ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: March 15, 2001
Author/Local: A. Niwinski/6007

RTS: 01926

CC File No. 2051

Council: March 27, 2001

TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	Director, Office of Cultural Affairs
SUBJECT:	2001 Cultural Grants: Operating and Project Grant Allocations

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Council approve 76 Operating Grants amounting to $1,258,500 and 25 Project Grants amounting to $79,500, as listed in Appendix A, for a total of $1,338,000, including conditions on grants where noted. Source of funds to be the 2001 Cultural Grants budget.

COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of the foregoing.

POLICY

Council established the annual civic grants program in March 1978. City Council confirmed the criteria used in assessing Cultural Grant applications on February 3, 1987, and approved the Operating, Project, Organizational Development and Theatre Rental grant categories on December 14, 1989, and Diversity Initiatives on July 28, 1998.

On November 22, 1994, Council approved a new two-step grant approval process whereby undisputed staff recommendations are approved first (and are the subject of this report), while applications under reconsideration are given a second review and are presented to Council at a later date.
Approval of grant recommendations requires eight affirmative votes.

SUMMARY

As listed in Appendix A, this report recommends approval of 101 Operating and Project grants totalling $1,338,000. All recommendations include any advance installments already approved by Council.

In addition, a package including grant criteria, the application form, and the front pages of all applications with staff recommendations was sent to each City Council member in advance.

PURPOSE

This report presents recommendations for 117 grant applications reviewed by staff. It covers all Operating grant requests for 2001, and Project grants received for the first of two annual deadlines.

BACKGROUND

Budget

On March 15, 2001, City Council approved the Operating Budget Interim Estimates, which provided for an inflationary increase of 1% for the City's grant programs. As a result, the 2001 Cultural Grants budget ceiling is $3,119,600, including $1,377,600 for the combined Operating and Project grant categories discussed in this report. The distribution of the budget among all five Cultural Grant categories is as follows:

Operating: $1,258,500
Project: $119,100
Organizational Development: $25,000 (including $15,000 for Arts POD)
Diversity Initiatives: $50,000
Theatre Rental: $1,667,000

State of the Arts

In recent years the non-profits arts organizations discussed in this report have collectively managed to maintain steady growth and development. Data collected over the past four years indicates that the number of productions in the non-profit sector has increased. Total attendance at performances and exhibitions has risen. Revenues have grown. In every arts discipline, new works by mature as well as emerging artists have been created. New festivals and special events have been developed, including events reflecting the city's diversity, for example, the Aboriginal Arts and Cultural Festival and Asian Heritage Month.

This level of activity has been achieved despite a challenging economy and declining public sector funding. It has been accomplished because Vancouver arts groups are earning more revenues and finding ways to do more with less: through various cost-cutting measures, efficiencies gained through artistic and marketing partnerships, and increased fund-raising efforts. However, the growth has required a level of effort and financial constraint that is taking its toll on artists as well as administrators, and it is not clear that it can be sustained indefinitely, especially given the relatively small organizational infrastructure of the city's non-profit arts community.

Criteria and Priorities

Staff recommendations for grants are based on clearly articulated eligibility and evaluation criteria, including: activity level in Vancouver, artistic merit, organizational competence, diversification of revenue sources, financial need, accessibility to the broader community, and contributions to the health of the cultural sector as a whole. This year, strategic priorities for funding have included strengthening the organizational infrastructure in the non-profit arts community as a whole, supporting community access to a range of cultural experiences throughout the city, building artistic capacity in distinct communities, and assisting with the growth of innovative and artistically strong groups.

DISCUSSION

Because the grants budget ceilings had not been established while the grant review process was being conducted, staff prepared preliminary recommendations for Operating and Project grants based on reduced budget levels. Applicants were notified of these preliminary recommendations in writing, and no eligible requests for reconsideration were received.

As a contingency plan, during the grant review, staff also identified priority groups for possible increases if the final grants budget ceiling allowed for it, focussing on the strategic priorities described earlier in this report. Since the final grants budget approved on March 15th allows for an additional $9,500 for this round of Operating and Project grants, staff haveamended the original recommendations for 11 applicants. These changes have been incorporated into the list in Appendix A.

This year 34 Project grant and 83 Operating requests totalling $1,747,236 were received.
Project grants assist with one-time initiatives and with the activities of arts groups that work on a project basis. Operating grants are designed to help the city's established non-profit arts and cultural organizations achieve the financial stability they need to develop and maintain quality programming.

