God bless the NYFA!!!!

In response to the current economic downturn, NYFA is opening its Affordable Workspace program to artists and organizations who have been directly affected by the recession—be it through loss of office space, employment, etc. Activity must be arts, literary, or culture-related; artists and organizations working in all genres, graphic designers, creative writers, journalists, and art historians are welcome to apply.

Affordable Workspace Program Benefits:

• A private workstation within the NYFA space dedicated to you
  
  
• High-speed wireless Internet access
  
  
• Meeting space available by appointment (in NYFA’s small conference room and library)
  
  
• Free scanning (black and white)
  
  
• Free printing quota of 200 pages per month (discounted printing fee for larger printing projects)
  
  
• Discounted rate for copying
  
  
• Fully equipped kitchen with hot coffee, tea, and filtered water
  
  
• Individual phone service available for additional fee

For more information and an application, click here.

New York Foundation for the Arts
20 Jay Street
Suite 740
Brooklyn, NY 11201
http://nyfa.pmailus.com/pmailweb/ct?d=K_w4gAJqAAEAAAqiAAOjrw

Finishing Funds for Docs

The International Documentary Association's Pare Lorentz Film Finishing Award will provide $25,000 to one deserving film project in need of financial assistance for completion. In keeping with the nature of Pare Lorentz's films—a successful candidate for the Pare Lorentz Film Finishing Fund award will demonstrate one or more of Lorentz's central concerns—the appropriate use of the natural environment, justice for all and the illumination of pressing social problems—presented as a compelling story by skillful film-making. Past projects submitted have a broad range of subject matter. A committee of documentary industry professionals will choose the winning selection.

Documentary projects meeting these areas of interest and concern are encouraged to apply for this $25,000 finishing fund award. Preference will be given to projects that have a strategic plan for and reasonable chance of securing public distribution in the following arenas: theatrical release, broadcast or cable television, or educational/ancillary distribution (to schools, museums, or other institutions).

To apply for the Pare Lorentz Film Finishing Award, please use the online submission process at Withoutabox.com. Read about eligibility requirements, timeline, FAQs, and more.

Esther Robinson on Looking Debt in the Eye

This article is posted at:

http://www.nyfa.org/nyfa_current_detail.asp?id=17&fid=1&curid=769

What’s the upside of the current recession? Clarity about credit. It’s time for us to finally recognize that no gallery, grant, agent, or god is going to make our credit woes disappear. The economy is bad and getting worse, but it’s giving us a gift. There are actions we can take—actions we must take—to guarantee that we can make our art going forward. These actions all center on our relationship to credit.

Think fast: When was the last time you used a credit card? Probably pretty recently, if you’re like most people. These days, using personal credit as a constant source of financing is so common that we barely even register the individual transactions. My first film, A Walk into the Sea: Danny Williams and The Warhol Factory, was made possible by personal credit. Granted, I was conservative (I never took on more debt than I could handle, kept balance-to-available-credit ratios low, used zero percent cards, and paid off the amounts regularly). Still, the cards were a godsend, allowing me to fly to interviews and take calculated risks against future infusions of cash. But what if all that disappeared?

Here’s the kicker: “About 45 percent of U.S. banks reduced credit limits for new or existing credit-card customers in the fourth quarter of 2008,” according to a January 2009 Federal Reserve survey of senior loan officers. And a November 30 report by Meredith Whitney, a former Oppenheimer analyst, states that financial institutions may slash $2 trillion in credit-card lines in the next 18 months.

In other words, your credit card limits are likely to be lowered, and getting new lines of credit is going to be a lot harder. In some ways this is good news. None of us should carry more credit than we can pay down, and lower limits can keep us in the safe zone. But credit is still a useful tool. Like any businesspeople, artists often need access to cash more quickly than our bank balance allows (deadlines to meet before the grant check clears, for example). And as long as we can afford to pay it back, credit can be a lifeline. So what to do?

The first step is to rid yourself of current debt. The truth is, the money that you spend on interest payments is money you can’t spend on making art. If you finance a current project with personal credit you can’t pay down, you’ll still be making payments on that project five years from now—instead of using that money to make new work. You need to look your debt in the eye and:

Figure out how much you owe.
Figure out what your upcoming costs will be.
Determine how much you can realistically spend each month to pay down your balances.
Use on-line credit calculators to determine the fastest way to rid yourself of debt.

