ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: March 12, 2002
Author/Local: A. Niwinski/6007
RTS: 2463
CC File No: 2051
Council: March 26, 2002

TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	Director, Office of Cultural Affairs
SUBJECT:	2002 Cultural Grants: Operating and Project Grant Allocations

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Council approve 77 Operating Grants amounting to $1,278,500 and 24 Project Grants amounting to $79,100, as listed in Appendix A, for a total of $1,357,600, including one conditional grant as noted. Source of funds to be the 2002 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 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, at which time applicants may address Council.

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 $1,357,600. The recommendations include any advance installments already approved by Council on January 24, 2002, as noted in Appendix A.

Not included in Appendix A are two applicants requesting reconsideration of staff recommendations. They are listed in Appendix B, and their applications will be addressed in a separate report, after the Request for Reconsideration process is completed.

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 for107 grant applications received in the Operating and Project grant categories, excluding two organizations requesting reconsideration.

BACKGROUND

Given the time lines for establishing the City's Operating Budget this year, the budget for the overall 2002 Cultural Grant program has not yet been finalized. To provide for the timely processing of the Operating and Project grant requests received in the first part of the year, staff have made the recommendations in this report based on last year's grant budget level, as detailed in the Financial Implications's section later in this report.

For this round, 111 requests were received in the Operating and Project grant categories. Two Project applicants subsequently withdrew. Following a review of the remaining 109 applications, staff recommended approval of 77 Operating grants and 24 Project grants totalling $1,357,600. These recommendations are made on the basis of clearly articulated criteria, including artistic merit and distinctiveness, organizational and financial competence, community impact and financial need.

After applicants were notified of these recommendations in writing, two requested reconsideration (see Appendix B). These are not included in the recommendations presented for Council's approval in this report, but have been referred to the reconsideration process. The results of this process will be presented to Council in late April or early May.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

Given that Council has not yet set the 2002 Cultural Grants budget, staff note that this report's total grant recommendations are well within last year's overall Cultural Grant budget level of $3,119,600 ($1,452,600 in cash grants and $1,667,000 for Theatre Rental Grants). Any changes that may be required when Council finalizes the 2002 Cultural Grant budget can be implemented by adjusting the budgets for the four grant programs that have deadlines later in the year. Reports on these programs are due after Council finalizes the Cultural Grants budget, and they will indicate any budget adjustments that have been made.

DISCUSSION

A summary of the requests and recommendations for all 109 applicants is provided in Table 1.

Table 1

Recommendations for 2002 Operating & Project Grants

	Operating	Project	Total
Requested	$1,652,500	$212,982	$1,865,482
Recommended	$1,278,500	$79,100	$1,357,600
2001 Operating & Project Budget	$1,258,500	$119,100	$1,377,600

Current Priorities

The recommendations in this report are based on priorities that reflect the importance of supporting community access to a range of cultural experiences throughout the city, and an assessment of the current state of Vancouver's not-for-profit arts and cultural sector. In recent years, the sector has maintained growth, in terms of revenue, activity level and audience development, despite the fact that many organizations are understaffed and undercapitalized. This situation appears to have been a factor in the provincial government's decision not to cut the budget of the B.C. Arts Council.

In this context, staff recommendations and the distribution of funds between Operating and Project categories reflect the need to strengthen the organizational infrastructure of the non-profit arts community, and to support innovative and artistically strong organizations, including a number of younger groups that can benefit from sustained funding. Two of the latter have been recommended for operating support for the first time. Within current budget levels, the City's capacity to fund new applicants is limited and only three previously unfunded applicants have been recommended for support.

A summary of staff recommendations for all 109 applicants compared to those in previous years is provided in Table 2.

Table 2

Overview of Recommendations
for Operating and Project Grants

	2002*	2001	2000	1999	1998
Total No. of Groups	109*	138	129	131	132
Not recommended groups	8	24	13	22	25
Recommended groups:	101	114	116	109	107
decreased from last year	9	8	14	9	8
held at same level	53	50	52	70	59
increased over last year	33	38	33	15	29
not funded in previous year	3	7	6
first-time grant	3	11	11	15	11

* First Project deadline only.

