Fresno to award $6M in arts grants. What changed after embezzlement scandal?
The city of Fresno is accepting applications for a nearly $6.5 million pot of arts and culture grant funds — marking the first cycle of the program under city control after an embezzlement of taxpayer funds with the former grant program administrator, Fresno Arts Council.
On June 30, the city of Fresno opened the Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Expanded Access to Arts & Culture Grant program. The annual grant program is funded by 12% of the 3/8-cent sales tax benefitting city parks and arts known as Measure P.
The program provides critical funding opportunities for nonprofit organizations that support and expand access to arts and cultural programming throughout Fresno, the city said in a statement.
The city terminated its contract with the Fresno Arts Council and took over administration and distribution of these funds in late February after an ex-employee of the Arts Council embezzled $1.8 million of taxpayer funds.
But the transition has been with met with heightened scrutiny, concern and criticism from some in the Fresno arts world.
Fresno City Council approved the new grant guidelines during the June 18 meeting with an eleventh-hour change that raised the cap of the maximum size of operational grants from $150,000 to $350,000.
Critics of the vote say the Council ignored the Fresno City Parks, Recreation, and Arts Commission and community voices that advocated for smaller grants capped at $150,000, which they argued would allow for the money to reach more artists and nonprofits. The PRAC is an independent recommendation and oversight body made up of community members to ensure Measure P expenditures are consistent with the measure’s intended goals.
They’re also concerned that by raising the cap on the grant size, fewer large organizations will receive a larger chunk of the funding.
“When a few organizations get more, everyone else gets less. Measure P belongs to Fresno’s cultural ecosystem, not just its largest institutions,” Alicia Rodriguez, founder of Labyrinth Art Collective, said during a June 18 City Council meeting. “Public dollars should create opportunity, not concentrate power.” she said.
Not all agree with the criticism. Representatives from larger cultural organizations also addressed the Council.
Elizabeth Laval, president of the Fresno City & County Historical Society, said that it’s not accurate to say larger nonprofits feel “entitled” to the funds.
“Remember, the (Measure P ordinance) statute calls out in its words, not mine, stability for the larger organizations, as well as being able to expand access to arts and culture,” she said.
Michele Ellis Pracy, executive director & chief curator of the Fresno Art Museum said that even as an established organization, the museum has to find ways to cover the operating expenses required to maintain a 30,000 square-foot fine art museum for the city.
“We do not make money as a nonprofit, we have to find it. We find it with our members, we find it with our donors, we find it with grant opportunities,” she said.
Who’s eligible for Fresno art funds?
The city has allocated $6.5 million to support two different types of arts and culture grants: $3,249,100 for project support grants for specific community-serving arts projects and $3,249,100 for general operating support grants to help arts nonprofits keep the lights on.
501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in good standing that serve city of Fresno residents and visitors are eligible for grant funding, per the grant guidelines.
For project support grants, nonprofits must have as part of stated purposes the following activities: provision of park, recreation or community services or facilities; art appreciation; trail development or management; gang prevention, intervention and services for at-risk youth; conservation corps; environmental education and interpretation; or tree-planting.
For operating support grants, eligible applicants must be an arts or cultural organization as demonstrated by National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities code assigned by the IRS, organizational articles of incorporation, bylaws, mission statement, a resolution certified by the Secretary, or another state or federal designation.
Nonprofits can also serve as fiscal sponsors for projects. Any fiscal sponsor who takes on more than five projects will undergo a pre-qualification process to demonstrate sufficient internal controls.
Eligibility screening forms for the grants are due Saturday, Aug. 15 by 3 p.m. Grant applications are due Wednesday, Sept. 30.
How will grants be evaluated?
Much of the public debate in recent months centered on who would evaluate and score applications.
Some asked for the review sessions to be public, and others advocated for and against having scorers from outside of Fresno involved to reduce the potential for conflicts of interest or favoritism.
The city will seek up to 30 members to score projects as part of the review committee; participants will be compensated $500 for their time in evaluating projects. The city seeks committee members experienced in the following fields or with the following traits:
- Experienced in arts, either through formal arts education or practicing artists
- Experienced as cultural practitioners and/or cultural bearers reflective of the demographic diversity in Fresno
- Experienced in arts or cultural education/higher education such as university professors or technical instructors
- Experienced with range of generational perspectives (youth, seniors) and with experience in accessibility and/or disability
- Members residing in diverse neighborhoods throughout the city, including but not limited to highest-need neighborhoods
- Members residing outside of the City of Fresno but within the State of California (to support conflict/recusal process)
- Members with experience in nonprofit management, nonprofit formation, financial literacy, etc
Fresno parks department staff will not be scoring members of the Applicant Review Committee.
