Visual Arts
Operating Assistance
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Operating Assistance contributes to the support of professional, non-profit visual arts organizations that sustain an annual artistic and curatorial program encompassing creation, development, presentation, collections and dissemination activities.
Applications are evaluated according to specified criteria. The criteria are grouped into three areas: artistic/curatorial achievement, community engagement and organizational capacity. An organization that excels in all areas of the assessment criteria will demonstrate the following characteristics:
- Excellence in artistic/curatorial activity, with clear ideas, skilled practice and strong contribution to the art form that is at the heart of the organization.
- Stimulating and varied forms of engagement with artists and the general public, through audience development, artistic/curatorial development, participation, discourse and education, or other opportunities offered by the organization.
- Excellence in leadership and management, resulting in greater sustainability and growing recognition of the organization.
- Realistic planning supported by informed and active trustees.
The Operating Assistance program is intended to contribute to a stable funding base for organizations. Applicants are reminded, however, that the adjudication process is competitive. Receipt of funding does not guarantee assistance in subsequent years.
Under normal circumstances, to be eligible, an applicant must:
- Be registered as a non-profit society in good standing in the Province of British Columbia and have operated as a visual arts organization for two fiscal years prior to application. or be a visual arts organization operated by a local government for at least two fiscal years with a community-based board of management that sets policy for the organization’s public programs and services.
- Have received at least two Project Assistance awards from the British Columbia Arts Council in the previous three years and have completed at least two full years of operation.
- Provide year-round public programming and have done so during the immediately preceding two years.
- Compensate artists by paying fees to professional artists at industry standard, and adhere to Council policy and the Canadian Copyright Act. BC Arts Council policy states:
- Professional artists must receive industry standard fees for work presented by visual arts organizations and public museums.
- Community-based artists whose work is programmed by visual arts organizations or public museums will receive payment through either exhibition fees or through other, mutually agreed upon alternatives.
- Professional artists must receive industry standard fees for work presented by visual arts organizations and public museums.
- Employ competent artistic/curatorial and administrative leadership.
- Provide independently prepared financial statements for the most recently completed fiscal year.
- Have established a diversified revenue base including earned revenues, federal and local government support, and private fund-raising.
- If the applying organization has members, be able to demonstrate a range of membership that is representative of its constituency.
- Demonstrate financial need for assistance, as defined by Council policy.
Ineligible applications will not be reviewed by advisory committees.
For organizations that have not previously received Operating Assistance:
- Applicants must establish their eligibility with Council staff at least six weeks before the application deadline.
For organizations that have previously received Operating Assistance:
- Eligibility is reviewed annually.
Application Requirements
All applicants are encouraged to discuss their project proposal with a Program Officer prior to submitting an application.
Applications must include:
- A signed, completed Operating Assistance application form that includes program outlines, budgets and statistics for the current and projected years, and that addresses all application questions within the prescribed length.
- A list of current board of directors or trustees, including their occupations.
- A list of principal administrative and artistic/curatorial staff or significant contractors, with job titles.
- Copies of recently prepared planning and policy documents if not previously submitted.
- Two copies of the most recent financial statements:
- For organizations whose total operating budget is less than $400,000 or whose last award was $40,000 or less:
independently prepared review engagement, or
- For organizations whose total budget exceeds $400,000 or whose last award exceeded $40,000: audited financial statements.
- For organizations whose total operating budget is less than $400,000 or whose last award was $40,000 or less:
independently prepared review engagement, or
Only applications containing a self-addressed stamped envelope with sufficient postage will have media support materials returned.
Assessment Criteria
Applications are judged against a number of equally eligible applications, including requests from organizations not currently receiving operating assistance. Throughout the review, the Advisory Committee considers how well the organization fulfills its mandate, mission and values. In addition, the request for support will be assessed against the stated criteria and the degree of critical self-reflection.
Artistic/Curatorial Achievement, Community Engagement, and Organizational Capacity are the three key areas of assessment. In each area, the Advisory Committee considers the organization’s reflection on both past achievement and proposed plans.
The points listed below each criterion are prompts that should be used in preparing the submission and will be discussed during the Advisory Committee meeting.
Artistic/Curatorial Achievement
This area is about identifying excellence in the achievement of professional artistic/curatorial activity. Advisory members acknowledge that the evaluation of excellence must consider a range of different practices in any one discipline. Council’s advisors will discuss all or some of the following:
- The artistic and curatorial activities of the organization’s past year of programming and over the past several years; the strength of the artistic/curatorial intention in the organization’s work, the overall practice and the development of the discipline of visual arts.
- A range of factors affecting the current levels of achievement.
- Critical and/or peer recognition of the artistic/curatorial leadership.
- Commitment to and level of engagement with Aboriginal and culturally diverse artists and curators.
- Vigour, quality and risk taking in the overall artistic/curatorial endeavour.
- Achievability of proposed program.
- The program’s effect on those experiencing it.
- Relevance to local and global artistic/curatorial practice.
- Opportunities for the professional development of artists, curators and other visual arts professionals.
- Level of professional fees, compensation and quality of working conditions for employees.
Community Engagement
This area is about identifying excellence in stimulating engagement with an identified artistic community, the broader arts and cultural community and the general public. Council’s advisors will discuss all or some of the following:
- Engagement with a range of artists, arts organizations and communities in the past year and over the past several years, specifically Aboriginal and culturally diverse communities.
- Engagement with geographically isolated artists, curators and communities.
- Presentation of work by British Columbians and Canadians.
- Employment of British Columbian and Canadian artists, curators and visual arts professionals.
- The extent to which the program reaches different audiences.
- Achievability of proposed marketing and outreach activities.
- Relevance to the identified communities.
Organizational Capacity
This area is about identifying excellence in management, leading to sustainability and growing recognition of the organization. It also refers to realistic planning supported by informed and active trustees. Council’s advisors will discuss all or some of the following:
- Reflection on the factors contributing to the organization’s current capacity.
- Quality in organizational practice across all areas of planning, communication, audience development, marketing, fund development, financial management and governance.
- Opportunities for professional development for staff and board of directors.
- Achievability of proposed plans to build organizational capacity.
- Realism in budget assumptions and projections.
- Peer recognition of organizational leadership.
- Quality of board and employee recruitment, retention and succession planning.
- Focus, commitment and effectiveness of the board.
- Governance practices and policies.
Exclusions
Awards under this program are not available for start-up costs, seed money, capital expenditures (construction, renovation, or purchase of property or equipment), feasibility studies, budget deficits, or for-profit entities.
Awards under this program are not available to archives-only organizations, organizations dedicated to a single theme or organizations which qualify for operating assistance under other programs.
Demonstrated Need for Public Subsidy
For Applicants in the Operating Assistance program, the Council evaluates need using these guidelines:
- For applicants with budgets under $50,000: Holding an accumulated, undesignated surplus in excess of 50% of annual gross revenues will influence eligibility for assistance from the Arts Council.
- For applicants with budgets greater than $50,000: Holding an accumulated, undesignated surplus in excess of 50% of annual gross revenues on the first $50,000, plus an accumulated, undesignated surplus in excess of 25% of annual gross revenues over $50,000 will influence eligibility for assistance.
- Surpluses generated for specific purposes (such as endowment funds and capital development) through private or public sector fundraising are exempt from this assessment of need.
Minimum Assistance Level for the Operating Assistance Program
Operating awards will not be approved for less than $10,000. Project assistance may be available for organizations that do not receive operating assistance.