CONCLUSION

This is the main report on Operating and Project grants scheduled for 2002. 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 2002/2003 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 2002
Operating and Project Applications, Alphabetical List

			(Column 1)		(Column 2)	(Column 3)	(Column 4)
		Grant	2002		2002	2001	2001 Other
	Organization Name	Type	Recomm.		Request	Grant	Civic Support
1	536 Arts Soc.	PR	600		1,000
2	Aboriginal Art and Culture Celebration Soc.	PR	5,000		10,000	5,000
3	Alibi Unplugged Script Reading Series, The	PR	0		5,000
4	Alliance for Arts & Culture Soc. (formerly Van. Cultural Alliance)	OP*	40,000		40,000	40,000	VS
5	Arts Club of Vancouver Theatre Soc.	OP*	87,000	+	100,000	85,000	VS
6	Artspeak Gallery Soc.	OP*	12,000	+	15,000	11,000	CAP $10,000
7	Axis Theatre Soc.	OP*	13,500	+	20,000	12,500
8	B.C. Book Prizes (West Coast Book Prize Soc.)	OP	3,500		5,000	3,500
9	Ballet B.C. (Pacific Ballet B.C. Soc.)	OP*	82,000	+	90,000	80,000	TR $123,100
10	Bard on the Beach Theatre Soc.	OP*	10,000		15,000	10,000	VS
11	Barking Sphinx Performance Soc.	PR	1,000		1,500	1,000
12	Battery Opera Performing Arts Soc.	PR	5,000	+	6,000	3,000
13	Boca Del Lupo Theatre Soc.	PR	4,000	+	5,000	3,000
14	Burney Ensemble Soc.	OP	3,000	+	3,000	2,000
15	Canadian Craft & Design Museum	OP**	20,000	-	30,000	24,000	VS
16	Canadian Music Centre - B.C.	OP*	11,000		12,000	11,000	VS
17	Carousel Theatre Soc.	OP*	21,000		22,000	21,000
18	Centre Culturel Francophone de Vancouver	PR	5,000	+	5,000	4,500
19	Chamber Music Festival (Van. Recital Soc.)	OP*	11,500	+	18,000	11,000
20	Children's Arts Umbrella Assn.	OP*	15,000		20,000	15,000	BAX $2,130
21	Children's Festival (Can. Institute of the Arts for Young Audiences)	OP*	116,500		125,000	116,500	OD $3,800; VS
22	Chor Leoni Men's Choir	OP	3,000	+	3,500	2,000
23	Cineworks Independent Filmmakers Soc.	OP*	15,000		20,000	15,000	VS
24	Coastal Jazz and Blues Soc.	OP*	10,000		30,000	10,000	TR $16,200; VS
25	Contemporary Art Gallery Soc.	OP*	40,000	+	50,000	38,000	OD $1,000; VS
26	Corporeal Mime Soc.	PR	0		4,000
27	DanceArts Vancouver Soc.	OP*	17,000		35,000	17,000
28	Dancing on the Edge Festival Soc.	OP*	8,500		10,000	8,500	TR $10,650; VS
29	Dragon Boat Festival (Can. Intl. Dragon Boat Festival Soc.)	OP	5,000		15,000	5,000
30	Early Music Vancouver (Van. Soc. for Early Music)	OP*	16,000	+	20,000	15,000	VS
31	EDAM Performing Arts Soc.	OP*	11,000		14,000	11,000
32	Electric Company Theatre Soc.	OP	8,000		15,000	8,000	OD $1,000
33	Elektra Women's Choir	OP	2,000		2,000	2,000
34	Felix Culpa (Grinning Dragon Theatre Soc.)	PR	2,500		6,000	0
35	Firehall Theatre Soc.	OP*	39,000		60,000	39,000	DI $7,000; VS
36	Full Circle: First Nations Performance Soc.	PR	4,500	+	9,000	4,000	DI $4,000
37	Full Figure Theatre	PR	0		17,182
