Funding criteria
NYSCA does not fund...
Grant amounts
Deadlines
Your NYSCA
file
How to apply
Review process
Rating System
When you get a
grant
Panelists
In evaluating applications, the Council employs a multi-step process involving NYSCA staff, peer review panels, a committee of Council members, and the full Council.
Staff Review
NYSCA program staff verifies applicant eligibility and
conducts a review of application materials in relation to the Council's
three primary criteria
and program-specific guidelines. Staff may meet
with representatives of the organization, visit facilities, and attend
programs to become familiar with the organization and its
work. Staff review may be supplemented by reports
from program auditors and field representatives who have expertise in a
particular area.
In each program, the panel convenes with Program Staff present. The panel is composed of a diverse group of professionals from across the state with specific expertise. The panel evaluates and rates each request according to the Council's three primary criteria.
Panel ratings inform the funding recommendations made by NYSCA Program Staff to the appropriate Council Committee for consideration.
NYSCA accepts nominations for panelists from the general public. To nominate an individual for panel service consideration, visit the panelist nomination page.
Council Committees
There are three committees composed of Council Members: Visual Arts, Multi-Arts, and Performing and Literary Arts. Funding recommendations and panel ratings are presented to the appropriate Committee for review and discussion. The Committees make funding recommendations to the full Council. Council Committee meetings are open to the public and are webcast.
The Council
The full Council reviews funding recommendations and votes to approve grants. Upon Council approval of a grant, Cultural Service Contracts are issued to the organizations approved for funding. Council meetings are open to the public and are webcast.An applicant may appeal the Council's funding decision. The applicant should first consult with the appropriate Program staff to review the considerations that went into the Council's decision. If, after such a consultation, the applicant wishes to pursue an appeal, such an appeal must be made in writing to the office of the executive director. This letter must be received within 21 calendar days of the date of the notification letter of a Council decision. If the applicant has not been able to consult with the appropriate staff member within the time limitation, a written request must still be submitted within the 21-day time period.
Thereafter, the applicant will receive a written response and the appeal will be assigned to an appeals panel. In that response, a deadline for the submission of all material supporting the appeal will be established. No deadline date will be set earlier than seven days from the date of the letter. Failure to meet any deadline date in the appeals process will result in the loss of the right to appeal.
The appeals panel evaluates the review process by which the decision was made. The appeals process is not intended to impose different aesthetic choices over the Council's original choices and decisions.
An applicant may appeal all or some of the Council's decision. Dissatisfaction with the denial of a grant or with the amount of the grant is an insufficient reason for appeal; you must cite one or more of the following grounds:
Nonpresentation of
information
Information
known to the Council staff prior to the Council's decision that was not
presented and that might have altered the decision.
Misrepresentation of
information
Information
known to the Council staff prior to the Council's decision that was
changed in its presentation and that, if presented differently, might
have altered the decision.
Improper procedure
Contention by the
applicant that: 1) the review of the funding request by the
appropriate panel was biased; 2) the decision by the Council
was
arbitrary
and capricious.
If the appeal request is successful, the
decision will be reconsidered by the appropriate Program, panel, or
Council committee and then by the Council, except when an appeal is
upheld based on the lack of impartiality by a panel. In that
case, the decision will be reconsidered directly by the appropriate
Council committee and then by the Council.
All appeals panel meetings are open to the public.
For information about the Appeals process, click here.