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Grant Programs

and resources for grant writers

Looking for funding? COCA administers several different grant programs aimed to help local arts organizations.

FY25 Grant Programs

DEADLINE: June 18, 2024 at 11:59 p.m.

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Interested in serving on a grant panel? Complete the Panelist Nomination Form.

Eligibility

COCA has three grant programs available for the period of October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025:

  • Cultural Grant
  • Cultural Tourism Marketing Grant
  • Local Community Grant

An eligible organization can submit a single application to all three programs. Please read the FY25 Grant Guidelines prior to submitting an application.

Cultural Grant

The Cultural Grant funds programming expenses. Applicant programming must meet at least one of the following goals:

  1. Offer arts, history, or cultural programs with exemplary standards and objectives.
  2. Provide educational opportunities in arts, culture, and/or history for young people or adults.
  3. Serve a special or diverse population or need, fill a unique niche or engage the community in the creative or artistic process.

Funds for the Cultural Grant come from Leon County’s Tourist Development Tax (TDT) revenue. Therefore, applicants must also meet all of the following expectations:

  1. In addition to arts and culture, the applicant must have as one of its main purposes the attraction of tourists, as evidenced by the promotion of the activity, service, venue, or event to tourists.
  2. Applicant must clearly identify public relations/promotional/marketing tactics used to reach visitors outside of Leon County.
  3. Applicant must have a marketing plan that clearly indicates out-of-market advertising or promotion.
  4. Applicant must track and report the number of out-of-county visitors served by the grant-funded programs.

In this grant program, an organization’s maximum allowable request will depend on their type (non-profit versus state entity) and their allowable operating income from the previous fiscal year. (See pages 13-14 in the Guidelines to calculate your request.)

Cultural Tourism Marketing Grant

Applicants who meet all the Cultural Grant requirements may request an additional $3,500 to support out-of-county marketing and promotion of arts and cultural programs. Funds for this grant also come from Leon County’s Tourist Development Tax revenue.

Local Community Grant

The Local Community Grant funds programming expenses. Applicant programming must meet at least one of the following goals:

  1. Offer arts, history, or cultural programs with exemplary standards and objectives.
  2. Provide educational opportunities in arts, culture, and/or history for young people or adults.
  3. Serve a special or diverse population or need, fill a unique niche or engage the community in the creative or artistic process.

Unlike the Cultural Grant and the Cultural Tourism Marketing Grant, funds for the Local Community Grant sometimes comes from the City of Tallahassee’s General Revenue fund and sometimes from another source. Therefore, applicants must also meet the following expectations:

  1. Applicants must track and report the number of Leon County and/or Tallahassee residents served by programs.
  2. Applicant programming should align with one or more of the following City of Tallahassee priorities: economic development; impact on poverty; public safety, and; quality of life. See pages 12-13 of the Guidelines for more information in City priorities.

An organization can request up to $10,000 to support local arts programs. Funding for this grant depends on the City budget. 

How to Apply

Follow these steps to submit an application:

  1. Navigate to https://tallahasseearts.submittable.com
  2. Next to “FY25 COCA Grant Programs,” click “submit.”
  3. Create a Submittable account, or log into your Submittable account, and confirm your address.
  4. Fill out the following form, “FY25 COCA Grant Programs – Basic Eligibility.”
  5. Based on your answer to the question “Please select the grant programs from which you would like to request funding,” you will receive one or both of the following forms within one business day of your submission.
    1. If you indicated that you wish to request the Cultural Grant and/or the Cultural Tourism Marketing Grant, you will receive the form “FY25 COCA Grant Programs – CG + CTMG.”
    2. If you indicated that you wish to request the Local Community Grant, you will receive the form “FY25 COCA Grant Programs – LCG.”
  6. All relevant forms (Basic Eligibility, CG + CTMG, LCG) must be submitted by:

JUNE 18, 2024 AT 11:59 P.M.

Timeline

The below is an abridged timeline, covering the steps between the application opening and the panel meetings. For a full and complete timeline, please see pages 4-5 of the Guidelines.

lINKS

MANAGE Your FY24 Grant

FY24 grants cover the period of October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2024. At this time, only TDT-funded grants and NEA-funded City Grants have been dispersed. COCA continues to work on a solution to funding the remaining City grants. Click to access the FY24 Guidelines.

