CORE SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS INITIATIVE

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS, March 2015

The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Arts Program supports artists working in the contemporary dance, jazz and theatre fields, and the nonprofit professional arts organizations that nurture, produce and/or present such artists.

The Foundation offers a number of re-grant programs through various intermediary organizations—organizations who additionally serve their respective fields through convenings, publications, programs, research and more. A limited number of national organizations have proven their value as well through the Fund for National Projects, organizing activities that have been valuable to their respective fields. Recognizing the importance of this ongoing work to the health of the various national performing arts fields, DDCF will invite applications for Core Support that includes both flexible support and long-term capitalization from national organizations that either administer DDCF regranting programs or that have received support from the Fund for National Projects in the last five years.

Applications will be reviewed by a peer panel, which will make recommendations about funding levels and restrictions (if any). Grants will cover two years.

Grantee organizations in this initiative may also seek additional support through the Fund for National Projects initiative.

TIMELINE

Due Date: Applications are due no later than 3:00 p.m. ET on Friday, March 13, 2015

Award Notification: No later than July 17, 2015 Grant start date: Grantees may use funds to support work, beginning in the

organization’s FY 16 and beyond. Costs and activities incurred in FY 15 will not be supported1.

1 This time schedule applies to organizations who work on a July 1-June 30 fiscal year. Grantees who work on a January 1-December 31 fiscal year schedule may use funds to support costs incurred after July 1, 2015.

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE:

Throughout its history, the Arts Program at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation has worked with national organizations either as intermediaries for regranting programs or on a project basis to improve the health of the national jazz, dance, theatre and/or presenting fields. Grantee organizations in both cases have been chosen specifically for their ability to conceive and administer well-structured programs, their deep knowledge of their fields, the quality of their services, their ability to gather data, and the strength of relationships with their constituents—skills and capacities that go far beyond the particular project involving DDCF support.

This initiative recognizes the value of ongoing programs, services and activities that exist beyond the DDCF-supported re-granting program(s) or project(s) and seeks to offer flexible support to enable organizations to continue offering those services, convenings, research, advocacy and/or programs that are vital to the larger performing arts field.

ELIGIBILITY

Applications are by invitation only. Invitations are restricted to national organizations which provide ongoing services for the jazz, contemporary dance, theatre and/or presenting fields and that either administer DDCF-support re-granting initiatives or have received support in the Fund for National Projects category within the last five years.

DESCRIPTION OF FUNDING OFFERED

Organizations may request from $25,000-$250,000 per year but the annual request cannot exceed 10% of the annual expenses associated with serving jazz, contemporary dance, theatre and/or presenting in the most recently audited fiscal year (at the time of application). In determining budgets and the level of funding request, organizations must calculate expenses only as they relate to DDCF-supported fields and cannot include expenses related to service to additional fields.

Regrant funds that pass directly to artists or organizations must also be excluded from calculations, although services, technical assistance, etc. provided to such regrant recipients that are not already covered by DDCF or other funders may be included in budget calculations. Similarly, for those organizations that offer fiscal sponsorships, the amount that passes to the fiscally sponsored entity must be excluded, while the funds designated to the fiscal sponsor for monitoring, reporting, etc., may be included if not covered already by the percentage of grant funds allotted to the fiscal sponsor.

Grant award funds must be directed to the activities, programs, convenings, research, etc., that serve the contemporary dance, jazz, and/or theatre fields, and/or presenting the work of artists in those same fields. Organizations whose mission and reach serve additional disciplines may not use DDCF funds to support those activities supporting those additional disciplines or fields.

Each applicant must specify its organizational objectives for the next two years and benchmarks against which progress towards those objectives can be measured. While the bulk of funding may be used to meet annual or short-term needs, a minimum of 25% of funds must be deployed strategically to improve the long-term financial capacity of the organization (i.e. reflect strategic goals towards a healthier balance sheet through creating or amplifying reserves, debt retirement, or funding depreciation, for example, rather than being used to meet ongoing program/services costs).

Funds may not be used, however, to purchase or renovate facilities, or to create or amplify permanently restricted endowments.

REVIEW PROCESS/SELECTION CRITERIA

Completed applications are due to DDCF by 3:00 PM ET on Friday, March 13, 2015. Late applications will not be accepted.

