General Support Program

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The General Support Program (GSP) aims to strengthen the community's access to arts and culture programming. The General Support program provides core operating support to arts and cultural organizations of all sizes that have a primary mission to create, produce, or provide arts and cultural programming to enhance the quality of lives for Phoenix residents.​​ The deadline to apply has been extended to March 23, 2025, at 11:59 pm.

State-level funding, including the elimination of residential rental sales tax and implementation of a flat income tax, will negatively impact the City's budget and result in reduced ongoing revenues. The City of Phoenix is exploring options to deal with a potential budget shortfall, including raising sales tax or reducing services to residents. The City is required to adopt a balanced budget each fiscal year. With that, the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture may have a reduced budget of 5% in the next fiscal year. The budget process is on the same timeline as the Community Arts Grants program, so budgetary decisions will not be made until the City Council adopts the final budget in June. The City Manager’s proposed budget will be introduced to the Mayor and City Council in February and will be open to resident feedback in April.​​​​

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Password: Grants26


​Información en español
​​GSP rubrica de evaluación
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Contraseña: Grants26​​

Staff Contact

Sarah León,
Grants and Community Engagement Director,
602-262-6164
sarah.leon@phoenix.gov​

Schedule a virtual meeting here:

calendly.com/sarah-leon-moreno/grants​​​​​​

​Guidelines and Details


‭(Hidden)‬ Eligibility

​​To be eligible for the General Support program, organizations must meet all the following criteria:

  • H​ave a primary mission of producing or creating arts and culture programming for Phoenix residents

  • Must have a minimum prior year income of *$5,000 (i.e., total of earned income from Phoenix sources only and contributed income from all sources)

  • Exist as a 501(c)3 organization for at least three years t​hat has a business address and administrative offices in the city of Phoenix (no PO BOX) and conducts a majority of its programs and services in the city of Phoenix

  • Be in good standing concerning all contract agreements with the City of Phoenix, including filing previous grant final reports

  • Must complete and submit a DataArts Cultural Data Profile​ with three years of financial data (organizations with prior year operating budget of $5,000 to $99,999 have the option of instead uploading a statement of activity/profit and loss with three years of data)

  • Not be an o​rganization that is applying to the Project Support program​​

*Guidelines updated to reflect a minimum prior year income of $5,000 (from $25,000) (3/19/2021)

‭(Hidden)‬ Funding

​Applicants do NOT m​​ake specific funding requests:

  • Like-sized budgeted organizations are reviewed by a review panel. An organizations receives an award allocation determine​d by the ranking it receives in the panel.

  • ​​The Rental Support Program was previously housed under the General Support program (formerly CIEG). Rental support is currently on hiatus for FY2021-2022. To be eligible for General Support, an organization must meet the full program eligibility.

The General Support program does not fund:

  • Any division of local, state or federal government.

  • Organizations outside of the City of Phoenix

  • Applications submitted by for-profit entities

  • Schools, including public, private and charter

  • Colleges and universities, other City of Phoenix departments, auxiliary/affiliate organizations, and organizations without a 501(c)3

  • Organizations that produce a single annual event

  • Religious institutions or religious group-sponsored organizations not open to participation by non-congregants

  • Religious institutions or religious group-sponsored organizations whose primary purpose is the religious socialization of individuals or whose arts programming exists as parts of religious sermons or services

  • Debt reduction

  • Re-granting, unless permission is received

  • Grant administration, overhead or processing fees taken by an umbrella/parent organization as a percentage of the total award, except for fiscal sponsors

  • Lobbying expenses

  • Expenses related to the construction of facilities

  • Food and beverage for receptions and hospitality functions

  • Fundraising projects

  • Scholarships and awards

‭(Hidden)‬ Evaluation Criteria

Applications are reviewed for eligibility by staff and evaluated and ranked by review panelists using the criteria listed below.

Community Significance 

The applicant has the clarity of the organization’s mission, vision, and goals and how they relate to the community being served, especially given the current health pandemic. 

  • What community does your organi​​zation serve? Include demographic information, if available, or describe the community as specifically as possible. (400 words)
  • Describe continued, evolved, and new engagement strategies that keep you connected to your community during this pandemic. (400 words)
  • From the surprises and lessons learned in the past year, how are you reimagining community engagement post-pandemic? (400 words)

Artistic/Cultural Value

The applicant has identified ways to be thoughtful in providing the community with programs and services that advance the organization’s art/cultural mission during COVID-19.

  • Given COVID-19, list any new or evolved modes of delivering programming (e.g. virtual classes, etc.). What are advantages and disadvantages of these delivery modes to the organization's primary art/cultural form? (400 words)
  • List and describe upcoming programming that is exciting to the organization and why. (400 words)
  • Primary Programs/Events Upload  programs/events produced by your organization during the past two fiscal years and the current year.
  • Video Upload/Link and Description
  • Image Upload and Description​
​​​Financial and Leadership Capacity 
The applicant has fiscal accountability and is flexible to keep up with the challenges the organization faces during the Coronavirus crisis, including fiscal health, staff and board development, and a focus on the future.
  • Cultural Data Profile Report (Statement upload option for organizations with prior year operating budget between $5,000 and $100,000)
  • Reference and explain specific Cultural Data Profile/budget expense and/or revenue line item trends/variances, or debt/loan circumstances that are impacting the financial position. (400 words)
  • Describe successes, challenges, or special circumstances related to your financial position in the past, current, and next fiscal year. Reference the CDP report/budget when applicable. (400 words)​

Other application questions/attachments

  • What is your organization's Mission Statement?
  • What is your organization's Vision Statement?
  • Upload a list of Board of Directors and list of staff, if applicable
  • Upload bios of 1) Artistic/Program Director or equivalent, 2) Executive Director/CEO or equivalent, and 3) Board Chair​

‭(Hidden)‬ Equity Assessment

​Since 2017, the Phoenix Arts and Culture Department researched, reviewed case studies, and identified values, concepts, and practices concerning equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) as it relates to the Department ​of Arts and Culture's programs. For the Department 2021-2022 grants cycle, General Support applicants are invited to participate in an optional equity assessment of their organization. The ​Assessment can help the applicant's commitment to building inclusive and equitable strategies, policies, and programs that provide opportunities for diverse community participation. Assessments are due in the beginning of May and will not be reviewed by panelists. ​

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