38	Greater Van. Historical Performance Soc. of B.C.	PR	0		4,500
40	Green Thumb Players Soc. (Green Thumb Theatre for Young People)	OP*	31,000	+	32,000	30,000
41	Grunt Gallery - Visible Arts Soc.	OP*	10,000		11,000	10,000
42	Hard Rubber New Music Soc.	OP	3,000		3,500	3,000
43	Headlines Theatre (Theatre for Living Soc.)	OP*	10,000		11,000	10,000
44	Holy Body Tattoo Soc.	OP*	10,000		15,000	10,000	BAX $4,260
45	Intertribal PowWow Committee (Assn. of Neighbourhood Houses of Greater Van.-Cedar Cottage N.H.)	PR	1,500		2,000	1,500	VS
46	Joe Ink Performance Soc.	OP	6,000		10,000	6,000
47	Karen Jamieson Dance Soc.	OP	6,500	-	8,000	7,000
48	Kokoro Dance Theatre Soc.	OP*	11,500	-	15,000	11,000
	+ one-time supplemental grant					1,500
49	Little Chamber Music Series That Could Soc.	OP	1,500		1,500	1,500
50	Lola MacLaughlin Dance Soc.	OP	9,000	+	13,000	7,500
51	MainDance Projects Soc.	OP	2,000	-	10,000	4,000
52	Malaspina Printmakers Soc.	OP	4,500	+	5,000	4,000
53	Mascall Dance Soc.	OP	7,000	-	12,000	7,500
54	Modern Baroque Opera Soc.	OP	9,000	+	12,000	7,500	OD $1,000
55	Mortal Coil Performance Soc.	PR	5,500	+	10,000	4,500
56	Movement Enterprises	PR	1,000		10,000
57	Moving Images Distribution Soc.	OP	3,000	-	6,000	6,000
58	Music in the Morning Concert Soc.	OP	7,000	+	10,000	6,500
59	Native Daughters of B.C., Post No. 1	OP	3,500		5,000	3,500	VS
60	New Orchestra Workshop Soc.	OP	3,500	+	6,000	3,000
61	Norman Rothstein Theatre (Westside Theatre Soc.)	PR	7,000	+	8,000	6,000	VS
62	Or Gallery Soc.	OP*	9,000		10,000	9,000
63	Orpheus Performing Arts Assoc.	PR	0		2,000
64	Pacific Baroque Orchestra Soc.	OP	3,000		5,000	3,000
65	Pacific Cinémathèque Pacifique	OP*	21,500	+	23,000	20,500	VS
66	Pacific Theatre (First Pacific Theatre Soc.)	OP	6,000	+	12,000	4,000	OD $1,000; VS
67	Pangaea Arts Soc.	PR	2,500		8,500
68	Pink Ink Theatre Productions Assn.	OP*	9,000	+	30,000	8,500
69	Pitt Gallery (Unit/Pitt Soc. For Arts and Critical Awareness)	OP	7,000	-	8,000	7,500
70	Plan B Dance Production Soc.	PR	1,000	-	8,000	4,000
71	Playwrights Theatre Centre	OP*	15,000		17,000	15,000	DI $9,500
72	Powell Street Festival Soc.	OP	6,000	+	20,000	5,000	VS
73	Public Dreams Soc.	OP*	12,500		20,000	12,500	VS
74	Radix Theatre Soc.	PR	2,500	+	5,000	1,500
75	Ruby Slippers Productions Soc.	OP	7,000		12,000	7,000
76	Rumble Production Soc.	OP*	9,500	+	13,000	9,000
77	Satellite Video Exchange Soc.	OP*	16,000		20,000	16,000	DI $6,500
79	Standing Wave	OP	1,500		2,000	1,500
80	Théâtre la Seizième	OP*	8,000		10,000	8,000
81	Theatre M.O.M. (Theatre Modular Organizational Management Soc.)	PR	6,000		12,000	6,000
82	Theatre Under the Stars	PR	0		20,000		VS
83	Time-Step Productions Soc.	PR	1,000		5,000	0
84	Touchstone Theatre Soc.	OP*	20,000		20,000	20,000
85	Uzume Taiko Drum Group Soc.	OP	6,500		7,500	6,500
