CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grants is sponsored by CT Humanities (funded by Connecticut State Department of Economic and Community Development/Connecticut Office of the Arts). Non-competitive general operating support grants for museums, cultural, humanities, and arts organizations in Connecticut.

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CT Humanities 50th Anniversary Transparency in Coverage Rule Connecticut’s Sites of Conscience CT Humanities Working Groups CT Experience Video Series Digital Resources for Distance Learning Intellectual Property Policy Data on the CT Cultural Sector Event Contributor Registration CT Humanities 50th Anniversary Transparency in Coverage Rule Connecticut’s Sites of Conscience CT Humanities Working Groups CT Experience Video Series Digital Resources for Distance Learning Intellectual Property Policy Data on the CT Cultural Sector Event Contributor Registration CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grants General operating support grants to help the state's museums, cultural, humanities, and arts organizations.

CT Humanities is honored to partner with the CT Office of the Arts to administer the CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grants program. On this page, you will find: Information for CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant Grantees Funding Impact and Data on the CT Cultural Sector What are CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grants?

Information for CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grantees Grantee Requirements & PR Toolkit Resources for Grantees Grant Guidelines Final Reports FAQs for Grantees As a CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grantee, you are required to: Register for Bill.

com (due January 15) Sign your grant agreement (due January 15) Complete your grantee survey (due January 15) Publicize your grant award (see Public Relations Toolkit below) Submit your final report (any time between July – December) Submit your post-award survey (survey to be assigned at the end of 2023) Download this checklist to make sure you are keeping up with your grant requirements.

Public Relations Toolkit: Public Relations Guidelines – PDF New!

CT Cultural Fund Logos Sample Press Release – CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant – Word Sample Letter of Appreciation to Legislators -Word Find Your Legislators – State and Congressional Coming Soon: Find your media outlet Resources for Data Collection: “ Demystifying Data Collection: How to Ask for Demographic Information from Visitors, Board, and Staff ” with Susie Wilkening – YouTube Video Data Collection Tips and Template – PDF Editable Data Collection Template – Word Tips & Template for Collecting Staff & Board Demographic Data – PDF CT Humanities partners with the Connecticut League of History Organizations (CLHO) to provide resources for humanities and cultural organizations.

We will share resources relevant to CT Cultural Fund grantees below based on your stated needs. For more videos from CLHO, visit their YouTube channel here . “ Using your Annual Appeal to Share Your Story: A Beginner’s Guide to End-of-Year Appeals ” with Cyndi Tolosa – YouTube Video Please review the FY23 grant guidelines for funding exclusions, eligible expenses, and other grant requirements.

Please note that these grant guidelines only apply to the FY23 CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant. For FY22 CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant guidelines, click here . FY23 CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant final reports will be made available in July 2023 and may be submitted any time between July 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023.

Final reports are not available until July to ensure a performance period of at least 6 months before completion of your post-award survey. If you received an FY22 CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant (with a grant period of December 22, 2021 – December 21, 2022), your final report is due on December 31, 2022. In the final report, you will report on how you spent grant funds.

Please note that you must report on your full grant award even though you will not receive the remaining 25% of your award until you submit your final report. Once you’ve submitted your final report, please allow for three weeks for CTH staff to process your final report and payment. Why is my award amount less than last year's?

FY22 and FY23 awards were funded through a $30. 7 million allocation in the most recent biennium budget. Of these funds, 80% were distributed in general operating support grants to the state’s arts, humanities, and cultural organizations.

The result was $16. 1 million in operating support grants to 632 organizations in year one and $8. 5 million to 725 organizations in year two (15% of the fund is building cultural infrastructure through our funded partners ; 5% is for CTH overhead).

The smaller amount of funding available in year two, and 93 more organizations receiving awards in year two vs. year one, led to lower award amounts. (Learn how your award amount was calculated in the next question below) You Can Help Secure and Increase Funding A new biennium budget will be adopted in the upcoming legislative session.

CTH is partnering with the CT Arts Alliance and the CT Tourism Coalition and working hard to SECURE and INCREASE the amount of support in the CT Cultural Fund. The goal is for everyone to receive impactful funding equitably into the future. You can help by staying informed ( subscribing to grants updates) and connecting with the legislator(s) for your organization’s town.

Be sure lawmakers know about your organization, your work in your community, and how vital meaningful, reliable, and equitable funding is for you. Watch a recent advocacy conversation with CLHO here to learn more. How was my award amount determined?

For both FY22 and FY23, the following formula was used: $5,000 + [your average operating expenses]*[a prorated percentage] – Line Item Funding = Your Award Awards that fell under the minimum award amount of $5,000 were adjusted to $5,000, and awards over the maximum award amount were adjusted to the maximum award amount. All awards were rounded to the nearest $100.

Note that your average operating expenses were calculated using the data your organization provided for all fiscal years requested in the grant application. In FY22, CTH had $16. 1 million to distribute among 632 eligible organizations.

That year’s formula was: $5,000 + [your average operating expenses]*[5. 8025%] – Line Item Funding = Your Award With a minimum award of $5,000 and a maximum award of $500,000. In FY23, CTH had $8.

56 million to distribute among 725 eligible organizations. This year’s formula was: $5,000 + [your average operating expenses]*[2. 3875%] – Line Item Funding = Your Award With a minimum award of $5,000 and a maximum award of $150,000.

Note that for both FY22 and FY23, awards for State-run and University/College-run organizations were capped at $5,000. Why was line-item funding factored into the award amount? The CT Cultural Fund is funded through State general funds.