May 1, 2024 – Mid-year Reports Due

All grantees are required to submit a Mid-year Report, as per your contract. Grantees with a Cultural Grant award larger than $10,000 will receive their second payment upon completion and approval of the Mid-year Report. You can access your Mid-year Report by following these steps:

  1. Navigate to https://tallahasseearts.submittable.com.
  2. In the top-right corner, click “View Your Submissions”
  3. Log into Submittable using the same account that submitted your application.
  4. You should be on a page called “My Submissions,” which has a list of all COCA applications submitted by your account.
  5. Click the link for your FY24 grant. The link is in the “Submission” column.
  6. Click the “Forms” header.
  7. Under the Additional Forms section, click “Open” next to the FY24 COCA Grants Mid-Year Report. You can access the initial application from this page as well, under “Initial Form.”

Click the images below to view screenshots of each step.


In your Mid-year Report, you will need to provide the following information:

  1. What grant-funded events have been held to date?
  2. How many people attended each event?
    Cultural Grantees will need to answer how many attendees came from out-of-county. City Grantees will need to answer how many attendees were local residents.
  3. Methods for tracking attendees and identifying out-of-county visitors or residents.
  4. An Expenditure Log showing how you have spent your grant funds to date. Grant funds must be spend in accordance with your contract. You can download a blank Expenditure Log here.
  5. Example(s) of marketing material indicating logo credit. For more information about logo usage, see Exhibit B of your contract.

September 30 – End of Grant Year

Unless you have an extension, all grant funds must be spent by this date.

October 31 – Final Report Due

In your Final Report, you will need to provide the following information:

  1. Did you submit an amendment for this project?
  2. Compare your project goals from your original application to your actual project outcomes.
  3. Describe your organization’s efforts to inclusively serve a special population or need, fill a unique niche, or provide programming to an underserved area.
  4. Describe your organization’s efforts to highlight cultural diversity and inclusion.
  5. Describe your marketing efforts. (Cultural Grantees and Cultural Tourism Marketing Grantees only)
  6. What grant-funded events have been held to date?
  7. How many people attended each event?
    Cultural Grantees will need to answer how many attendees came from out-of-county. City Grantees will need to answer how many attendees were local residents.
  8. An Expenditure Log showing how you have spent your grant funds to date. Grant funds must be spend in accordance with your contract. You can download a blank Expenditure Log here.
  9. Example(s) of marketing material indicating logo credit. For more information about logo usage, see Exhibit B of your contract.

Your FY24 Final Report must be submitted and approved before you can execute an FY25 contract. Therefore, you are encouraged to submit your Final Report ahead of the October 31 deadline.

Manage your FY23 Grant

 

Funding Recognition Policy & Logos

Downloadable Logos for Funding Recognition

COCA LOGO

• Black – png
• White – png
• Color – png

VISIT TALLAHASSEE/LEON COUNTY LOGO

• Black – png
• White – png
• Color – png
• Video – mp4
• Stacked Black – png
• Stacked White – png
• Stacked Color – png
• Tallahassee Bicentennial – png

CITY OF TALLAHASSEE LOGO

• Black – png
• White – png
• Color – png

VERTICAL COMBO LOGO

• Black – png
• White – png
• Color – png

HORIZONTAL COMBO LOGO

• Black – png
• White – png
• Color – png

FY24 Grant Related Marketing Material Submission Form

If you need further assistance or have questions about COCA’s funding recognition policy, contact Samantha Sumler, COCA’s Communications & Marketing Manager at samantha@tallahasseearts.org

RECENT COCA GRANT AWARDS

FY24 COCA GRANT AWARDS (TDT ONLY)
FY24 COCA GRANT AWARDS (NEA-FUNDED ONLY)

FY23 COCA GRANT AWARDS

FY22 COCA GRANT AWARDS

GRANT WRITING TIPS

There are many resources for grantwriters available online. COCA also provides workshops and personal consultations regarding the grantwriting process throughout the year. First-time grantwriters are encouraged to:

• Attend COCA grantwriting workshops
• Schedule a Courtesy Review appointment
• Review COCA’s guidelines carefully for tips and advice about the grant application requirements

• Candid’s eBook collection on Grant and Proposal Writing

• Candid Learning – Introduction to Proposal Writing

• Schedule a 30 minute consultation with COCA’s Grants Manager, Summer Callahan 

• Grant Writing Tips  (Fundraiser Help)

• Florida Division of Arts and Culture’s Cultural Tourism Toolkit 

• Resources on Program Evaluation and Performance Measurement (National Endowment for the Arts)

In addition to COCA’s grant funding opportunities, COCA also manages listings for other local, regional and national grant opportunities for arts and cultural organizations on our website, www.Tallahasseearts.org. 

Other Funding Opportunities

COCA constantly researches and finds great regional and national funding opportunities for individual artists and arts organizations. For more funding opportunities click below:

Funding Opportunities