In 2025, over $1.4 million dollars in grant funds will be distributed to the community, with new applications open for community projects, arts education projects, professional development scholarships, grant writing support, and more. Grants are available for organizations, individuals, and classrooms. Review the 2025 funding structure.
Following are the scoring systems for various application categories.
Return to the Cultural Grants Program landing page to apply.
The panel consists of five Grant Panel members. Information on the Grant Panel can be found here.
After reading your application, the panel will provide scores and comments.
For General Operating Support grants and project grants, the questions are divided into two sections:
First, the panel members provide scores on the information you provide in the “Panel Questions” section. Panel members provide a score of 1 to 8 for each panel question.
Second, the panel members provide additional points on two focus areas: 1) for Boulder-based organizations and 2) for encouragement points. A maximum of 4 additional points is available to the panel members for the encouragement points section, and 6 additional points for the Boulder focus section.
The scores for each panel member are added together to establish a preliminary score for the application. All questions are weighted equally. Those preliminary scores are averaged across all the panel members to establish a preliminary score. This score is used to rank your application for consideration. For each grant category, the Arts Commission will establish a threshold score over which an application is considered eligible for an award. Please note that meeting the threshold score does not automatically approve an application for funding.
In addition to providing a score, the commissioners will include questions or comments for each applicant. We will provide these comments to you before the second round of scoring. You will have the opportunity to offer a one-page statement answering the questions raised, or further informing the panel about your application.
After your one-page response is completed, the panel will meet to discuss your application and response, then rescore your application. Once this rescore is complete, the applications are re-ranked. At the decision meeting, the members of the Boulder Arts Commission then deliberate to decide final approval of the applications which will receive a grant. The Arts Commission may a) accept the top scores in the ranking, b) choose to adjust the ranking, or c) ask the panel to reconsider specific scores.
The complete scoring system and rubric can be found below.
Panel members use the following rating scale descriptions to help align their decisions about each score.
Minor weakness: An easily addressable weakness that does not substantially lessen impact. Moderate weakness: A weakness that lessens impact. Major weakness: A weakness that severely limits impact. |
Before the grants awards process begins, panel members are trained in how to interpret the scoring system and rubrics, or set of criteria, which helps reduce the possibility of subjective scores based on personal preferences. Please keep in mind, however, that although panel decisions follow this set of criteria, scores could reflect a small degree of subjectivity individual to each panel member. Panel members must be able to defend their scores with observations about each application’s specific strengths or weaknesses during the scoring and re-scoring process.
Following are the scoring systems for various application categories.
How will this grant increase the capacity of your organization to meet goals in your strategic plan? In what way will this grant increase your organization’s sustainability and resiliency? What innovations, growth, or new community benefits will be made possible by this award?
1-2: Poor to Marginal | 3-4: Fair to Satisfactory | 5-6: Good to Very Good | 7-8: Outstanding to Exceptional |
|---|---|---|---|
| None, or only a few, strong strategies to improve capacity, sustainability, innovation, growth, or community benefits. Numerous or a few major weaknesses. | Some strong strategies to increase capacity, sustainability, innovation, growth, or community benefits. At least one major weakness or some moderate weaknesses. | Many strengths to increase capacity, sustainability, innovation, growth, or community benefits. But, with at least one moderate weakness or numerous minor weaknesses. | Outstanding case for creating organizational capacity, and improvements to sustainability, innovation, growth, or community benefits. Few or no minor weaknesses. |
The City of Boulder’s 2015 Community Cultural Plan is a visioning and strategic document that describes how the people of Boulder will align efforts, with the support of the municipal government, to achieve our collective vision: Together, we will craft Boulder’s social, physical, and cultural environment to include creativity as an essential ingredient for the wellbeing, prosperity, and joy of everyone in the community. The Community Priorities are six points that summarize the community’s most common responses in answer to the question, “What is your vision for Boulder’s culture and creative economy?”
Reference: Cultural Plan and Community Priorities.
In what way does your organization contribute to one or one or more of the Community Priorities described in the 2015 Community Cultural Plan?
1-2: Poor to Marginal | 3-4: Fair to Satisfactory | 5-6: Good to Very Good | 7-8: Outstanding to Exceptional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does not or minimally address how the project will contribute to one or several of the Community Priorities. | Few or some aspects of the project will address one or several of the Community Priorities. | Several aspects of the project will significantly address one or more of the Community Priorities. | The project will address one or more of the Community Priorities in very strong or exceptional ways. |
Among the goals of the Boulder Arts Commission is to encourage the equitable, fair, and just distribution of funds in support of the community. This includes providing support to applicants whose organizational leadership, audience, collaborators, artists, and project partners represent groups who are typically underrepresented, i.e. culturally diverse groups, organizations focused on age diversity, etc.) Describe how your project does or does not fulfill one or several of these categories. Describe how your project will address affordability, availability, accessibility, accommodation, and acceptability to diverse groups. For reference, please review the Boulder Arts Commission and Americans for the Arts Statements on Cultural Equity.
