Funding available in this category supports the core activities of community music schools. Although the school may have a single or multi-disciplinary focus, for the purpose of this category, the school's principal focus should be music instruction. In addition, residencies, performances, and presentations by professional artists should serve the instructional components of the school and provide additional opportunities for the broader community to engage in arts activities.

Awards in this category are generally made on a multi-year basis. New applicants in this category are required to consult with staff well before the deadline.

Support will not exceed 25% of the project budget.

Definitions

A community music school is an organized and permanent non-degree-granting, nonprofit institution that provides quality arts instruction and participation to all interested persons, regardless of age, race, gender, religion, ethnic origin, financial means or level of ability.

Prerequisites:

Operation for a minimum of two years.

Owns or operates an accessible cultural facility.

At least 100 students must be enrolled over the course of a year.

Offers year-round instruction and programming.

Professional artistic staff and faculty.

Provides sequential curriculum to serve a multi-faceted enrollment.

Has articulated standards of mastery for beginning, intermediate and advanced students.

Note: Arts instruction that takes place in prekindergarten-12 classes during school hours is not eligible for support. Applicants that offer such instruction are advised to consult with the Arts Education Program.

Application Instructions

The online application form includes the questions below. Applicants are also required to submit:

Online Organizational Budget for the current fiscal year.

Project Budget (please use the Budget Notes section to detail income and expense items).

Cultural Data Project Report and support materials.

Please note that the request amount should not exceed 25% of the total Project Budget.

New applicants are required to contact NYSCA staff before the deadline.

Application Narrative Questions

Artistic/Programmatic

1. Program Overview
Describe the programs and services planned for the coming year, highlighting new or expanded activities and student eligibility.

2. Changes/Developments
Describe any significant changes or developments in the organization since last reviewed by the Council.

3. Facilities
Briefly describe the organization's facilities.

Managerial/Fiscal

4. Finances
Describe plans, projects and activities for meeting projected expenses. Describe development plans and the Board's participation in these plans including fundraising initiatives.

5. Evaluation
Describe the evaluation process and the role of the Board and senior staff in ongoing evaluation assessment of music education activities.

Service to the Public

6. Community Served
Identify the size, cultural/ethnic makeup, and age range of the student body, along with the strategies for achieving or maintaining diversity. Give an overview of how the school deepens an awareness and understanding of the musical arts to the student body and community.

7. Comparable Services
What other public or private organizations provide community music education in the surrounding geographic area? If working in partnership with any organizations, describe that relationship.

Support Materials

8. Support Materials
Please list all of the support materials being submitted. These materials are critical to the application’s assessment.

Support Materials

1. Example of course curriculum.

2. Most recent brochure with class/course offerings provided.

3. Sample program of performances, concerts and other events at the school.

4. Video examples of a representative class in session and of a resident ensemble (if applicable). Complete a script for Work Samples to accompany your video samples. Your video sample should present only the examples you would like the panel to see and hear.

5. Schedule of class/course fees.

6. Faculty list including brief description of credentials.

7. A listing of workshops and classes that occurred during the past years and are planned for the coming year, indicating actual or projected enrollment.

Electronic Materials Guidelines for Submission of Support Materials

Instructions for FY13 Support Materials
The Council is now requiring electronic submission of all Support Materials, including forms, documents and work samples.

There are Exemptions to this requirement. Please see Exemptions to Electronic Support Materials below.

Remember to review Program Specific Requirements for all Support Materials indicated in each Program’s guidelines.

Support Materials can only be submitted electronically while the Council’s online Registration and Application period is open.

Requirements for Electronic Submission of Support Materials
Electronic Support Materials must be submitted online to http://nysca.slideroom.com. Remember to review Program Specific Requirements indicated in each Program’s guidelines prior to uploading. All Support Materials including forms and documents for all Program categories including General Support, Project Support, Regrants and Partnerships, can be uploaded as images, video, audio and/or PDF.

If the Support Material is in the form of a URL(s), please create a separate text document titled URL Support Materials, a description of the work sample/content and the URL (link) embedded in the text document. Include this document when uploading all your Support Materials online to http://nysca.slideroom.com.

For Time-Based Media (video and audio) the following is a general guideline to help applicants prepare content for electronic submission:

Images: 5MB maximum (jpg, png, tif file formats)
Videos: 60MB maximum (mov, mp4, wmv, flv file formats)
Audio: 30MB maximum (mp3 file format)
PDF: 10MB maximum (pdf file format)

60MB per Video clips is approximately 6 minutes
30MB per Audio clip is approximately 10 minutes
10MB per PDF is adequate for up to 10 pages of graphical content. Most text only documents are less than ½ MB.

IMPORTANT: When uploading all time-based materials (audio and video), the maximum length allowed is no more than six minutes per sound and/or video clip.

The maximum number of electronic items allowed (uploads) is no more than twenty-five (25) per proposal. For example: One PDF equals one item, one JPG equals one item and one media clip equals one item.

INSTRUCTIONS for uploading and Technical Assistance during the electronic materials submission process are available by emailing your question to support@slideroom.com Monday through Saturday, between 9am and 9pm, Central Standard Time.

Ensuring the Playback Quality of Your Hard Copy Support Materials

It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure the availability, quality, compatibility, and playback stability of all Support Materials which are exempt from the electronic materials submission requirement

Applicants are encouraged to test and verify that their Support Materials are playable prior to submission.

All Support Materials should be able to meet basic presentation requirements for the following hardware:

• Windows XP PC
• 1.6 GHz processor
• 256 mb RAM

In addition, all Hard Copy Support Materials should be able to meet basic presentation requirements for the following software:

• For Time-based Work (Film, Moving Images, Music and Soundwork): VideoLAN VLC Media Player (click here for a complete list of compatible file formats)
• For Still Images: Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 OR XnView multimedia viewer (click here for a complete list of compatible file formats)
• For Electronic Print Materials: Microsoft Word 2003 OR Adobe Acrobat Reader (most current version)