Feature Stories
Arts Funding 101: A Survival Guide
By Scott Elliott
Scott Elliott is a national award-winning K-12 education reporter for the Dayton Daily News in Ohio. Read his education blog at www.daytondailynews.com/getonthebus.
As government support of the arts has waned, arts supporters are fighting back by developing alternative funding strategies.
Nationally, arts programs have suffered as No Child Left Behind has forced schools to focus more of their funding on increasing math and reading test scores. As a result, school districts have compensated by cutting their arts programs. Now, President Bush is proposing to eliminate the $37.5 million Arts in Education program.
During these times of funding challenges, arts educators are often called upon to help bridge funding gaps. Here's how art supporters in one Ohio "rust belt" community rallied to find funds for their unique arts education program.
Case Study: The Stivers School for the Arts
Often called the "crown jewel" of the Dayton Public School System, the Stivers School for the Arts is a prime example of how participation in the arts enhances academic performance. Its rigorous academic program has produced exemplary test score results exceeding those of other schools in the district.
For Stivers' supporters, their first lesson in arts funding survival came in 2000 when the city school board threatened to close the school because it couldn't afford the cost of renovating its 1908 historic building.
Sowing the 'Seedling Foundation'
In response to the threat of closure, the school's supporters established the Seedling Foundation, a non-profit organization to benefit the Stivers school. The organization consists of parents, alumni, and community leaders, such as retired executive and president of the Foundation, Bill Pflaum.
Pflaum finds the generosity of Seedling donors inspiring. For example, he said his cell phone rang during a recent meeting with Superintendent Percy Mack.
"It was a retired teacher from Kettering who wanted the address to send money," he said. "A few days later, we got a $2,000 donation in the mail."
To save the school, Foundation members identified a $10 million, interest-free loan through a federal program. To qualify, the Foundation had 10 years to raise $1 million in local matching funds. (Supporters succeeded in raising the funds in less than five.) The completely renovated Stivers School reopened in January, 2008.
The importance of grass-roots support
While that campaign focused heavily on wealthy individuals, Seedling's response to the school's most recent financial crisis is relying on small donations.
Last summer, the entire Stivers adjunct faculty were handed pink slips following a tax levy defeat. This time, Seedling launched a massive community campaign aimed at getting thousands of supporters to each donate $18-the cost of one hour of adjunct faculty instruction.
Both faculty and students were doing their part to help, donating an hour of their time and talent to entertain lunchtime crowds in downtown Dayton by painting billboard-sized murals, or performing musical and dance numbers. While the students concentrated on their performances, volunteers quietly worked the crowd, passing hats and collecting more than $1,100 from the modest crowd of office workers.
The plan worked. By fall, Seedling had raised half of the $145,000 needed to pay their salaries for a year, and convinced the school district to restore their jobs.
"It's not just Seedling," Pflaum said. "Students and adjunct teachers raise a lot of money on their own. Often we match what they raise. At Stivers, kids really learn that the arts don't come for free."
Grants: Can We Get Them?
By George DeGraffenreid, Ph.D.
Director, School of Music and Dance
San Francisco State University
Author of Music! Its Role and Importance in Our Lives
If there is one issue that unites all music teachers, it is a desire for more funds to support music programs. We know that funds can be raised by selling, washing, or cooking something. What we would prefer is for someone to believe enough in what we do to give us the funds to do it. That is why the question we hear the most is: "Where can I get a grant for...?"
Most of us dream of a giant windfall-the national benefactor that will provide a basketful of funding to benefit our students in some grand way. There are a few grants like this, but everyone else is hoping to get that benefactor to do the same for them. If we can rally our district or colleagues to apply for one of these grants with us, it can be worth trying. However, when writing a successful grant proposal for our own programs, it might be better to start small and look closer to home. Here are five ways to develop solid skills for getting grants.
Start small!
In grant writing, as in many things, success grows from success. Not surprisingly, individuals who are successful at getting one grant are often successful at getting others. Starting small with a limited focus and a local granting entity can lead to that first successful grant. It also allows us to develop our ability to communicate effectively and concisely about why our grant proposals should be funded.
Think locally
Grants that are most accessible to individual teachers often come from a local funder. Local supporters have a vested interest in issues that have direct impact in their communities. Local grant providers can see the results of their efforts immediately and measure the effects from their support. Very often a local grant funder has a direct connection to what music or arts educators are trying to accomplish. However, dollar amounts from local grants are usually more modest in size.
Align goals
When we think about getting a grant, our tendency is to focus on what we want to achieve-often, preserving, expanding, or restoring a program. Funders also have strategic goals for grants they award-generally, transformative gestures that promote goals of social or educational improvement. The challenge for us is to communicate how our music or arts education program goals align with the transformative goals of the grant maker. Using clear and consistent language that avoids music teacher jargon, acronyms, or abbreviations can help show how both sets of goals align.
Be specific
Grant providers usually want to know exactly what will be done with the money; what will be purchased when and for how much? We need to explain why our intended expenditures are necessary to fulfill the goals of the grant proposal. This is all the more critical when proposing to purchase equipment or instruments.
Indicate expected results
Describe to the granting entity what the expected results will be from your utilization of its funds. Describe how results will be measured and how one will know that the goals in the proposal have been reached. Vague references or language that expresses hopeful outcomes are usually not very successful. If there are scholars or experts who support the effectiveness of what the grant will fund, appropriately reference those individuals.
Ask for help
Schools or districts often have employees who will help write a grant, design an assessment plan, or refine what is proposed. Use your school's resources. Also, most schools want to know when grant proposals are created that affect school programs, and granting entities need to know that the school will accept a grant if awarded.
The one thing to remember is that when the grant is awarded, everyone wins. Good luck hunting!