A number of websites feature great tools to help you analyze your different cards and their respective balances and interest rates to determine which ones you should pay down first to garner the greatest savings. In general, you should attempt to pay down the highest interest rate debt first. A “debt snowball” calculator allows you to enter up to 20 different debts and their respective APRs. You then enter in how much you can spend each month to pay down this debt, and it will tell you what order/amounts to pay for each card to get you out of debt the fastest.

Power Payment works on the same principle—and the site also has online budgeting, which is very helpful if you first need to figure out how much you can spend on debt payments.

The CNN Money debt planner has a regular pay-down calculator but also allows you to type in when you want your debt to end. It also tells you how much you need to pay each month to make this happen.The second thing you need to do is safeguard your access to credit by improving your Credit (FICO) Score. Your score determines your credit limits, and whether you’ll be offered new credit lines. The lower your score, the harder the credit crunch will hit you. Fortunately, there’s a lot you can do to improve your score. Here are some solid credit repair tips: Order a copy of your credit report, review it carefully, and correct any significant errors.

You are legally entitled to receive one free report a year. You can go to www.annualcreditreport.com and order your free credit report or to www.myfico.com and www.experian.com to order reports for a charge. Changing a mistake on your report (like a mislabeled late payment) can take 30 days to four months or longer. I think this step is best done with friends. Truthfully the report can be a bit daunting, so if you’re with your friends you can have a good laugh at how poorly designed the report is, have some good snacks and plow through finding mistakes. Then write the letters and send them off….

Next, pay your bills on time. I know, it’s a recession. But, now more than ever, it’s important to stay on top of things. A recent missed payment is more likely to lower your score than an isolated late payment from way back. What this means is, forget how you did or didn’t pay your bills before and just start paying them on time now.

Make AutoPay your friend. If you’re traveling a lot or are prone to forgetting, you can set up AutoPay for automatic payment of your credit card’s minimum balance (just be sure to always have enough money in the bank to cover it!). Scared of Autopay? Set a date every month that is “credit day” and stick to paying your bills on that date. The good news is that if you’re serious about debt reduction and you’re paying on-time using the tools on analyzing your credit in the links above, your credit score will improve.

Other tips? Here’s a counter-intuitive one: Use the credit cards you have as frequently as is prudent. A perverse result of the credit crisis is that if you don’t use your credit accounts, the banks may close them or lower the limit. And having your limits reduced can lower your score. The banks are looking for ways to reduce their risk, and an inactive account gives them a great excuse. But remember to use them responsibly; this is not license to go wild. Also, it’s important to keep your overall balance low in relation to your available credit. If your credit limit is $10,000, keeping your balance below $2,500 (25%) will improve your score.

Pay off your credit card debt rather than moving it to lower rate cards. This is important because you want to avoid drastically changing the ratio of your overall balances to your overall available credit. Example: You owe a total of $2,000 on four credit cards, each with a $2,000 limit. Your total limit is $8,000, of which your balance ($2,000) is 25%. If you transfer all your balances to two cards and cancel the other two, your total credit limit is reduced to $4,000 and your $2,000 balance is now 50% of the limit. To the banks, this looks worse than where you started.And what if you have a really questionable credit history?

Open a few new credit accounts, use them responsibly, and pay them off on time. Payment history is 35% of your credit score (new credit makes up 10%; types of credit in use, another 10%; length of credit history, 15%; and amounts owed, 30%), so if you’ve hurt your credit, establishing a good payment history is key to getting your credit score back together. However if you have a short credit history (you’ve never had credit or haven’t used much credit in the past), don’t open a lot of new accounts over a short time period. The banks will think you’re about to go on a spending binge, and new credit is 10% of your score.

How long will it take to improve my credit score? Negative items affect your credit score much more quickly than positive items. Late payments will have a negative impact in just a few months, whereas paying bills on time may take 6 to 12 months to generate a significant improvement. But it’s important to remember that starting right now gets you closer. And remember, a great credit score makes other good things happen. You can qualify for a mortgage, get better rates from the credit cards you do have, and a great score can help with apartment rental and job applications that often include credit checks. Plus, you’ll have the peace of mind of knowing that you conquered the credit demon.

Finally, if this is all too daunting and your bills are mounting and you are having trouble making ends meet, contact your creditors or see a legitimate credit counselor. The key is not to shut down, or pretend a problem doesn’t exist. Remember that you are a resilient creative person, and can use your creative skills to build your way forward through the challenges. Learn from past mistakes—and change them.

As artists we’re skilled at making a lot happen with little money. Let’s use that skill to shape our lives and our work. Let’s use the recession to determine what we want our future to be like—recognizing that with hard work this difficult economic moment will pass both for our country and for us.