Reference: Boulder Arts Commission Statement on Cultural Equity
1-2: Poor to Marginal | 3-4: Fair to Satisfactory | 5-6: Good to Very Good | 7-8: Outstanding to Exceptional |
|---|---|---|---|
| It offers no or very few advances for diversity, equity and inclusion. | The project addresses issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in a minor way with one or more major or moderate weaknesses. | The project addresses issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in a moderate way with few minor weaknesses. | The project addresses issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in very good or exceptional ways with one or no minor weaknesses. |
Describe your evaluation strategy for this project and how you will collect qualitative and quantitative data. Please also include your goals for this project and how the benefit to the community will be measured.
1-2: Poor to Marginal | 3-4: Fair to Satisfactory | 5-6: Good to Very Good | 7-8: Outstanding to Exceptional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evaluation strategy for understanding program / project success is lacking; goals, measures and plans for data collection are not in place. | Provides only limited descriptions of evaluation strategies and goals with moderate weaknesses. | Provides clear and thoughtful evaluation strategies and goals with a few moderate or minor weaknesses. | Evaluation strategy is comprehensive. Contains detailed information on goals, benchmarks and data collection and how to measure success. |
Encouragement points. Among the goals of the Boulder Arts Commission is to encourage the equitable, fair, and just distribution of funds in support of the arts community. Panel members use these “extra points” to balance the scoring, emphasizing applications which tend to score lower in standard categories or historically are underrepresented in grantmaking. Commissioners will be looking for these elements in your responses above.
Examples include:
Please check this box if any of these are addressed in your application.*
Are you a first time applicant or have you not been awarded a competitive grant before from the Commission?*
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does not need any “extra points” to be competitive in other grant scoring categories or the program overall. | A few elements of the application indicate the need for a rebalancing of scoring in order for the applicant to be competitive in one or two scoring categories. | Several of the elements of the application call for a rebalancing of scoring in order for the application to be competitive in all other scoring categories. | The application as a whole indicates the need for “extra points” in order to be competitive in all scoring categories. Or, a first time applicant. Or, requires a rebalancing of scoring to offset a significant historical or structural inequity. |
The City of Boulder’s 2015 Community Cultural Plan is a visioning and strategic document that describes how the people of Boulder will align efforts, with the support of the municipal government, to achieve our collective vision: Together, we will craft Boulder’s social, physical, and cultural environment to include creativity as an essential ingredient for the wellbeing, prosperity, and joy of everyone in the community. The Community Priorities are six points that summarize the community’s most common responses in answer to the question, “What is your vision for Boulder’s culture and creative economy?”
Reference: Cultural Plan and Community Priorities.
Examples of ways to demonstrate impact on the Community Priorities may include descriptions of how your project or organization:
In what way will this project contribute to one or one or more of the Community Priorities described in the Community Cultural Plan? Does the project contribute to one priority thoroughly?
1-2: Poor to Marginal | 3-4: Fair to Satisfactory | 5-6: Good to Very Good | 7-8: Outstanding to Exceptional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does not or minimally addresses how the project will contribute to one or several of the Community Priorities. | Few or some aspects of the project will address one or several of the Community Priorities. | Several aspects of the project will significantly address one or more of the Community Priorities. | The project will address one or more of the Community Priorities in very strong or exceptional ways. |
In what way does your project fill a gap in the variety of cultural offerings in Boulder? What is exciting or new about your project?
1-2: Poor to Marginal | 3-4: Fair to Satisfactory | 5-6: Good to Very Good | 7-8: Outstanding to Exceptional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimally fills a gap in the cultural offerings of Boulder with major weaknesses. | A few aspects of the project may fill gaps in cultural offerings with a few major or moderate weaknesses; only modest innovations are proposed. | Some or many aspects of the project fill gaps in cultural offerings with moderate or minor weaknesses; some new or innovative programming. | The project fills gaps in cultural offering in very good or exceptional ways with a few or no minor weaknesses; the project is new and innovative. |
Among the goals of the Boulder Arts Commission is to encourage the equitable, fair, and just distribution of funds in support of the community. This includes providing support to applicants whose organizational leadership, audience, collaborators, artists, and project partners represent groups who are typically underrepresented, i.e. culturally diverse groups, organizations focused on age diversity, etc.) Describe how your project does or does not fulfill one or several of these categories. Describe how your project will address affordability, availability, accessibility, accommodation, and acceptability to diverse groups. For reference, please review the Boulder Arts Commission and Americans for the Arts Statements on Cultural Equity.
