Where can I find the FY24 General Operating Support (GOS) grant application?
The application for the FY24 General Operating Support (GOS) Grant Cycle can be obtained on page 4 of the FY24 Request for Proposals (RFP) and on the Overview page of the FY24 General Operating Support Grants Cycle. The application must be submitted as an online form. We strongly suggest you review the complete RFP, draft your answers, and gather all documentation before beginning your application.
How can I get a copy of the guidelines and criteria for the grant?
All guidelines and criteria are outlined on pages 4-27 in the FY24 Request for Proposals
My organization is not a 501(c)(3). Can I still apply?
If applicants do not have 501(c)(3) status, an organization can apply if it uses a valid fiscal sponsor.
What is a valid fiscal sponsor?
A valid Fiscal Sponsor is a San Francisco organization having official nonprofit 501(c)(3) status as recognized by and in good standing with the IRS, and is willing to act as a fiduciary agent on behalf of the applicant.
For purposes of receiving money from GFTA, this agent must handle and account for all funds itemized in the budget presented in the application (not just grant funds). Ideally, a fiscal sponsoring organization should have nonprofit accounting and fiscal sponsor experience.
My organization is a fiscal sponsor. If an organization we sponsor applies for a GFTA grant, can we apply for our own GFTA funding as well?
Yes, fiscal sponsors may apply for their own GFTA funding and also fiscally support other organizations that are applying for GFTA funding.
Are there minimum or maximum organizational budget amounts that impact eligibility?
No, there is no eligibility criteria around applicants’ organizational budget size.
How much funding should my organization request?
A couple of considerations when determining the amount to request are:
- The award amount received from GFTA in the previous years
- Your organization’s anticipated budgetary needs
You are welcome to identify other considerations. Please note that, if your organization is awarded, there is no guarantee the amount requested in the application will be the award amount. Grant amounts range between $10,000 and $450,000. Amount determination is based on the organization’s general operating budget size, application score (you must score 75 points or more), and GFTA’s FY24 budget availability.
If my fiscal year is different from the City’s standard fiscal year (July 1 to June 30), how do I report my figures?
For the FY24 application, please submit a Board approved budget that covers your organization’s most recently completed fiscal year (if there is a fiscal sponsor, please provide the sponsored organization’s budget). It is fine if your organization’s fiscal year is different from the City’s, but please include your organization’s fiscal year begin and end dates in your budget.
If your organization is awarded a grant, GFTA may ask for two consecutive years of your fiscal year budgets, since any organization’s budget that does not align with the City’s fiscal year begin and end dates may need to submit budgets that encompass this period. GFTA may request this information to meet the Controller’s Office requirement for a valid budget. This requirement only applies if your organization receives a Notice of Award. GFTA will communicate directly with each awardee to determine if more than one fiscal year budget is required.
Does GFTA fund arts education programming?
GFTA provides general operating support, it does not support specific programming. If your organization works with SF schools, you may reference these partnerships in question 7B of the application.
Should recurring grantees expect a consistent level of funding compared to past years?
Due to the severe reduction of the Hotel Tax revenue during the global pandemic, our FY 2024 budget will not be as large as GFTA’s pre-pandemic budget. In light of this decline in funding, we hope to keep the General Operating Support program as whole as possible, but do expect cuts to be made to many award amounts.
Can GFTA share my organization’s previous applications with me?
A good, standard practice for applicants and grant writers is to keep copies of all grant applications they submit to all funders (not just the city) in their files. FormAssembly gives you the option to print or save your application before you submit it. Uploads you included with the application should also be saved in your files with the copy of the completed application.
Can an organization apply for more than one grant type?
Yes, an organization may submit one application per grant type during the FY24 application period. Our three grant types include: 1) Arts Programming, 2) Parades and Festivals, and 3) Capacity Building & Regranting. Applications are considered independently from one another. Only one application may be submitted to each grant type unless a fiscal sponsor is submitting applications on behalf of organizations being sponsored. Please note that if you are a new GFTA grant recipient, you will receive no more than $10,000 per grant type.
Several of the FY24 application questions seek information about individual activities. My organization’s programming includes multi-day programs (for example, a multi-day festival, a multi-month series, a recurring class, a concert series in multiple locations, etc.). Should individual segments of a multi-day program count as individual activities, or should the entire multi-day program count as one activity?
It’s up to you to decide whether to input a series as one activity, or to break up a series into individual activities. We suggest that you share what will best represent your overall programming and impact on San Francisco. In the RFP, you can refer to each question’s scoring criteria as a guide.
Can the same activities be listed in different questions/sections of the application?
Yes, since each question asks about a different aspect of your programming, you may use the same event(s) across questions.
If my organization is applying for Capacity Building and Regranting support, do we need to provide these services to other artists/organizations, or can we apply the funds to our own capacity building?
Capacity Building and Regranting support is for organizations that provide these services to other San Francisco-based artists and/or arts organizations. If you do not provide these services, but need support for your own capacity building and also produce arts programming, parades, or festivals, you may apply for General Operating Support under the “Arts Programming” or “Parades & Festivals” grant types.