ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: October 1, 1999
Author/Local: A. Niwinski/6007
RTS No. 0998
CC File No. 2051

Council: October 19, 1999

TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	Director, Office of Cultural Affairs
SUBJECT:	1999 Cultural Grant Requests: Organizational Development

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Council approve grants totalling $1,200 to the following five organizations, for arts administration training, source of funds to be the Organizational Development component of the 1999 Cultural Grants budget:

Artstarts $ 300
Music in the Morning: $ 500
Pangaea Arts Society $ 150
Vancouver Pro Musica: $ 100
Van. International Writers Festival $ 150

GENERAL MANAGER’S COMMENTS

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

COUNCIL POLICY

On February 25, 1999, City Council approved a budget of $25,000 for the Organizational Development component of the Cultural Grants budget, with $15,000 designated for Arts POD grants and $10,000 for arts administration training and collaborative audience development projects. Guidelines for arts administration grants were approved by Council in 1988.

Approval of grant recommendations requires eight affirmative votes.

PURPOSE

This report recommends grants to five organizations, toward arts administration training, source of funds to be the Organizational Development component of the Cultural Grants budget.

BACKGROUND

Grants for arts administration training are designed to assist organizations that have receive civic cultural grants in sending permanent staff to short-term courses and workshops by recognized institutions. Travel and other costs unrelated to actual training are not eligible.
The purpose of the grants is to help arts organizations augment the skills of administrative staff, who, especially in smaller organizations, need to be “jacks of all trades” in a changing and competitive environment. Grant requests are evaluated on the basis of financial need and the potential benefits of relevance of the training to the organization. Successful applicants are required to provide a report evaluating the results of the training.

DISCUSSION

Five organizations have applied for grants amounting to $1,495 towards the costs of arts administration training for staff. Grants amounting totalling are recommended, as listed in Table 1, and discussed in more detail following

Table 1

Organization	Training Costs	Requested	Recommended
Artstarts	$1,220	$500	$300
Music in the Morning	$1,140	$570	$500
Pangaea Arts Society	$295	$150	$150
Vancouver Pro Musica	$150	$100	$100
Van. Int’l Writers Festival	$325	$175	$150
Total	$3,130	$1,495	$1,200

Artstarts is sending a program co-ordinator to a professional development program in Toronto sponsored by the National Society of Fund-Raising Executives. Fees for the program, which will include capital campaigns, leveraging strategies, fund raising ethics, campaigns evaluation, and other related topics, amount to $617, not including travel costs. No training at a comparable level is available in Vancouver. Staff recommend a grant of $300 toward fees.

Music in the Morning is supporting additional training for its full-time administrator, focussing on an area where she has increasing responsibilities: fund-raising and development. The society has applied for a $500 to assist with costs totalling $1,140 for seminars at Vancouver Community College covering a range of topics related to organizational management, fund-raising, public relations and marketing. Staff recommend a grant of $500.

Pangaea Arts Society, a small interdisciplinary arts society with an intercultural mandate, is currently building up its organizational infrastructure and seeking to augment the skills of its general manager by sending her to three workshops: fund-raising at Langara College, and proposal writing and publicity at Vancouver Community College. Staff recommend a grant of $150 towards tuition fees, which total $295.

Vancouver International Writers Festival has applied for a $175 grant towards the $325 cost of sending its general manager to workshops on strategic planning and policy development at the Justice Institute of B.C. The two programs will assist her in developing an internal process for strategic planning and for instituting “best practices” for the society. Staff recommend a grant of $150.

Vancouver Pro Musica, a small music organization focussing on Vancouver composers, has asked for assistance with the $150 cost of sending its administrator to a seminar on proposal writing for non-profits organized by Continuing Studies at Simon Fraser University. Staff recommend a grant of $100.

CONCLUSION

Approval of the recommendations in this report will leave an unallocated balance of $23,800 in the Organizational Development component of the Cultural Grants budget. Reports on the Arts Partner in Organizational Development program and other requests in the Organizational Development category will be reported on later this year.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver