several needs identified previously in work leading up to the 20/21 Cultural Plan, but not generally addressed by the existing Arts Grants Programs. These included capacity building, significant artistic initiatives, and enhancing San José’s status as a regional and national arts center.

City Council approved the policies and requirements of the AVGI in November 1999. To date, there have been two cycles of the AVGI, resulting in 16 grant awards: two for cash reserves, three for capital investments and 11 for artistic opportunities.

ANALYSIS

In the course of the first two AVGI cycles, various individuals including representatives of arts organizations, members of evaluation panels, commissioners and Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA) staff, made a number of observations that suggest that specific elements of the program’s policies and requirements have impeded effective pursuit of AVGI’s stated intent and purpose: “to fund one-time projects of exceptional merit … make a significant contribution to developing the organizational capacity of the grantee … promote the stature of San José as a regional arts center.”

Few proposals have been made to improve organizational capacity significantly and even fewer grants awarded. Among the majority of the grants awarded thus far — those for artistic opportunities — most have been of relatively modest scope and scale, not especially likely to affect substantially the City’s arts stature.

At its November 14 meeting, Commissioners voted unanimously to recommend a set of policy amendments that had been crafted in consultation with OCA staff and the Office of the Mayor.

The recommended amendments represent a modest attempt to achieve more balance between organizational development opportunities and artistic ones. They would also modestly increase access to the program and they would cause AVGI information materials to place a greater emphasis on the program’s quest for projects of exceptional merit.

In addition, they would permit the Arts Commission to continue refining the effectiveness of the program without the cumbersome need to return to City Council for every technical adjustment. This in no way overlooks the reality that the program continues to exist on a year-to-year basis only, so long as the City Council appropriates General Fund funding for the program.

PUBLIC OUTREACH

OCA conducted two community meetings to discuss proposed amendments. The meetings were attended by about two dozen representatives of local arts organizations. In addition, an Arts Commissioner attended each of the two meetings. Feedback from the meetings was incorporated into the final development of the recommended amendments.

The amendments were considered first by a committee of the Arts Commission in a publicly noticed meeting before being recommended by the full commission.

COORDINATION

The Office of the City Attorney has been consulted in the preparation of this item.

NANCY JOHNSON

Director, Conventions, Arts & Entertainment

ATTACHMENT A

Arts Commission-recommended amendments to the policies, requirements and guidelines of the Arts Venture Grants Initiative:

1. That the cash-match requirement for grants awarded be made uniformly 2:1 in all three categories, instead of 3:1 in one category and 1:1 in two.

2. That the minimum grant award be $7,500 instead of $10,000.

3. That the requirement in the Challenge and Capital Investment categories that applicants must be recipients of an Operating Grant through the Arts Grant Program be rescinded.

4. That the requirement that grantees provide proof of a board policy regarding Cash Reserves following award of a Challenge Grant be rescinded; that the presence and content of such a board policy be made a part of the application process instead.

5. That eligible applicants to AVGI must be in good standing with respect to any existing grant obligations that they may have to the City.

6. That the City Council empowers the Arts Commission to recommend to the Arts Program Director technical changes such as the ones above, designed to improve the pursuit of AVGI’s essential intent and purpose, without need for further referral to the City Council unless the Arts Commission seeks to substantially amend the intent and/or purpose of the program.