Grants & Services for Organizations
Grants Guidelines › Operating Support
Operating Support is a key component in meeting Grants Program goals for a vital and accessible arts community. Operating Support grants provide core support for arts organizations to achieve their mission to serve the arts in Columbus and to maintain a high level of arts activity regardless of unpredictable economies. Established arts organizations most likely to receive Operating Support will offer annual programming and demonstrate exemplary artistic achievement, stable artistic and administrative staffing, healthy financial structures and significant impact on the city's economy and tourism. Funding is competitive. Operating Support grants are unrestricted as to use.
Eligibility Criteria
New applicants are required to be independent organizations that have held 501(c)(3) status for at least three consecutive years prior to the date of application.
Organizations must apply annually and demonstrate the following:
- Primary focus and actual operation are artistic in nature
- Provide cultural programming of the highest caliber
- Demonstrate a wide-ranging impact on the city of Columbus
- Operate with a community-based board of trustees charged with legal and fiduciary responsibilities, including the hiring of the chief artistic and/or executive directors.
- Operate with professional management and artistic staff
- Demonstrate artistic planning, fiscal accountability, and produce annual audited financial statements
- Operate with a clearly articulated, realistic, and board-approved artistic and financial plan
- Present a well-established base of financial contributions and match total government grants with private-sector contributions
- Prepare and submit to GCAC a board-approved budget for the next fiscal year
- Audited financial statements must verify net current assets of at least 10% of prior-year expenses. Prior-year expenses should not include depreciation and in-kind. The GCAC Board is committed to maintaining the integrity of the community's gift to the arts through the Columbus Arts Stabilization Project. Organizations that participated in the program will be reviewed for their ability to maintain sufficient cash and cash equivalents, and encouraged to create reserves to support future artistic or technical needs. Strategies to grow and/or maintain reserves are also encouraged.
The GCAC Board is committed to maintaining the integrity of the community's gift to the arts through the Columbus Arts Stabilization Project. Organizations that participated in the program will be reviewed for their ability to maintain sufficient cash and cash equivalents, and encouraged to create reserves to support future artistic or technical needs. Strategies to grow and/or maintain reserves are also encouraged.
For those organizations that did not participate in a stabilization program, this requirement should be discussed with staff or the GCAC Board of Trustees.
Operating Support awards are evaluated each year and are not guaranteed for future years. An organization must fulfill the above eligibility criteria annually.
Ineligible Organizations
The following types of organizations are ineligible for operating support, but may be eligible for Project Support and should contact the GCAC Grants and Services staff for further information. The GCAC Board of Trustees reserves the right to make exceptions.
- Social service agencies
- Schools, colleges or universities/university departments
- Libraries
- Individuals
- Programs dedicated to a primarily statewide or national constituency
- Recipients of operating support from departments or divisions of the city of Columbus
- Organizations that receive concurrent funding from the city of Columbus
- Units of government
Removal from Operating Support
The GCAC Board of Trustees manages a system to monitor the eligibility status of Operating Support recipients and to provide notification if the recipient's continued participation appears to be in jeopardy. An Operating Support recipient will receive notice of impending ineligibility if the recipient:
- Fails to meet and sustain one or more of the eligibility criteria for more than one year
- Fails to maintain net current assets of at least 10% of prior-year expenses, measured either at fiscal year end, or during one month of a fiscal year.
- Uses or otherwise encumbers donor-restricted funds for any reason other than the donor's designation.
The above reasons are considered just cause for concern for ineligibility of an organization from the Operating Support program. Once the recipient has received notice of concern from GCAC, they must distribute the notice to all members of its board of trustees. At the discretion of the GCAC Board, an organization may receive notices for a period of up to four years. Organizations will be required to submit their board's approved solution to the problem, as well as quarterly financial reports. Additional restrictions may accompany the annual grant. An organization's failure to take corrective action and demonstrate annual progress will make them ineligible for Operating Support. An organization cannot continue to receive Operating Support without meeting all eligibility requirements for four consecutive years. The GCAC Board of Trustees may rely on external evaluation to assess the organization's eligibility. With the recommendation of the Grants Committee, the GCAC Board reserves the authority to terminate or extend an organization's participation at any time.
Applicants must submit the required application materials on the deadline to be considered for Operating Support.
Removal from Operating Support does not necessarily indicate restricted eligibility for other types of GCAC funding. In most cases, organizations apply for, and receive, Project Support. Any arts organization, including those in Operating Support, may seek Technical Assistance for help in problem-solving.
Required Materials for Operating Support
For new applicants:
- Audited financial statements of the previous two years' financial activity
- Organizational history and philosophy
Each applicant has the responsibility to send materials that are relevant, readable and appropriate. GCAC Grants Program staff may seek further clarification from the applicant. Timely response to GCAC requests for additional information is important to the application's success.
Operating Support Grant Allocations. Unrestricted, non-capitalized expenses of the applicant's most recently completed fiscal year provide the basis for grant allocations by formula. Operating expenses are adjusted to exclude non-cash contributions, depreciation, capital expenses and expenses in excess of annual unrestricted income. An additional adjustment will be made for expenses for artistic activities held outside greater Columbus with the following exceptions:
- Performance tours of an artistic company based in Columbus
- Touring exhibitions created and managed by an institution based in Columbus
- Temporary or permanent satellite operations will not be considered an eligible expense.
Generally, GCAC will not award an Operating Support recipient an amount (from the Operating and Project Support Categories combined) that exceeds 20% of that organization's operating expenses.
Recent Operating Support awards.
GCAC provides an application form for organizations to request funding. Application must be submitted electronically through GO Arts Columbus, GCAC’s online grants system. The following documents must be postmarked within 3 business days of the deadline:
- Signed Operating Support cover page
- Any supplemental materials that cannot be uploaded to the GO Arts system
All supporting documentation is due at this deadline. Exceptions must be requested in advance in writing and, if approved by the Grants Office, are due no later than one week following the deadline. GCAC will not be responsible for reminding applicants about late materials. Applications will not be considered if the following materials are not in the GCAC office on the stated deadlines.
- Job descriptions and brief biographies for key personnel
- Current staff list
- Current list of the Board of Trustees with executive committee and affiliations noted
- Updated, board-approved long-range plan that includes financial forecasts and programming direction for at least two years.
- Projected budget for the upcoming fiscal year (board-approved if the beginning of the organization’s fiscal year is within one calendar quarter of the deadline).