To qualify for operating funding, an applicant must have received a civic cultural grant for at least the past two years, and have a track record of competent management, artistic achievement, and ongoing activities in the community. Following a review of the applications, staff concluded that six organizations requesting Operating grants would be more appropriately addressed in the Project category, either because they continue to work on a project by project basis, or because they do not have an adequate track record of civic funding.

In total, staff have recommended approval of 76 Operating grants and 25 Project grants, amounting to $1,338,000. Table 1 summarizes the recommendations for all 117 applicants.

Table 1

Recommendations for 2001 Operating & Project Grants

	Requested	Recommended	Unallocated*
Operating	$1,536,736	$1,258,500	$0
Project	$210,500	$79,500	$39,600
Totals	$1,747,236	$1,338,000	$39,600

*Amount that will be available for the second Project Grants deadline.

A summary of staff recommendations for all 117 applicants compared to those in previous years is provided in Table 2.

5

Table 2

Overview of Recommendations
for Operating and Project Grants

* First Project deadline only.

CONCLUSION

This is the main report on Operating and Project grants scheduled for 2001. A report covering applications received for the second Project grant deadline will be presented to Council in late July. Reports on other Cultural Grant programs, including Diversity Initiatives, Arts Partners in Organizational Development and 2001/2002 Theatre Rental grants (which are the primary source of civic support for regular users of the Civic Theatres) will be presented later in the year.

* * * * *

City of Vancouver Cultural Grants 2001
Operating and Project Applications, Alphabetical List

