ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

Director, Office of Cultural Affairs

SUBJECT:

2003 Advance Installments: Cultural Operating Grants

 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

City Council approved the provision of advance installments for Cultural Operating grants to applicants that meet specific criteria on December 14, 1989. As amended by Council on February 5, 1998, the three basic criteria for receipt of an advance Installment are:

· The applicant has received a Cultural Operating grant for at least three consecutive years.
· The applicant's Operating grant in the previous year was over $7,500.
·
An initial review of an organization's current application indicates no critical concerns about the applicant's finances, organizational sustainability or overall performance in the past year.

On February 1, 1996, City Council established the basis for calculating advance installments for Cultural grants as 40% of an applicant's Operating grant in the previous year.

Approval of grant recommendations requires eight affirmative votes.

PURPOSE

This report recommends that advance installments on Cultural Operating grants be provided as in past years, and that payments representing 40% of each of the 47 eligible applicants' 2002 grant be made. A total of $451,200 in advance installments is recommended.

BACKGROUND

Advance installments for the Cultural Operating grants category were introduced in 1990 to alleviate the cash flow problems that many arts organizations experience at the beginning of the calendar year, when they are in mid-season, but when government and foundation grant budgets have not yet been approved. Before that, only the five major exhibiting institutions funded by the City received advances on their annual grants. Recommendations for advance installments on Cultural Operating grants are usually presented to Council in January, following a preliminary review of grant applications received in early December.

DISCUSSION

In 2002 the City provided Operating grants amounting to $1,268,500 to 77 organizations. This year, 79 Operating grant requests totalling $1,671,500 have been received. Following a review of these applications in the context of advance Installment criteria described earlier, 47 Operating grant applicants are recommended for advances totalling $451,200, as listed in Table 1.

Table 1 - 2003 Advance Installments

Organization

'02 Grant

'03 Advance

Alliance for Arts & Culture Soc.

$40,000

$16,000

Arts Club of Vancouver Theatre Soc.

$87,000

$34,800

Artspeak Gallery Soc.

$12,000

$4,800

Axis Theatre Soc.

$13,500

$5,400

Ballet BC

$82,000

$32,800

Bard on the Beach Theatre Soc.

$10,000

$4,000

Canadian Music Centre - BC

$11,000

$4,400

Carousel Theatre Soc.

$21,000

$8,400

Chamber Music Festival (Van. Recital Soc.)

$11,500

$4,600

Children's Arts Umbrella

$15,000

$6,000

Children's Festival (C.I.A.Y.A.)

$116,500

$46,600

Cineworks Independent Filmmakers Soc.

$15,000

$6,000

Coastal Jazz and Blues Soc.

$10,000

$4,000

Contemporary Art Gallery Soc.

$40,000

$16,000

DanceArts Vancouver Soc.

$17,000

$6,800

Dancing on the Edge Festival Society

$8,500

$3,400

Early Music Vancouver Music

$16,000

$6,400

EDAM Performing Arts Soc.

$11,000

$4,400

Firehall Theatre Soc.

$39,000

$15,600

Green Thumb Players Soc.

$31,000

$12,400

Grunt Gallery - Visible Arts Soc.

$10,000

$4,000

Headlines Theatre (Theatre for Living Soc.)

$10,000

$4,000

Holy Body Tattoo Soc.

$10,000

$4,000

Kokoro Dance Theatre Soc.

$11,500

$4,600

Lola MacLaughlin Dance Soc.

$9,000

$3,600

Modern Baroque Opera

$9,000

$3,600

Or Gallery Soc.

$9,000

$3,600

Pacific Cinémathèque Pacifique

$21,500

$8,600

Pink Ink Theatre Productions Assn.

$9,000

$3,600

Playwrights Theatre Centre

$15,000

$6,000

Public Dreams Soc.

$12,500

$5,000

Rumble Productions

$9,500

$3,800

Satellite Video Exchange Soc.

$16,000

$6,400

Theatre la Seizieme

$8,000

$3,200

Touchstone Theatre Soc.

$20,000

$8,000

Van. Cantata Soc.

$13,000

$5,200

Van. Co-operative Radio

$9,000

$3,600

Van. Dance Centre Soc.

$22,000

$8,800

Van. East Cultural Centre

$71,000

$28,400

Van. Folk Music Festival Soc.

$55,000

$22,000

Van. Fringe Festival Soc.

$31,500

$12,600

Van. Intl. Film Festival Soc.

$17,500

$7,000

Van. Intl. Writers Festival Soc.

$20,000

$8,000

Van. New Music Soc.

$24,000

$9,600

Van. Opera Assn.

$16,000

$6,400

Van. Symphony Soc.

$43,000

$17,200

Western Front Soc.

$19,000

$7,600

Totals

$1,128,000

$451,200

CONCLUSION

The advance installments recommended in this report represent 35% of the Cultural Operating grants budget at last year's level.

As in previous years, following Council's decision, applicants will be notified in writing that approval of an advance payment does not represent a commitment for any additional funds, which will depend on further staff evaluation, on the Cultural grants budget level established by Council for 2003, and on Council's final approval.

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