As you prepare for your Fall Grants application submission, due by January 31st, we will continue to provide resources to support you throughout the process.

Thank you to everyone who has attended our GrantsLab programming this season. We'd love to hear your feedback for next year. For those who've attended any session(s), please fill out this survey. We greatly appreciate hearing from you!

Our Deputy Director/Grants Administrator, Gena Mimozo now offers one-on-one consultations and application reviews. Keep reading to learn how to take advantage of those resources and get Fall Grants Tips #7, #8, and #9. 

One on one consultations (office hours) will be offered Monday-Friday from 3pm-7pm for prospective applicants, who have started to draft their applications, to receive in-depth guidance/feedback on their application. Click here to email a request for a one on one consultation.

We are also offering application reviews. Applicants are added to the review list on a first-come, first-served basis. We cannot guarantee our availability to review the week before the deadline. Click here to email a request for an application review.

Please email our Deputy Director/Grants Administrator Gena Mimozo [email protected] to sign up for either of these offerings.

TIP 07: First Draft: Get your ideas on paper

It's always best to start a draft of your application as soon as possible. Starting a draft not only helps you but it helps anyone you plan to work with begin to see your vision. It allows SIA staff to help you craft your writing and provide feedback to you BEFORE your application goes to panel. 

+ Map out when you plan to set aside time to write
+ Complete basic project research
+ Read project descriptions on our site
+ Draft an outline covering core points - who, what, where, when and most importantly how you can plan to execute your project

When you visit statenislandarts.org/grants, you'll find a section titled "Past Grants & Awards." There, you'll be able to browse a wide selection of short project descriptions from past applicants who saw their proposals get funded. Use their words as inspiration, and take a swing at writing your own project summary.

Tip 08: Looking Closer: Community, budget, details

Wherever you're at in your application process -- from just learning about SIA's grants to having a completed draft -- it's a good time to look at two areas with greater focus: Budgets and Community Impact.

Budgets are tricky. It's crucial to ballpark with as much detail as possible. If you're making a painting, don't mention "Supplies." Instead, cost out brushes, paint, and canvas. If you'll be hosting an event, don't just say "Production." Consider promotion, documentation, staffing fees, hospitality, contingency funds, and so on. 

Give ample thought to how your work may impact the local community. What does your project communicate, and how? Is it educational, enriching, archival, newsworthy, or radical? For more personal works, what is the relationship between you, your art, and viewers? Remember: All applications are reviewed by members of the Staten Island community -- review panelists are artists, scholars, arts administrators, teachers of the arts and humanities, civic and business leaders, and community representatives.

Tip 09: Second Draft: Refine your vision

You've got ideas on paper. You'e got a budget. You're killing it. Now it's time to make this application shine.

Editing copy is a highly personal balancing act that builds on a variety of formal and informal traditions; there's no 'perfect' way to do it. That said, know your audience. Community Review Panelists are going to be reading a lot, and you'll want to get your idea across in a clear and concise manner. Be confident, not presumptuous. 

Some tips to consider:

+ Make sure your voice is consistent. Be you.

+ Write using the active voice. It really helps!

+ Look out for run-on sentences.

+ Be honest: do you need ALL those adverbs?

+ Flip the negatives ("problems" = "opportunities")

+ Remove redundancies. Then do it again.

+ Ask someone you trust to read your application and, if they have questions, edit for clarity.

Visit statenislandarts.org/grants, for a list of project descriptions from current and past grantees (under "Grantees"). Use their words as inspiration, and take a swing at writing your own project summary.

For any questions regarding Fall Grants, reach out to our Deputy Director & Grants Administrator, Gena Mimozo at [email protected].