Division of the Arts Grant Guidelines 2012-2013

After You Are Awarded a Grant

Award Administration

Once you have received a notice from the Division that your application will be funded, you need to ensure success by complying with accountability requirements. Here are the following steps to take to administer your grant agreement.

Award Notices and Grant Agreements

1. An award letter and grant agreement will be mailed or emailed to all awarded applicants in August, 2012.

2. Applicants must send a signed grant agreement before the Division of the Arts will disburse any funds. The approved budget as well as the original application are considered part of the grant agreement.

3. If you have not executed (signed and returned) your grant agreement within 60 days of when we mailed it to you, your award will be revoked and reallocated.

1. Grant payments to organizations are usually paid in two installments: 75% upon receipt of the signed grant agreement and the remaining 25% upon receipt and approval of the final report. Grant payments usually begin in early October.

2. If the grant-funded activity takes place before October, the grantee should have sufficient funds on hand to implement the project until reimbursed by the grant funds.

3. All recipients are encouraged to complete the Electronic Funds Transfer form for direct payment.

IRS Letters

1. Organizations must submit proof of 501(c)3 status from the Internal Revenue Service.

Standards for Financial Management

1. No grant period may extend beyond the end of the state's fiscal year. Funds not expended at the end of the grant period must be returned to the Division.

2. All Division grant funds and the grantee's matching funds must be used exclusively for expenses incurred within the grant period specified in the grant agreement. Grant funds are not transferable and must be used only to pay for services listed in the approved budget.

3. A grantee organization must comply with generally accepted accounting procedures. The accounting system should clearly separate grant funds from other revenues. Records should adequately identify the source and use of funds for grant-supported activities.

4. All expenditures authorized under the grant - both grant funds and cash match - must be itemized and documented with verifiable receipts and in sufficient detail to show the exact nature of each expenditure. All expenditures must be in the grant period: July 1-June 30.

5. A grantee must retain records for three years from the date of the Final Report or until all audit findings involving the records have been resolved, whichever is longer.

6. In order to be eligible to receive grant funding from any LDOA Statewide Grants Program, the applicant must be in good standing with the IRS, Secretary of State, and Legislative Auditor.

Documentation

1. All organizations receiving funds must submit retain a copy of the following, subject to audit by the Legislative Auditor:
   1. the most recent Internal Revenue Service Form 990 that they have submitted
   2. an annual audit
   3. a notarized Profit and Loss Statement or an Income Statement.

2. Organizations receiving grants that have a total budget of $25,000 or more must submit the last IRS Form 990 that they have submitted to the Internal Revenue Service. Organizations with budgets under $25,000 must submit a notarized Profit and Loss Statement or an Income Statement.

3. First-time grantees must submit documentation with the Final Report until audits are available which include Division grants. The Division maintains the option of requiring documentation relative to any grant. If, for auditing purposes, supporting documentation is requested at a later date, the grantee must produce it.

4. The Division may require copies of the documents supporting all expenditures of grant funds to be submitted with the Final Report.

5. Single audits are required by those organizations to which OMB Circular A 128 applies. Private universities must have audits prepared in accordance with OMB Circular A 110, A 133, or A 122. Contact the Grants Office of the Division of the Arts for additional information concerning required audits.

Public Acknowledgment

1. Each grantee must give credit for grant supported activities in public presentations, printed and broadcast promotion, publicity, advertising, and printed programs by including this credit line: "Supported in part by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council. Funding has also been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency."

2. Digital copies of examples of printed and promotional materials created for a state-funded activity must be submitted as part of the final report. Failure to include the credit statement on these materials may result in ineligibility for future funding. Click here for current logos.

Compliance with Applicable Laws

1. Division grantees must comply with all state laws applicable to the grants program and to those Federal laws required by the National Endowment for the Arts, including the Drug Free Work Place Act of 1988 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

2. Division grantees also must comply with administrative requirements of the state and any additional requirements by the National Endowment for the Arts, including those promulgated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB): OMB CircularA 128 and A 102 if the grantee is an agency of state or local government or OMB CircularA 110 or A 133 if the grantee organization is a nonprofit organization or university. A list of applicable laws is part of the grant agreement.

Reporting

1. Final Reports and invoices are due in the Louisiana Division of the Arts office June 1 (received, not postmarked). If after 25 business days the final report has not been received by our office, the entire final 25% of the original grant award will be reverted back to the state general fund and grantee shall become ineligible to receive any remaining payments authorized under this grant agreement. Failure to meet the June 1 deadline shall result in the following consequences to the grantee:
   1. Late submissions by the grantee will be reported to subsequent grant panels during review process.
   2. Failure to submit the final report within 25 business days after June 1 may result in ineligibility for future grants for a period of 12 months.

2. It is assumed that by June 1 that the grant activity will be completed or nearly complete. Grantees should report as much of their actual findings and expenses as of June 1 as possible and include any specific projections of expenditures for the remaining period of the grant. Instructions will be provided in the grant agreement.

3. The Final Report must include a full or estimated accounting of all income and expenditures and an evaluation of the completed project or services. If the report includes estimated amounts, submit an updated budget form at the end of the fiscal year. The grantee organizations should also supply digital copies of promotional materials, newspaper accounts, and other written evidence that the project actually took place as well as photographs suitable for publication. The Grant Agreement will include information about the Final Report forms.

4. Applicants that have grant-funded activities after June 1 will be allowed within the final report form to explain what those activities will be and the amount of funds remaining to be spent.

5. Please see requirements designated by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor in RS 24:513. As an applicant for state grant funds, you are required to comply with these rules as they pertain to your organization.

Penalties

1. If the Division determines that a grantee has failed to comply with the terms and conditions set forth in the grant agreement, that grantee shall become ineligible to receive any remaining payments authorized under the grant agreement. For 12 months following a determination of noncompliance, that grantee will be ineligible to receive any new grants.

2. Grantees ruled ineligible may reapply 12 months after receipt of an acceptable final report. Subsequent failure to comply with Division requirements may result in legal action and the grantee may become ineligible to receive future grants.

Assurance of Compliance

By signing the application, the applicant hereby gives assurances to the Louisiana Division of the Arts and the Louisiana State Arts Council that the applicant has read and understands all information contained in the Division of the Arts' Grant Application Guide. The applying individual or organization will administer the activities and services proposed in this application. Any grant funds received as a result of this application will be used exclusively for payment of allowable expenditures incurred for the services proposed in this application and the applicant will administer such grant funds. The applicant will comply with all rules, regulations, laws, terms, and conditions described in the Grant Application Guide. By signing this document, the individual representative of an organization is duly authorized by the governing authority of the applying organization to submit this application to the Louisiana Division of the Arts. This signature hereby certifies that all figures, statements, and representations made in this application, including any attachments, are true and correct to the best of the applicant's knowledge.

Program & Facility Access

Making the arts accessible to all people is a priority of the Louisiana Division of the Arts.

One of the conditions to which organizations agree in accepting a Division of the Arts grant is to assure that their programs and the facilities in which their programs are presented are accessible to people with disabilities.

The regulations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in employment (Title I), state and local government services (Title II), and places of public accommodation and commercial facilities (Title III). (42 U.S.C. 12101-12213). Every nonprofit organization is a beneficiary of Federal Financial Aid; therefore they must be able to provide accommodations when people with disabilities make requests for services.

Accessibility involves both the location (the facility) and the content (the activity or product) of the program. Costs associated with accessibility improvements may be included as part of a LDOA grant; however, capital improvements, bricks and mortar, and the purchase of permanent equipment are not allowed.

Stabilization Guidelines

Instructions on How to Prepare and Submit an Application