ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: January 19, 1998

Author/Local: AN/6007

CC File No. 2051

TO:	Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets
FROM:	Director of the Office of Cultural Affairs
SUBJECT:	1998 Advance Installments: Cultural Operating Grants

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RECOMMENDATIONS

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A.THAT Council approve a change in the level at which applicants qualify for advance installments on their operating grants, requiring that an applicant’s previous year’s grant be over $7,500, rather than $5,000.

B.THAT Council approve advance installments on cultural operating grants in the amount of $407,960 to the 45 organizations listed in Appendix A, source of funds to be the 1998 Cultural Grants Budget.

GENERAL MANGER’S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services submits the foregoing for CONSIDERATION.

COUNCIL POLICY

On December 14, 1989, City Council approved in principle the provision of advance installments on cultural operating grants to applicants that meet three basic criteria:

1.The applicant has received a civic cultural operating grant for at least three consecutive years.

2.The applicant’s civic grant in the previous year was at least $5,000.

3.An initial review of an organization’s current application indicates that no critical concerns about the applicant’s finances, organizational stability or overall performance have arisen in the past year.

At that time Council also resolved that the list of organizations eligible for an advance installment be presented for Council’s approval at the same time as the annual Cultural Grants budget report. And on February 1, 1996 Council approved a change in the basis for calculating advance installments on cultural grants, from 50% of an applicant’s previous year’s grant to 40%.

Approval of grant recommendations requires eight affirmative votes.

PURPOSE

This report recommends that, as of this year, a criterion for receiving an advance grant installment be that an applicant’s previous year’s grant was over $7,500. Based on this changed criterion, it also presents recommendations for 1998 grant installments totalling $407,960 to 45 eligible organizations.

BACKGROUND

Until 1990, only a few large cultural organizations, mostly in the "Other" grants category, were given advances on their operating grants. Advance installments for the Cultural Grants budget 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 government grant budgets have not yet been approved.

Cultural grant installment recommendations are usually considered by Council in early February, at the same time as the annual Grants Budget Ceiling report. They are based on a preliminary review of grant applications, which are received at the beginning of December, as well as the year-round contact staff have with arts organizations.

Following Council’s decisions, all recipients are notified, in writing, that approval of an advance payment does not represent a commitment for additional funds in a given year, and that every application will be subject to further staff evaluation in the context of the Cultural Grants budget approved by Council for a given year.

DISCUSSION

While feedback from cultural grant recipients indicates that advance installments continue to provide much needed assistance with cash flow problems, OCA staff recognize the desirability of limiting the proportion of the Cultural Grants budget committed in advance, as well as the number of groups to which this early commitment is made, especially given current pressures on the budget. With this in mind, staff are recommending that the level at which advances are provided be changed from $5,000 to over $7,500 of an applicant’s previous year’s operating grant. This change would mean that 13 groups that would have been eligible for an advance (amounting to $2,000) at the $5,000 level would no longer be eligible.

CONCLUSION

For 1998, 131 Operating and Project grant requests in the amount of $1,713,740 have been received. Following a review of these applications in the context of the advance installment guidelines proposed in this report, 45 of the 86 operating grant applicants are recommended for advances totalling $407,960 as listed in Appendix A.

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1998 Advance Cultural Grants
1/14/98			Appendix A
Organization Name	1997 Grant		1998 Advance Grant
Arts Club of Vancouver Theatre Soc.	$68,000		$27,200
Artspeak Gallery	8,000		3,200
Axis Theatre Soc.	11,500		4,600
Ballet B.C. Soc.	80,000		32,000
Bard on the Beach Theatre Soc.	9,500		3,800
Can. Craft Museum Assoc.	24,000		9,600
Can. Music Centre - B.C.	10,500		4,200
Carousel Theatre Soc.	19,000		7,600
Chamber Music Festival	8,500		3,400
Children's Arts Umbrella	15,000		6,000
Children's Festival (CIAYA)	116,400		46,560
Cineworks Independent Filmmakers Soc.	15,000		6,000
Coastal Jazz and Blues Soc.	10,000		4,000
Contemporary Art Gallery	38,000		15,200
D.C. Dancecorps Soc.	8,000		3,200
DanceArts Vancouver	27,000		10,800
Early Music Vancouver	14,000		5,600
EDAM Performing Arts Society	8,000		3,200
Firehall Theatre Soc.	30,000		12,000
FRINGE Festival	32,000		12,800
Green Thumb Theatre	29,000		11,600
Headlines Theatre Company Soc.	11,500		4,600
Karen Jamieson Dance Soc.	17,000		6,800
Kokoro Dance Theatre Soc.	9,500		3,800
Moving Images Distribution Soc.	9,000		3,600
Or Gallery Soc.	8,000		3,200
Pacific Cinematheque Pacifique	18,000		7,200
Pink Ink Theatre Productions	9,000		3,600
Playwrights' Theatre Centre	15,000		6,000
Organization Name	1997 Grant		1998 Advance Grant
Public Dreams Soc.	10,000		4,000
Satellite Video Exchange Soc.	14,000		5,600
Touchstone Theatre Soc.	17,000		6,800
Van. Cantata Society	14,000		5,600
Van. Co-operative Radio	8,000		3,200
Van. Cultural Alliance	34,000		13,600
Van. Dance Centre	15,000		6,000
Van. East Cultural Centre	65,000		26,000
Van. Intl. Film Festival Soc.	17,500		7,000
Van. Intl. Writer's Festival Soc.	20,000		8,000
Van. New Music Society	20,000		8,000
Van. Symphony Society	46,000		18,400
VIEW, The Performing Arts Soc.	21,000		8,400
Waterfront Theatre Soc.	13,500		5,400
Western Front Soc.	17,500		7,000
45 organizations	$1,019,900		$407,960

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(c) 1997 City of Vancouver