			(Column 1)		(Column 2)	(Column 3)	(Column 4)
		Grant	2001		2001	2000	2000 Other
	Organization Name	Type	Recomm.		Request	Grant	Civic Support
1	Aboriginal Art and Culture Celebration Soc.	PR	5,000	+	20,000	4,000
2	Albert Dance Works	PR	0		4,000
3	Alliance for Arts & Culture Soc. (formerly Van. Cultural Alliance)	OP*	40,000		40,000	40,000	VS
4	Arts Club of Vancouver Theatre Soc.	OP*	85,000		100,000	85,000	CAP $50,000; VS
5	Artspeak Gallery Soc.	OP*	11,000	+	15,000	10,000
6	Astrid Dance Soc.	PR	0		5,000	4,500
7	Axis Theatre Soc.	OP*	12,500		16,000	12,500	OD $910
8	Ballet B.C. (Pacific Ballet B.C. Soc.)	OP*	80,000		85,000	80,000	TR $93,900
9	Bard on the Beach Theatre Soc.	OP*	10,000	+	15,000	9,500	CAP $15,000; VS
10	Barking Sphinx Performance Soc.	PR	1,000		1,500	0
11	Battery Opera Performing Arts Soc.	PR	3,000	+	4,000	2,000
12	B.C. Book Prizes (West Coast Book Prize Soc.)	OP	3,500		5,000	3,500
13	Boca Del Lupo Theatre Soc.	PR	3,000	+	8,000	2,500
14	Burney Ensemble Soc.	PR	2,000	+	3,000	1,000
15	Canadian Craft Museum Assn.	OP**	24,000		30,000	24,000	VS
16	Canadian Music Centre - B.C.	OP*	11,000		12,000	11,000	CAP $37,500; VS
17	Carousel Theatre Soc.	OP*	21,000		22,000	21,000
18	Centre Culturel Francophone de Vancouver	PR	4,500	+	7,000	3,000	OD $1,130
19	Chamber Music Festival (Van. Recital Soc.)	OP*	11,000	+	15,000	10,000
20	Children's Arts Umbrella Assn.	OP*	15,000		20,000	15,000
21	Children's Festival (Can. Institute of the Arts for Young Audiences)	OP*	116,500		116,500	116,500	VS
22	Chinese Cultural Centre of Van.	PR	0		5,000	3,000	VS
23	Chor Leoni Men's Choir	OP	2,000	+	3,000	1,500	BAX $4,100
24	Cineworks Independent Filmmakers Soc.	OP*	15,000		20,000	15,000	VS
25	Coastal Jazz and Blues Soc.	OP*	10,000		30,000	10,000	TR $15,500
26	Community Arts Council of Vancouver	PR	2,500		7,000
27	Contemporary Art Gallery Soc.	OP*	38,000		43,000	38,000
28	DanceArts Vancouver Soc.	OP*	17,000	-	30,000	27,000
29	Dancers Dancing Dance Soc.	PR	2,500		2,500	2,500
30	Dancing on the Edge Festival Soc.	OP	8,500	+	10,000	6,500	BAX $2,050
31	Dragon Boat Festival (Can. Intl. Dragon Boat Festival Soc.)	OP	5,000		10,000	5,000
32	Dylan Thomas Circle Soc.	PR	0		5,000
33	Early Music Vancouver (Van. Soc. for Early Music)	OP*	15,000		18,000	15,000	BAX $5,300; VS
34	EDAM Performing Arts Soc.	OP*	11,000	+	11,000	10,000
35	Edgewise ElectroLit Centre Soc.	PR	0		5,000	1,000
36	Electric Company Theatre Soc.	PR	8,000	+	10,000	6,000
37	Elektra Women's Choir	OP	2,000		2,000	2,000
38	Felix Culpa (Grinning Dragon Theatre Soc.)	PR	0		4,000	3,500
39	Firehall Theatre Soc.	OP*	39,000	+	45,000	37,000	DI $6,000; VS
40	Flamenco Rosario (Rosario Ancer Flamenco Arts Soc.)	PR	2,500		5,000	0
41	Full Circle: First Nations Performance Soc.	PR	4,000		9,000
42	Green Thumb Players Soc. (Green Thumb Theatre for Young People)	OP*	30,000		32,000	30,000
43	Grunt Gallery - Visible Arts Soc.	OP*	10,000	+	12,000	9,000
44	Hard Rubber New Music Soc.	OP	3,000	+	3,000	2,500
45	Headlines Theatre (Theatre for Living Soc.)	OP*	10,000	-	13,000	11,500
46	Holy Body Tattoo Soc.	OP*	10,000	+	13,000	9,000
47	Independent Communication Association	PR	0		9,000
48	Intertribal PowWow Committee (Assn. of Neighbourhood Houses of Greater Van.-Cedar Cottage N.H.)	PR	1,500		1,500	1,500
49	Interurban Community Artistic Soc.	PR	2,000		7,500
50	Joe Ink Performance Soc.	OP	6,000		6,000	6,000
51	Karen Jamieson Dance Soc.	OP	7,000		7,000	7,000
52	Katari Taiko Drum Group Assn.	OP	0		2,500	2,500
53	Katherine Labelle Dance Soc.	PR	0		5,000
54	Kokoro Dance Theatre Soc.	OP*	11,000	+	15,000	10,000
	+ one-time supplemental grant		1,500
55	La Luna Productions (VIEW, The Performing Arts Soc.)	PR	0		5,000
56	Little Chamber Music Series That Could Soc.	OP	1,500		1,500	1,500
57	Lola MacLaughlin Dance Soc.	OP	7,500		10,000	7,500
58	MainDance Projects Soc.	OP	4,000		5,000	4,000
59	Malaspina Printmakers Soc.	OP	4,000		5,000	4,000
60	Mandala Arts and Culture Soc.	PR	1,500		1,500
