Accessibility: means ensuring that individuals with disabilities can access and participate in the same experiences and opportunities as those without disabilities. This involves removing barriers and providing accommodations to enable equal access to information, services, and environments, whether physical or digital.
accessibility: creates environments in which any individual or group can be and feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued to fully participate.
Administrative Costs: costs not directly related to the creation of art. These can include compensating staff (not artistic staff salaries and fees), marketing, office supplies, facilities maintenance, etc.
Administrative Staff: members of staff that are involved in administrative tasks or the day-to-day operations of an organization or business.
Art: anything made by hand or in the mind and resulting from creative or imaginative skill.
Artistic Staff: members of staff that are directly involved in the creative process.
Benefit to Boulder Community: Artistic endeavors that are generally accessible to Boulderites, taking place withing the 803-- area code, with relative affordability and marketed broadly. These endeavors will furthermore have intended goals in alignment with the priorities of the Boulder Arts Blueprint.
Boulder-based Artist: must demonstrate that they are based in the city limits of Boulder. Examples of documentation to demonstrate being headquartered or residing in Boulder may include a utility bill, phone bill, pay stub, renter’s or mortgage bill, lease, insurance policy, or other official document. P.O. Boxes are not acceptable.
Boulder-based Organization: must demonstrate that they are headquartered in the city limits of Boulder. The official business address of the organization must be located within the 803—area code.
Budget: plan for organization or specific project expenditures, which details income and expenses.
Budget Narrative: an explanation of budget line items, including discrepancies, outliers, and other special circumstances.
Contractor: a non-permanent position that is temporary or time limited as a condition of employment.
Contributed Income: unearned income such as grants, cash donations from individuals and businesses, etc. This does not include in-kind contributions.
Collaborator: an individual or organization that contribute their unique skills, perspectives, and resources to a shared artistic vision. Collaboration involves teamwork, communication, and mutual commitment to bring the project to life. A collaborator has a more established roles and responsibilities than a contributor or a venue.
Contributor: a contributor is someone who provides input or makes a specific contribution, but is less invested in the project’s goals and its outcomes than a collaborator.
Evaluation: a systematic process such as a survey to determine if a project or program achieved its stated goals.
Fiscal Year: a 12-month accounting period that an organization or business uses for financial and tax reporting purposes.
Fiscal Sponsor: an organization that meets the definition of eligible federally tax-exempt nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that administers grant funds to an entity eligible to be a federally tax -exempt nonprofit 501(c)3 organizations incorporated in Boulder but that have not yet attained this status.
Full-time Personnel: A permanent position employing an individual for at least 35 hours per week; does not include consultants, contract workers, independent contractors or positions that are temporary or time limited as a condition of employment.
General Operating Support: multi-year flexible funding that allows awardees to allocate the dollars to their most pressing needs. The only restrictions on uses of general operating support funds is capital construction or acquisition of real estate (unless exceptionally approved by the Boulder Arts Commission with a showing of a significant public purpose), and prohibited expenses (see below).
Goals: a statement or statements about what a project intends to accomplish through the arts; the long-term end result for which activities are developed to achieve. Goals have specific outcomes that are measured through evaluation processes.
Good Standing: applicants who have met agreed-upon deadlines for any previous Boulder Arts Commission-sponsored project, and/or can demonstrate good faith efforts to comply with Boulder Arts Commission requests regarding previous projects. Organizations must be active entities at the time of award. Nonprofit applicants must also be in good standing with the Secretary of State of Colorado.
Grant Agreement: the legal contract between the City of Boulder and the grantee that specifies the conditions under which Boulder Arts Commission funds may be spent (like the requirements to acknowledge Boulder Arts Commission funding and submit a Final Report).
Individual Applicant: applications in which the project is created and managed by a single individual, a sole-proprietorship, or a for-profit business with only one employee.
Ineligible Application: an application that does not meet the requirements stated in the guidelines and will not be reviewed by panel. Incomplete applications that lack a required element are ineligible applications.
In-kind Contributions: goods (space used by applicant, equipment, supplies, materials, etc.) and services (volunteer time, transportation, printing, etc.) donated to the applicant. Note: the dollar value of these contributions (what it would cost if the organization had to pay for them) must be reported separately from other line items in a budget or financial overview.
Intergenerational Programming: art programming that brings people of different ages together for mutual benefit, sharing skills, knowledge, and experiences to build meaningful relationships, reduce loneliness, and strengthen communities. Specifically, intergenerational programming should include youth (age 21 and under) and/or senior citizens (over the age of 55).
Letter of Support: a signed letter that serves as a formal endorsement written by a third party (an individual or organization) who affirms their backing of the applicant's proposed project, organization, mission, or collaboration. Letters of support can lend credibility, demonstrate collaboration or institutional commitment, and highlight impact.
Nonprofit Organization: a secular organization with tax-exempt status that is in good standing with the Secretary of State of Colorado.
Outcomes: specific, measurable changes or results that occur as a consequence of achieving a goal. Outcomes use language like “number of...” or “percentage of...”.
Organizational Applicant: applications in which the project is being created and managed by a nonprofit or a for-profit business with multiple employees.
Part-time Personnel: an individual employed in a permanent position for less than 35 hours per week; does not include consultants, contract workers, independent contractors, persons whose positions are temporary, or time limited as a condition of employment.
Pre-application: a short questionnaire to determine an application’s eligibility and alignment with the Boulder Arts Commission’s goals. This must be submitted before the pre-application deadline and before the invitation to write a full application.
Prohibited Expenses: costs that are not eligible and should not be included in the application budget. These include costs incurred before the grant funding decisions have been made, the purchase of alcohol or marijuana, debt reduction, creating or building endowments, political activity, programming that promotes a single religion over others, re-granting of the funds, or for capital construction or acquisition of real estate unless exceptionally approved by the Boulder Arts Commission with a showing of a significant public purpose.
Project: an artistic endeavor that is limited in time and scope, unlike ongoing programming. It has a specific purpose to be achieved within a specific start and end date.
Public Art Component: projects with a public art component specifically includes art intended to exist in public spaces, such as a community mural or statue. A project that merely takes place ‘in public’ does not count. Note: applicants do not have to include a public art component. We ask if a project contains a public art component to make sure that the proper permits and steps have taken place so the project won’t be delayed or cancelled.
Strategic Plan: a strategic plan is a document developed and used by an organization to align its operations and budget structure with organizational priorities, mission, goals and objectives.
Sustainability: refers to the responsible management of natural resources to fulfill current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. It aims to balance ecological, economic and social goals, such as reducing carbon emissions, promoting renewable energy, and ensuring equitable resource access.
Underserved communities: means those who face barriers in accessing services because of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, income level, geographic location, religion, disability, language, citizenship status, or age.
Venue Confirmation: a signed letter from a venue confirming that the project will take place at said venue on or during the dates stated in the application. If the venue is a private residence, the applicant may still submit a signed letter confirming that the location is accessible to the Boulder community.
Volunteer: A position in which an individual performs job duties willingly and without pay.
Work Sample: a visual or auditory example of an artist or organization’s work. The sample does not necessarily have to be directly related to the project; rather, it should give the review panel an idea of ‘the work that you do.’