Reference: Boulder Arts Commission Statement on Cultural Equity
1-2: Poor to Marginal | 3-4: Fair to Satisfactory | 5-6: Good to Very Good | 7-8: Outstanding to Exceptional |
|---|---|---|---|
| It offers no or very few advances for diversity, equity and inclusion. | The project addresses issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in a minor way with one or more major or moderate weaknesses. | The project addresses issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in a moderate way with few minor weaknesses. | The project addresses issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in very good or exceptional ways with one or no minor weaknesses. |
Describe your evaluation strategy for this project and how you will collect qualitative and quantitative data. Please also include your goals for this project and how the benefit to the community will be measured.
1-2: Poor to Marginal | 3-4: Fair to Satisfactory | 5-6: Good to Very Good | 7-8: Outstanding to Exceptional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evaluation strategy for understanding program / project success is lacking; goals, measures and plans for data collection are not in place. | Provides only limited descriptions of evaluation strategies and goals with moderate weaknesses. | Provides clear and thoughtful evaluation strategies and goals with a few moderate or minor weaknesses. | Evaluation strategy is comprehensive. Contains detailed information on goals, benchmarks and data collection and how to measure success. |
Are you a Boulder organization/individual serving Boulder or are you an organization/individual outside of Boulder and to what degree do you focus on Boulder programming?
| 1 | 2 - 3 | 4 - 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not based in Boulder; programs only occasionally offered in Boulder; few connections to Boulder businesses and workers; no ties to the community. | May not be based in Boulder; programs regularly offered in Boulder; few connections to Boulder businesses and workers; moderate ties to the communities and neighborhoods; few connections to Boulder among staff and board. | May not be based in Boulder; programs primarily in Boulder; some connections to Boulder businesses and workers; some ties to Boulder communities and neighborhoods; some connections to Boulder among the staff and boards. | Based in Boulder; programs primarily offered in Boulder; significant connections to Boulder businesses and workers; Boulder communities and neighborhoods; staff and board are invested in Boulder. |
Encouragement points. Among the goals of the Boulder Arts Commission is to encourage the equitable, fair, and just distribution of funds in support of the arts community. Panel members use these “extra points” to balance the scoring, emphasizing applications which tend to score lower in standard categories or historically are underrepresented in grantmaking. Commissioners will be looking for these elements in your responses above.
Examples include:
Please check this box if any of these are addressed in your application.*
Are you a first time applicant or have you not been awarded a competitive grant before from the Commission?*
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does not need any “extra points” to be competitive in other grant scoring categories or the program overall. | A few elements of the application indicate the need for a rebalancing of scoring in order for the applicant to be competitive in one or two scoring categories. | Several of the elements of the application call for a rebalancing of scoring in order for the application to be competitive in all other scoring categories. | The application as a whole indicates the need for “extra points” in order to be competitive in all scoring categories. Or, a first time applicant. Or, requires a rebalancing of scoring to offset a significant historical or structural inequity. |
In what ways will this project directly benefit the students and their growth as cultural participants or in the creative industries? What new skills or experiences will be offered? How does this project enhance, or fill a gap in, the generally available curriculum and offerings?
1-2: Poor to Marginal | 3-4: Fair to Satisfactory | 5-6: Good to Very Good | 7-8: Outstanding to Exceptional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benefits to students in cultural participation or skill development are not or inadequately addressed with many major weaknesses. | The project will benefit students’ cultural participation or skill development in only a few minor ways. | Many significant benefits to cultural participation or skill development are proposed with a few minor weaknesses. | Benefits to cultural participation or skill development are very good or exceptional with only a few or no minor weaknesses. |
How will the benefits to the students be measured?
1-2: Poor to Marginal | 3-4: Fair to Satisfactory | 5-6: Good to Very Good | 7-8: Outstanding to Exceptional |
|---|---|---|---|
| The outcomes and evaluation strategy are not or inadequately addressed with many major weaknesses. | The outcomes and evaluation strategy are addressed in a few minor ways. | The outcomes and evaluation strategy are addressed in a significant and positive way, with a few minor weaknesses. | The project addresses outcomes and evaluation in a very good or excellent way with only a few or no minor weaknesses. |
The City of Boulder’s 2015 Community Cultural Plan is a visioning and strategic document that describes how the people of Boulder will align efforts, with the support of the municipal government, to achieve our collective vision: Together, we will craft Boulder’s social, physical, and cultural environment to include creativity as an essential ingredient for the wellbeing, prosperity, and joy of everyone in the community. The Community Priorities are six points that summarize the community’s most common responses in answer to the question, “What is your vision for Boulder’s culture and creative economy?”
Reference: Cultural Plan and Community Priorities.
