We just released the guidelines, applications and info session dates for BAC's 2016 Community Arts Grants!If you need to familiarize yourself with our programs, check out my posts about BAC Grants Basics and Getting an early start on your proposal.This post will highlight some of the additions & improvements we've made for 2016. Hope to see you at an info session!Narrowed request range from $1-5,000 to $2-5,000Applicants can now ask for funding in the range of $2-5,000. This is in response to the amount of each individual grant we’re traditionally able to award vs. the amount of work it takes to apply for and manage a grant. In narrowing the request amount, we will be awarding larger individual grants, hopefully reducing the amount of additional fundraising grantees have to do to complete a project, and ideally creating a larger impact. In 2015, we asked the panel to really consider these things when determining funding amounts and our average grant size went from $1,500-$1,800 to $1,800-$2,000. To progress!Goodbye CAF, hello BAFCommunity Arts Fund is now Brooklyn Arts Fund. It may seem semantic, but it’s really an effort to further clarify each program’s funding goals – the next phase in some of the work we started last year. The program funded by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs aims to cultivate Brooklyn’s artists, arts organizations, and audiences through its support of high-quality arts projects in all disciplines, genres and styles: Brooklyn art for Brooklyn audiences. Brooklyn Brooklyn Brooklyn!New BAF panel category: Performing Arts Community EducationIt’s a mouthful – I know - we'll work on it.The types of projects in our performing arts categories are incredibly diverse. Applications for new or experimental work have been seen alongside applications for youth programs. It’s worked in the past, but as our application numbers grow and we focus our funding priorities, we need to make room. Enter Performing arts community education: Dance, Music, or Theater projects whose core art-making components include community education and engagement practices, such as workshops, seminars, or classes.Applications for projects that are for new work, concerts, performances, festivals, etc, will go directly to the discipline's panel. Our panel disciplines live here, and you can always contact the grants program with any questions.More money for Local Arts Support! If you haven’t heard by now, Governor Cuomo and our state legislature approved an additional $5 million to our state arts budget this year, so that means additional support to your friendly neighborhood arts councils. Take a minute to send a thank you to your legislator and the Governor for their support - everyone likes hearing they did an awesome thing.New Grant program - Introducing the Creative Coalitions Commission!You can read all about CCC here, but the long and the short of it is that, thanks again to NYSCA, we’ve been able to allocate $2,500 individual commissions to artists living and working in Brownsville, East Bushwick, and East New York in conjunction with our Creative Coalitions program. We can award 3 commissions - one per neighborhood. In addition to awarding funds, BAC will assist in the production, marketing and promotion of the project. Super excited to be able to support the vibrant arts & culture scenes in some of our most under resourced neighborhoods.Finally, last but not least –OUR APPLICATION PROCESS IS NOW PAPERLESS.Seriously.We’ve made the switch to Submittable. No more printing application packages and sending, all supplemental materials and work samples will be embedded into your application, no file size limits...It’s the 21st Century, kids. We’ve arrived.Morgan Lindsey Tachco is a creative administrator, actor and writer. She joined Brooklyn Arts Council in 2008 and filled several roles in the Grants and Arts in Education Departments prior to becoming the Grants Program Manager in 2013 and is now Grants and Services Director. Morgan oversees BAC's grantmaking and Creative Coalitions programs, and serves as a general resource and matchmaker for artists and organizations across the city.