State line-item funding and carryforward funding come from these same funds. To distribute the CT Cultural Fund across all cultural organizations equitably, organizations that have already received funds through state line-item funding and carryforward funding had this funding removed from their final award. Where do I access/upload my grant agreement?

Print out the grant agreement and have your authorized signatory sign the agreement. Then, scan the agreement and save it on your computer. To submit your signed grant agreement, return to the Applicant Dashboard on the CTH Grants Portal.

Scroll down until you see your grant. Under “Follow Up Forms” you should see a form called “CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant – Grant Agreement. ” Click “Edit” on the far right of this line to access the form.

Here, you can upload your signed grant agreement, confirm that you’ve registered for Bill. com, and confirm that you’ve completed your survey (which is also linked within this form). Click the Submit button and you should receive an automated confirmation email that lets you know we’ve received your signed grant agreement!

For questions regarding this process, please email grants@cthumanities. org. I see an overdue invoice in my Bill.

com account. What does this mean? Bill.

com labels the grant award payment from CTH as an invoice. Your Bill. com account will show that you have an overdue invoice from CTH.

There is no action needed for this. Please do not email CTH requesting an invoice. When our office processes payment for your award, you will receive an automated email letting you know that your account will be receiving a payment from us.

When will I receive my first award payment? We anticipate sending first award payments through Bill. com in the first half of February 2023.

We appreciate your patience as we transition to Bill. com. Please note that organizations that received a CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant in FY22 must submit their final report and post-award survey before receiving their first award payment for FY23.

Why was my first award payment amount smaller than my organization’s full grant award amount? The payment structure for this grant is 75% at the time of contract and completion of grantee survey and 25% after completion of the final report and post-award grantee survey. You can find more information on this payment structure in your grant agreement.

Can I use these funds for things other than what was discussed in my application? Yes. Since these are general operating funds, you can use your award for any organizational operating expenses as long as they are not listed as funding exclusions in the grant guidelines .

However, grantees are encouraged to use their funding to help advance their organization’s priorities that also support the following program priorities that helped make this funding available from the CT State Legislature: Organizational staffing (bringing back employees or hours lost to the pandemic, paying existing staff, hiring new staff, hiring CT contractors, etc.); Activities that help connect K-12 teachers and students to strong humanities and arts content; Activities that improve your informational technology and digital infrastructure.

I’m not sure if I can use the funds for what my organization wants to use the funds for. What should I do? If the activity/expense is not listed in the funding exclusions in the grant guidelines , you more than likely can use the funds for this activity/expense.

If you are unsure, feel free to reach out to the Grants staff at grants@cthumanities. org with your specific question. The grantee survey asked for visitation and audience demographics data.

Am I required to collect this data? How do I collect this data? While data collection is important for CTH to continue to advocate for future funding to support the state’s cultural, humanities, and arts community, it is not required to receive CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant funding.

We know that this is an area where many organizations are uncomfortable or would like assistance. Please view the “Resources for Grantees” tab for a series of tools, templates, and trainings to help CT Cultural Fund grantees start to better collect data from their respective audiences. When will we receive the remaining 25% of our award?

You will receive the remaining 25% of your award after you submit your final report and post-award survey. Please note that FY23 final reports will not be made available until July to ensure a performance period of at least 6 months before completion of your post-award survey. Please note that you must report on how your organization spent your full grant award , not just the 75% of your award you have received to date.

Once you’ve submitted your final report, please allow three weeks for CTH staff to process your final report and payment. What financial documentation is required for the final report? The financial report asks you to list out in a text block the itemized grant expenditures that add up to your full grant award.

CTH does not require that you submit receipts or invoices with your final report. However, please do keep all receipts and invoices for grant expenditures on file for at least three years in the event that you are audited. Will there be future rounds of CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grants?

Please note that future rounds of the CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grants may have revised guidelines and eligibility requirements. Have a question not answered in the FAQs? Please feel free to reach out to CTH Grants staff at grants@cthumanities.

org . View the full list of FY23 CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant awards here . View the full list of FY22 CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant awards here .

Funding Impact & Data on the CT Cultural Sector CT Humanities gathers data on the CT cultural sector to help us, our grantees, and the legislature better understand who the CT culture sector is and the impact the CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grants have had on our state. Click here to review Data Stories, Broader Population Survey Results, and Organizational Comparison Data. What are CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grants?

CT Cultural Fund Operating Support grants are non-competitive GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT grants for museums and 501(c)(3) non-profit, municipal, Connecticut state, or Connecticut-based federally or State recognized tribal organizations that provide cultural-, humanities-, and arts-based projects and activities for the public (i.e., museums, historic houses, historical societies, arts organizations, cultural centers, and other organizations that offer activities such as exhibitions, performances, art classes, public programs, or walking tours to the public).

These grants are designed to help the state’s museums, cultural, humanities, and arts organizations maintain and grow their ability to serve their community and the public, connect K-12 teachers and students to strong humanities and arts content, and improve their information technology and digital infrastructure.

The CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grants are administered by CT Humanities (CTH), with funding provided by the Connecticut State Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD)/Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) from the Connecticut State Legislature. FY22 Grantee Testimonials: CT Cultural Fund Grant Testimonials CT Humanities Awards More $8.

5m to 723 Cultural Organizations Statewide CT Humanities Accepting Applications for Second Round of CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grants, Provide Additional $8. 5M to Cultural Sector CT Humanities Awards More Than $16. 1M to 632 Cultural Organizations Statewide CT Humanities Announces CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grants, to Provide $16M to Cultural Sector Hours: Mon-Fri: 9am – 5pm