Examples of ways to demonstrate impact on the Community Priorities may include descriptions of how your project or organization:
In what way will this project contribute to one or one or more of the Community Priorities described in the 2015 Community Cultural Plan? Does the project contribute to one priority thoroughly?*
1-2: Poor to Marginal | 3-4: Fair to Satisfactory | 5-6: Good to Very Good | 7-8: Outstanding to Exceptional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does not or minimally addresses how the project will contribute to one or several of the Community Priorities. | Few or some aspects of the project will address one or several of the Community Priorities. | Several aspects of the project will significantly address one or more of the Community Priorities. | The project will address one or more of the Community Priorities in very strong or exceptional ways. |
Among the goals of the Boulder Arts Commission is to encourage the equitable, fair, and just distribution of funds in support of the community. This includes providing support to applicants whose organizational leadership, audience, collaborators, artists, and project partners represent groups who are typically underrepresented, i.e. culturally diverse groups, organizations focused on age diversity, etc.) Describe how your project does or does not fulfill one or several of these categories. Describe how your project will address affordability, availability, accessibility, accommodation, and acceptability to diverse groups. For reference, please review the Boulder Arts Commission and Americans for the Arts Statements on Cultural Equity.
Reference: Boulder Arts Commission Statement on Cultural Equity
1-2: Poor to Marginal | 3-4: Fair to Satisfactory | 5-6: Good to Very Good | 7-8: Outstanding to Exceptional |
|---|---|---|---|
| It offers no or very few advances for diversity, equity and inclusion. | The project addresses issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in a minor way with one or more major or moderate weaknesses. | The project addresses issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in a moderate way with few minor weaknesses. | The project addresses issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in very good or exceptional ways with one or no minor weaknesses. |
Are you a Boulder organization/individual serving Boulder or are you an organization/individual outside of Boulder and to what degree do you focus on Boulder programming?
| 1 | 2 - 3 | 4 - 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not based in Boulder; programs only occasionally offered in Boulder; few connections to Boulder businesses and workers; no ties to the community. | May not be based in Boulder; programs regularly offered in Boulder; few connections to Boulder businesses and workers; moderate ties to the communities and neighborhoods; few connections to Boulder among staff and board. | May not be based in Boulder; programs primarily in Boulder; some connections to Boulder businesses and workers; some ties to Boulder communities and neighborhoods; some connections to Boulder among the staff and boards. | Based in Boulder; programs primarily offered in Boulder; significant connections to Boulder businesses and workers; Boulder communities and neighborhoods; staff and board are invested in Boulder. |
Encouragement points. Among the goals of the Boulder Arts Commission is to encourage the equitable, fair, and just distribution of funds in support of the arts community. Panel members use these “extra points” to balance the scoring, emphasizing applications which tend to score lower in standard categories or historically are underrepresented in grantmaking. Commissioners will be looking for these elements in your responses above.
Examples include:
Please check this box if any of these are addressed in your application.*
Are you a first time applicant or have you not been awarded a competitive grant before from the Commission? *
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does not need any “extra points” to be competitive in other grant scoring categories or the program overall. | A few elements of the application indicate the need for a rebalancing of scoring in order for the applicant to be competitive in one or two scoring categories. | Several of the elements of the application call for a rebalancing of scoring in order for the application to be competitive in all other scoring categories. | The application as a whole indicates the need for “extra points” in order to be competitive in all scoring categories. Or, a first time applicant. Or, requires a rebalancing of scoring to offset a significant historical or structural inequity. |
As mentioned in the description, the program’s selection criteria will consider a number of factors including, but not limited to: applicants identify as a member of a racial or ethnic minority group and commitment to pursuing a career in arts leadership. The potential of the applicant to catalyze positive change in the equity environment of Boulder’s cultural industries. Preference will be given to applicants who have limited access to traditional leadership development opportunities due to financial, social, or cultural barriers. Please share any specific financial, social, or cultural barriers you have faced or are currently facing in your pursuit of a career in the arts and culture sector.
This scholarship will provide financial support and professional development opportunities to Boulder-based, emerging leaders focusing their career on equity in the arts. This scholarship aims to increase diversity and equity in arts leadership by empowering and elevating the voices of historically underrepresented individuals. How do you envision using the funding provided by this award to further your career and contribute to increasing diversity and equity in the arts in Boulder?
1-3 Poor to Fair | 4-6 Satisfactory | 7-8 Outstanding to Exceptional |
|---|---|---|
| Poor to fair candidates will not demonstrate emerging leadership capabilities or an interest in pursuing a career in the arts in the City of Boulder. They will have had access to traditional leadership development opportunities. They will not have an interest in becoming a mentor/advocate for others going forward. | Satisfactory candidates will show emerging leadership capabilities but may not display a reasonable commitment to pursuing a career in the arts locally in Boulder in the near future. | The strongest candidates will show emerging leadership capabilities, a strong and demonstrated interest in pursuing a career in the arts in Boulder, and have had limited access to traditional leadership development opportunities due to financial, social, or cultural barriers. |
