General Information
Grants for the Arts provides funds on a reimbursement basis only. With the exception outlined in the Parades and Festivals grant agreement, funds are not advanced and reimbursement requests must be in accordance with the purpose stated in the Agreement.
- Operating expenditures for San Francisco activities only may be submitted — for example: net salaries (with the exception of development staff), wages, fees, rental of equipment, rental of halls/studios, telephone charges, advertising and publicity expenses, stationery, and office supplies.
- The Charter of the City of San Francisco prohibits payments for personal expenses and business-related expenses in the following areas: meals, catering, transportation, lodging, and fundraising and educational activities.
- Any cost related to fundraising is ineligible. You may not reimburse for salaries or fringe benefits for your Development Director or other staff with fundraising as a primary job role; fundraising consultant fees; space rental for fundraising events; or registration or attendance fees to attend any workshops or trainings aimed to build capacity for fundraising.
- If applicable, you may use up to 15% of your award for capital expenditures. However, when you reimburse for these capital items, you must do so separately from the general operating support reimbursement requests. You may use the same forms, but please do not include both types of expenses on the same request.
If you have any questions regarding these requirements, please do not hesitate to call any staff member at 415.554.6710.
How To Prepare a Reimbursement Request
You will need the Appendix C — Form of Funding Request and Schedule 1: To Request for Funding after you receive a Purchase Order (PO) number, please use a copy of the Appendix C form that can be found in the signed agreement — pages C-1 to C-2 in the appendices. This form will have unique identifier codes in the Invoice Number field that are required by the Controller’s Office in order to be approved for fund disbursements.
Fill out these forms exactly as described below and include all attachments requested. Incomplete, unsigned, and/or improperly prepared reimbursement requests will be held and/or returned. Grants for the Arts no longer requires reimbursement requests to be submitted with wet signatures. However, an e-signature must be present. Forms and required attachments should be scanned and emailed to the agency’s general inbox at gfta-reimbursement@sfgov.org.
Appendix C — Form of Funding Request
- Invoice Date: The date which you submit your request. This date should be any date after July 1.
- Contact Information: Fill out your organization’s name (and fiscal sponsor if applicable), affix an e-signature, print the name of the signatory and their title, and fill in the current date of the agreement between the Grantee and the City and County of San Francisco.
- Type of Grant: Check which type of grant for which you are requesting reimbursement. In most cases it will be General Operating Support.
- Eligible Expense Category Description: Group your eligible expenses into broad categories, e.g., salaries, rent, phone bills, advertising, etc. You will itemize each category on the Schedule 1 To Request for Funding form.
- Amount Spent Per Category: Provide a subtotal for each broad category.
- Total Reimbursement Requested: Provide the total for the entire reimbursement. This total should equal all of the items which appear on the Schedule 1 To Request for Funding form.
Schedule 1 to Request for Funding
- Please remember to support every item listed on your Schedule 1 with copies of cancelled checks (front and back) or bank statements, as well as copies of properly dated and executed invoices.
- Reimbursable services are only those rendered within the period of the Agreement; invoices dated prior to July 1 or after June 30 will not be accepted.
- Scan and include copies of required documentation, and remember to include them for every item. (All copies of invoices and checks must be on 8 1/2″ x 11″ sheets of paper. Please use the front and back of pages whenever possible.)
Please note that copies of payroll registers which detail the breakdown of earnings must be included for salary claims. If payroll checks have been issued manually, copies of cancelled checks (front and back) clearly marked PAYROLL must be included as well. It is not necessary to send check copies for computerized payroll submissions. Only net wages may be claimed. Quarterly payroll taxes may be claimed after they are paid, with copies of proper federal and state tax reporting forms as back-up documentation. If your organization has contract employees, invoices which document the hours/pay rate must be signed and submitted.
- All total reimbursement figures will be rounded-off by GFTA to the next lowest dollar amount, e.g., a request for $96.59 will be paid at $96.00.
- Please be certain to attach a separate listing of San Francisco public programs/activities presented during the period covered by the reimbursement request.
Email signed and completed forms, as well as all required attachments, to:
Please use as the subject line: Your Organization’s Name — Reimbursement.
The City and County of San Francisco has instituted an electronic payment system, allowing your grant funds to be deposited directly into your organization’s bank account. The City has moved away from issuing paper checks to its vendors.
In order to receive your grant funds, you must register for the City’s electronic payment service. This is free and takes only a few minutes to set up. For more information, and to sign up for electronic payments, visit here.
Please note that Grants for the Arts does not manage this service. If you have any questions or concerns regarding electronic payments, or experience any difficulties with the registration process, please contact the City and County of San Francisco’s Office of the Controller at AHC.Support@sfgov.org.