Esther Robinson has worked on behalf of America’s artists for more than 14 years in many capacities, including foundation program officer, television and film producer/director, technology entrepreneur, and arts activist. She is the founder of ArtHome a nonprofit “change agent” that helps artists and their communities build assets and equity through financial literacy, credit access, and home ownership. Robinson is also a filmmaker. Her prize-winning film, A Walk into the Sea: Danny Williams and The Warhol Factory, is currently in worldwide release.

My letter to John McCain

Dear Mr. McCain --

It has recently come to my attention that you said: “$50 million in funding for the National Endowment for the Arts — all of us are for the arts,” McCain said. “Tell me how that creates any significant number of jobs?"

I understand you are not aware of how funding for the arts creates jobs. So, I'd like to tell you what I do for a living. I am a playwright and I have, in the past, received funding from the NEA for projects I created by, about and for my home state of West Virginia.

To give you an idea of how even a small four-person play can create jobs, I’d like to explain how my most recent production here in Los Angeles rippled through this community.

Directly involved in the production were a set designer and her builders, lighting, costume and sound designers, a props master, a stage manager, a director, actors, understudies, photographers, videographers, a publicist, producers etc. All told twenty-three people were directly employed by this play that had a six-week run.

Rippling out, just for our opening night alone, we also employed a valet service, a caterer and waitstaff, additional photographers and videographers not to mention the numerous news outlets who sent their employees to cover the event generating work for journalists, reviewers and paparazzi.

Rippling further out, our audience members often had dinners and drinks before or after each performance bringing business to the restaurants and bars that surrounded the theatre. Considering the poor state of our economy, it was business desperately needed and welcomed by these locally-owned establishments.

We were one show running for six weeks and yet our presence directly and indirectly affected hundreds of people. Now multiply that by the hundreds of stages that are lit every night of the week just in Los Angeles alone. Now multiply that by all the stages across the country.

On each of those stages, in the wings of those theatres, in the seats, people have gathered, people are employed, people are moved because one writer, sitting alone in a room, received a letter from the NEA, received a check from the NEA that allowed them one more month of rent, one more chance to put the words on the page, one more chance to create something beautiful, something that may live beyond us all to bridge the gap between present and future, between cultures, between art and commerce.
Thank you so much for asking what I do. I certainly hope you will do everything in your power to keep the arts very much alive in America.

Sincerely,

Susan Johnston

grants, grants and more grants

Joyce Foundation Issues Call to Entry for 2010 Joyce Awards

Deadline: April 6, 2009 (Letter of Inquiry)

The Joyce Awards support commissions given by Midwest cultural institutions to artists of color. Four grants of $50,000 each will be awarded for commissions of works in Dance, Music, Theater, and Visual Arts.

The annual awards target cultural organizations in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and St. Paul/Minneapolis. The dance award supports the commission and performance of a new choreographed work in any dance genre. The music award supports
the commission and performance of a new, fully developed composition in any musical genre. The theater award supports the commission and performance of a new play. The visual arts award supports the commission and exhibition of new works of painting, sculpture, photography, textiles, mixed or new media, or installation/conceptual art. Where appropriate, collaborations among organizations across the target cities and joint programming are encouraged. Projects should include significant efforts by the institution and the artist to engage its community and attract new audiences.

Eligible cultural organizations must have a primary mission to present art through public programs in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, or Saint Paul/Minneapolis. Groups must be well established, demonstrate strong organizational capacity, and have a track record of presenting programs of the highest artistic caliber. Additionally, organizations must demonstrate a commitment to serving diverse audiences in their current programming, community-based education, outreach, and other activities. The proposed work should not be developed beyond the conceptual stage at the time of application and not be completed before
January 2010.

For complete information on applying for the 2010 Joyce Awards, visit the Joyce Foundation Web site.

RFP Link:
http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/15016771/joycefdn

For additional RFPs in Arts and Culture, visit:
http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_arts.jhtml

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Knight Foundation Arts Challenge Seeks Innovative Ideas for South Florida

Deadline: March 2, 2009

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation (http://www.knightfoundation.org/ ) has launched the second round of the Knight Arts Challenge ( http://www.knightarts.org/) a community-wide contest to fund the best art ideas in South Florida.

The challenge, part of a five-year, $40 million initiative, is designed to help transform South Florida by bringing community together through the arts. In 2009, the challenge will award a
total of almost $4 million.