61	Mascall Dance Soc.	OP	7,500		10,000	7,500
62	Modern Baroque Opera Soc.	OP	7,500	+	10,000	5,500	BAX $4,260
63	Mortal Coil Performance Soc.	PR	4,500	+	5,000	3,000
64	Moving Images Distribution Soc.	OP*	6,000	-	10,000	9,000
65	Music in the Morning Concert Soc.	OP	6,500	-	10,000	6,500
	+ one-time supplemental grant					1,000
66	Native Daughters of B.C., Post No. 1	OP	3,500		6,000	3,500	VS
67	New Orchestra Workshop Soc.	OP	3,000	+	5,000	2,500
68	Norman Rothstein Theatre (Westside Theatre Soc.)	PR	6,000	+	8,000	4,500	VS
69	Or Gallery Soc.	OP*	9,000		11,000	9,000
70	Pacific Baroque Orchestra Soc.	OP	3,000		5,000	3,000
71	Pacific Cinémathèque Pacifique	OP*	20,500		23,000	20,500	VS
72	Pacific Theatre (First Pacific Theatre Soc.)	OP	4,000	+	12,000	2,500	VS
73	Palme's Performing Soc.	PR	0		5,000	1,000	CAP $3,700
74	Pink Ink Theatre Productions Assn.	OP*	8,500	+	12,000	8,000
75	Pitt Gallery (Unit/Pitt Soc. for Arts and Critical Awareness)	OP	7,500		8,500	7,500	OD $2,270
76	Playwrights Theatre Centre	OP*	15,000		15,000	15,000
77	Powell Street Festival Soc.	OP	5,000	+	15,000	4,000	VS
78	Public Dreams Soc.	OP*	12,500		20,000	12,500	VS
79	Radix Theatre Soc.	PR	1,500		3,000	0
80	Ruby Slippers Productions Soc.	OP	7,000		10,000	7,000
81	Rumble Production Soc.	OP	9,000	+	12,000	7,000	DI $4,000
82	Satellite Video Exchange Soc.	OP*	16,000		20,000	16,000	DI $9,000
83	Savage Media Soc.	PR	0		3,000
84	Shameless Hussy Production Soc.	PR	0		5,000
85	Soc. for Disability Arts and Culture	PR	4,000		4,000
86	Standing Wave	OP	1,500		1,500	1,500
87	Tangled Tongues Performance (Rumble Productions Soc.)	PR	2,000		3,000
88	Théâtre la Seizième	OP	8,000	+	12,000	6,500
89	Time-Step Productions Soc.	PR	0		5,000
90	Touchstone Theatre Soc.	OP*	20,000		20,000	20,000
91	True North Performance Soc.	PR	0		3,500
92	Uzume Taiko Drum Group Soc.	OP	6,500	-	8,000	7,500	OD $910
93	Van. Access Artist Run Centre	PR	3,000	+	5,000	2,000	CAP $680
94	Van. Asian Heritage Festival Month Soc.	PR	7,000	+	10,000	5,000
95	Van. Cantata Soc.	OP*	13,000	+	14,500	12,000	TR $13,825
96	Van. Chinese Instrumental Music Soc.	PR	1,000		1,000	1,000
97	Van. Co-operative Radio (Community Radio Edn. Soc.)	OP*	8,000		10,000	8,000
98	Van. Dance Centre Soc.	OP*	20,000	-	20,000	18,000
	+ one-time supplemental grant					3,000
99	Van. East Cultural Centre	OP*	71,000	+	71,736	69,000	OD $4,550; VS
100	Van. Folk Music Festival Soc.	OP*	55,000		55,000	55,000	VS
101	Van. Fringe Festival (First Van. Theatrespace Soc.)	OP*	31,500		35,000	31,500
102	Van. Intl. Comedy Festival Soc.	OP	7,500		10,000	7,500	OD $910
103	Van. Intl. Film Festival Soc.	OP*	17,500		25,000	17,500
104	Van. Intl. Writers Festival Soc.	OP*	20,000		22,500	20,000
105	Van. Moving Theatre Soc.	OP	3,500	+	4,000	2,500
106	Van. New Music Soc.	OP*	23,000		25,000	23,000	BAX $2,050; CAP $37,500; OD $1,590
107	Van. Opera Assn.	OP*	16,000	+	50,000	14,000	TR $235,850
108	Van. Pro Musica (Pro Musica Soc. of Van.)	OP	1,500		2,500	1,500
109	Van. Soc. of Storytelling	OP	4,000		4,000	4,000
110	Van. Summer Festival Soc.	PR	4,000	+	6,000	3,500	FIN $63,875
111	Van. Symphony Soc.	OP*	43,000	-	60,000	46,000	TR $671,730; VS
112	Van. Tap Dance Soc.	PR	2,000		2,000
113	Van. Youth Theatre Soc.	OP*	8,000		10,000	8,000
114	Vetta Chamber Music and Recital Soc.	OP	2,500		3,000	2,500
115	Western Front Soc.	OP*	18,000		20,000	18,000
116	Word on the Street Festival (Van. Book & Magazine Fair Soc.)	PR	1,500		5,000	0
117	World of Children's Choirs	PR	0		2,500	2,500
	Totals		1,338,000		1,747,236	1,310,500

** Conditional grant:

Canadian Craft Museum Assn.
A grant at last year's level is recommended, SUBJECT TO receipt by Aug. 31, 2001 of a detailed plan for raising the operating endowment fund required as a condition of the CCM's lease with the City. The plan is to be approved by the society's Board of Directors and meet the lease requirements to the satisfaction of the Director, Office of Cultural Affairs.