86	Van. Access Artist Run Centre	PR	3,000		5,000	3,000
87	Van. Asian Heritage Festival Month Soc.	PR	7,000		10,000	7,000
88	Van. Cantata Soc.	OP*	13,000		14,000	13,000
89	Van. Chinese Instrumental Music Soc.	PR	1,500	+	2,000	1,000
90	Van. Co-operative Radio (Community Radio Edn. Soc.)	OP*	9,000	+	12,000	8,000
91	Van. Dance Centre Soc.	OP*	22,000	+	30,000	20,000
92	Van. East Cultural Centre	OP*	71,000		78,000	71,000	CAP $8,500; VS
93	Van. Folk Music Festival Soc.	OP*	55,000		55,000	55,000	OD $5,200; VS
94	Van. Fringe Festival (First Van. Theatrespace Soc.)	OP*	31,500		50,000	31,500
95	Van. Intl. Comedy Festival Soc.	OP	7,500		15,000	7,500
96	Van. Intl. Film Festival Soc.	OP*	17,500		25,000	17,500
97	Van. Intl. Writers Festival Soc.	OP*	20,000		22,000	20,000
98	Van. Moving Theatre Soc.	OP	3,500		4,500	3,500
99	Van. New Music Soc.	OP*	24,000	+	26,000	23,000	VS
100	Van. Opera Assn.	OP*	16,000		30,000	16,000	CAP $6,500; TR $238,850
101	Van. Soc. of Storytelling	OP	4,000		8,000	4,000
102	Van. Summer Festival Soc.	PR	5,000	+	4,800	4,000
103	Van. Symphony Soc.	OP*	43,000		46,000	43,000	TR $633,540; VS
104	Van. Tap Dance Soc.	PR	2,000		3,500	2,000	BAX $1,665
105	Van. Youth Theatre Soc.	OP	4,000	-	5,000	8,000
106	Vetta Chamber Music and Recital Soc.	OP	2,500		3,000	2,500
107	Western Front Soc.	OP*	19,000	+	24,000	18,000
108	Western Theatre Conspiracy Arts Soc.	PR	3,500		7,000		OD $1,000
109	Word on the Street Festival (Van. Book & Magazine Fair Soc.)	PR	1,500		5,000	1,500	VS
	Totals		1,357,600		1,854,482	1,329,500

Operating and Project grants budget (based on 2001 budget level) $1,377,600
Current recommendations for Operating and Project grants $1,357,600
Unallocated balance $ 20,000

** Conditional grant:

Canadian Craft & Design Museum
The staff committee has concerns about the museum's continued underperformance in the areas of revenue generation and of contributions made to the Facility Operating Endowment fund related to their occupancy of an amenity bonus facility. A reduced grant is recommended as follows: 50% upon Council's approval of the grant and 50% SUBJECT TO the organization providing, by July 2, 2002, a viable three-year Business Plan and demonstrated progress in meeting their obligations for the Endowment fund, to the satisfaction of the Director, Office of Cultural Affairs.

City of Vancouver Cultural Grants 2002
Requests for Reconsideration
Operating and Project Applications, Alphabetical List

			(Column 1)		(Column 2)	(Column 3)	(Column 4)
		Grant	2002		2002	2001	2001 Other
	Organization Name	Type	Recomm.		Request	Grant	Civic Support
39	Greater Van. Professional Theatre Alliance	PR	0		6,000
78	Shameless Hussy Production Soc.	PR	0		5,000	0
	Totals		0		11,000	0

* * * * *

(c) 1998 City of Vancouver