Last year, the program awarded $8 million in grants to thirty-one groups for a variety of projects, including the University of Miami's two-year residency for up-and-coming artists in the Design District, a Haitian jazz series, and a network of children's choirs serving disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Entrants must propose ideas that are about the arts and that take place in or benefit South Florida. Applicants must find funding to match the Knight Foundation grant. Individuals,
organizations, and businesses are eligible to apply. The contest is open to applicants of all nationalities. The program's simple, two-question application is designed to attract appli-
cants who are not traditional grantseekers. Winners will be notified in June and will have until November to raise matching funds for their projects.

For complete program information and application, visit the Knight Arts Challenge Web site.

RFP Link:
http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/15016772/knightarts

For additional RFPs in Arts and Culture, visit:
http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_arts.jhtml

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Nominations Invited for Best Companies Supporting the Arts in America

Deadline: March 9, 2009.

The Business Committee for the Arts, Inc. ( http://www.bcainc.org/), a national not-for-profit organization working to bring business and the arts together, is accepting nominations for the BCA Ten: Best Companies Supporting the Arts in America. Announced annually, the BCA Ten is a national list created to recognize businesses of all sizes for their exceptional efforts to use the arts to enrich the workplace, education, and the community.

Any individual, arts organization, or company employee may nominate a company for the award. Companies, both large and small, that support the arts in the United States are eligible for nom-
ination. Tax-exempt not-for-profit organizations and companies in the BCA Hall of Fame are not eligible, nor are companies named to the BCA Ten in 2005, 2006, 2007, or 2008.

Nomination statements should address how the company supports the arts through leadership, long-term commitment, impact, addressing community needs, employee and customer involvement, and by encouraging other companies to support the arts.

Award information and nomination forms are available at the BCA Web site.

RFP Link:
http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/15016773/bcainc

For additional RFPs in Arts and Culture, visit:
http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_arts.jhtml

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San Francisco Film Society Announces New Filmmaking Grants Program

Deadline: February 23, 2009 (Letter of Intent)

As part of its new filmmaker services programs, the San Francisco Film Society ( http://www.sffs.org/), with support from the Kenneth Rainin Foundation ( http://krfoundation.org/), has announced the new San Francisco Film Society/Kenneth Rainin
Foundation Filmmaking Grants. Over the next five years, the program will disburse a series of annual grants totaling $3 million for narrative feature films being made in the San Francisco Bay
Area.

The SFFS/KRF Filmmaking Grants will support films that use plot, character, theme, or setting to significantly explore human and civil rights, anti-discrimination efforts, gender and sexual identity, and other urgent social justice issues of our time.

The grants will be awarded in the spring and fall of each year. In 2009, the program will award two grants of $35,000 each. The 2009 grants support screenwriting and script development, pre-production, and post-production expenses. In addition to the grant, recipients will receive a range of benefits through the film society's filmmaker services programs.

Applicants must be in a key creative role for their film (screen-writer, producer, or director), must be an SFFS member at the Filmmaker Pro level or above, must be at least 18 years old, and must have a strong connection to the San Francisco Bay Area. Applicants may not be full-time students.

Visit the SFFS Web site for complete program guidelines and eligibility details.

RFP Link:
http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/15016774/sffilmmaker

For additional RFPs in Arts and Culture, visit:
http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_arts.jhtml

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Children Invited to Submit Designs for U.S. Fund for UNICEF Greeting Card Contest

Deadline: March 6, 2009

The U.S. Fund for UNICEF ( http://www.unicefusa.org/) has announced a call for entries for its annual Pier 1 (http://www.pier1.com/ ) greeting card contest, in which a child's winning design is turned into an official UNICEF greeting card to be sold at Pier 1 Imports stores across the
United States during the 2009 holiday season. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of the card, as well as all UNICEF cards sold at Pier 1, go to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF to
help in its mission to reduce the number of preventable childhood deaths from 25,000 each day to zero.

The contest is open to children age 14 and under. All entries must be hand-drawn. The children's artwork will be judged on artistic quality and creative interpretation of this year's theme, "Joy to the World."

In addition to having their design turned into a greeting card, the winner will receive a $5,000 scholarship, along with $500 worth of art supplies for his or her school. Visitors to the Pier 1 Web site will also be invited to vote on their favorite design from April 1 to 15, 2009. The "People's Choice" winner will receive $500 worth of art supplies.

Further information is available at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF Web site.

RFP Link:
http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/15016775/unicefusa

For additional RFPs in Children and Youth, visit:
http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_children.jhtml