Capital Grants

Funded by an annual $50,000 contribution from the Overture Foundation, the Cultural Affairs Commission competitively awards grants of up to $5,000 to support capital ventures of small Dane County arts and historical organizations. Applicant groups must apply directly to the Cultural Affairs Commission on the enclosed form. Deadlines for proposals are February 1, June 1 and September 1. Capital grants must be matched dollar for dollar by the recipients.

Application Deadlines

Applications must be postmarked or delivered to the Cultural Affairs Office on or before the grant deadline. If a deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, applications must be delivered to the office by 4:30 p.m. on the preceding work day, or be postmarked on or before a grant deadline. Late submissions cannot be considered. If the United States Postal Service or other delivery service is used, it is the applicant's responsibility to ensure postmark on or before the due date. Mailed applications must be received by the Cultural Affairs Commission within four days after the deadline.

Use the Correct Application Forms
Download the Capital Grant Application as a saveable PDF.
Download the Capital application as a legacy PDF.
Get more information on how to use the form.

Eligibility

• Eligible applicants must be located in Dane County and hold federal tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
• Applicants may include community theaters; music, dance and visual arts organizations; local historical museums; municipal opera houses; and other community-based cultural organizations whose primary mission focuses on the arts or local history.
• Applicants from Dane County school districts and municipalities may apply only if the capital project directly serves the greater community. Capital grants are not available to individuals, public libraries, fraternal groups, churches, commercial businesses, neighborhood centers, and higher educational institutions.
• Capital grants may underwrite building construction, improvements, and expansion; historic preservation initiatives; construction of permanent exhibitions; purchase of permanent equipment; and other capital needs. For the purposes of this program, the Cultural Affairs Commission defines permanent equipment as a durable product having a useful life of more thantwo years. Capital grants cannot subsidize the purchase of artwork, historical artifacts, theater scripts, stage properties, costumes, music and dance scores, books and other printed materials, or computer systems and software. Grants may not be used for improvements to private residential or commercial property.

• A not-for-profit group located on privately owned property may seek a capital grant only if the proposed acquisition is not considered a permanent enhancement to the property and can be easily removed for future use at another location.

• Resident organizations of the Overture Center are also not eligible, except those with annual operating budgets of under $300,000.

Review Criteria
The following criteria are applied by the commission's advisory panels in the review of capital proposals

• Quality of the proposed project
• Public impact and value of the project
• Evidence that the project will be an enhancement to the greater cultural community
• Evidence of careful financing planning
• Ability of applicant to successfully complete the project

In addition, the commission gives special consideration to proposals which serve rural areas and outlying communities in Dane County.

Dealines and Guidelines

• Capital grant application deadlines are February 1 (for a May 1-January 1 capital project period), June 1 (for a September 1-July 1 capital project period) and September 1 (for a December 1 - August 1 capital project period). 
• Applications must be postmarked or delivered to the Cultural Affairs Office on or before the grant deadline.  If a deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, applications must be delivered to the office by 4:30 p.m. on the preceding workday, or be postmarked on or before a grant deadline.  Late submissions cannot be considered.  If the United States Postal Service or other delivery service is used, it is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure postmark on or before the due date.  Mailed applications must be received by the Cultural Affairs Office within four days after the deadline.
• Projects must be conducted within Dane County and must benefit Dane County residents.
• The commission may provide up to fifty percent of the total project budget; grants must be matched with cash by the grantee on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
• The commission may approve an amount less than requested by the applicant.
• A grant carries no commitment for future support beyond the term of the project.

Instructions

• Applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss their proposals with the commission’s staff before the grant deadline. 
• Capital grant proposals must be submitted to the commission on the capital grant application form with detailed budget information and appropriate supporting materials.  Attachments must include professional cost estimates or bids; drawings, blueprints, or written specifications prepared by professionals (if applicable); and letters of support expressing community interest.
• Proposals must include a carefully detailed, capital project budget which separately itemizes all projected cash income (amounts and sources) and all projected cash expenditures (amounts and items).  Total cash income should equal total cash expenditures.
• Proposals must be printed in standard-size 10-12 point type.  Proposals submitted by fax or on computer cannot be accepted.   
• Proposals must include one original and five copies.  The original proposal should include a mission statement of the group; a list of current board of directors and staff to the project; resumes of the key service providers (if applicable); the organization’s budget for the year in which the project is occurring; and the Internal Revenue Service letter determining federal tax exempt status.  Multiple copies of these organizational materials are not required.

Review and Award Process

• All proposals are carefully reviewed by a panel of knowledgeable citizen advisors.  The panel’s funding recommendations are forwarded to the Cultural Affairs Commission for final award decisions.  This process takes approximately seven weeks.
• Announcement of grant decisions is made by letter mailed to applicants.  The terms of the grant are set forth in a legal contract of agreement between Dane County and the grantee.  Grant funds must be expended within the designated project period in accordance with the plans and assurances described in the grantee’s proposal.