All applications will be reviewed by an advisory panel composed of arts professionals, who in turn will make recommendations for funding to DDCF President Ed Henry for final approval. DDCF staff will not participate in discussions or influence the outcomes of deliberations.

All applicants will be assigned a site visitor, who will be given access to the application in advance of the site visit. Unless specific permission is given to the contrary, site visits should be coordinated with assigned site visitors to occur between March 20 and April 24, 2015.

Panels will consider the following general topics in their deliberations:

Quality of programs and impact on the dance, jazz, presenting and/or theatre fields Quality of vision, strategic thinking and responsiveness to the larger environment Ability to embrace and manage change Financial health and practices, including balance sheet analysis and long-term financial

goals Strength of board, staff and governance practices

The panel will also take into consideration past progress reports and up to two past reports by site visitors (if applicable) in addition to the report for the 2015 year.

If your organization has completed the Cultural Data Project, DDCF will also include the most recent report in the panel materials.

The panel may choose to recommend funding for successful applicants at a level lower than the requested amount.

Applicants will be notified about the outcome of the selection process no later than July 17, 2015.

GRANT REQUIREMENTS

Identification of mutually agreeable benchmarks: Applicants are asked to propose specific objectives for the next two years and a range of benchmarks to measure their progress towards these goals. Final benchmarks will be agreed upon following meetings with DDCF staff after the panel has made its recommendations but before the grants are officially approved.

Grant Payment: Funds will be distributed to each organization in annual payments (one payment per grantee fiscal year).

Reporting: Grantees will submit an annual report following the close of their fiscal year, including a progress report documenting progress towards defined goals, the specific use(s) of DDCF funds, a final audit and the completion of the Cultural Data Project’s annual financial review.

Grantees will be invited to participate in meetings convened by DDCF and will be required to spend one day per grant period with a site visitor assigned by DDCF.

ALLOWABLE USES OF GRANT FUNDS

Funds may be used to support any and all costs associated with service to the contemporary dance, jazz, and theatre fields, and/or to presenting the artists and organizations in those same fields. Organizations whose entire mission is dedicated to such a field may simply request general operating support.

Organizations whose missions embrace other disciplines may only apply for funds restricted to support activities and services to jazz, theatre, contemporary dance and/or presenting of those disciplines.

Discussions around issues of capitalization for arts organizations have made distinction between funds that pay for programs and services (most typically seen in the Statement of Activities), and those funds that more typically build the ongoing capacity of the organizations to deliver these services over time (as more typically evidenced in the Balance Sheet). All grantees must use a minimum of 25% (and may even choose to use a higher percentage) of the grant award to address the issues of longer-term financial health, designed to strengthen the organization’s balance sheet. Allowable uses of funds include amplification or creation of reserves, debt retirement, and/or addressing depreciation. Funds may not be used to create or amplify permanent endowments or to address facility construction costs.

PROPOSAL PREPARATION:

With the exception of the statements from the Executive Director and Board Chair and the supplementary materials packet, all proposal materials must be submitted on-line. As you fill out the on-line fields, please use plain text only. Do not use bullets, numbered lists or other paragraph or character formatting. Intricate formatting, diagrams or graphics that are copied and pasted from a word processing application will be lost.

The Executive Director and Board Chair statements and additional supplementary materials (including examples of publications, conference agendas, and brochures, as applicable) should be submitted to:

Doris Duke Charitable Foundation 650 Fifth Avenue, 19th Floor New York, NY 10019 ATTN: Lillian Osei-Boateng

DORIS DUKE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION CORE SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

With the exception of the Executive Director statement, the Board Chair statement and the supplementary materials packet, all proposal materials must be submitted on-line. As you fill out the following fields, please use plain text only. Do not use bullets, numbered lists or other paragraph or character formatting. Intricate formatting, diagrams or graphics that are copied and pasted from a word processing application will be lost.

FINANCIAL GRANT REQUEST INFORMATION1. Operating expenses in the most recently completed fiscal year for services/programs/activities serving the contemporary dance, jazz, theatre and/ presenting of those same disciplines. (Fiscal sponsors may include in these figures that percentage of grants retained by the application as payment for the sponsorship, but may not include the amount that goes directly to the sponsored artist or organization.):

$_________________This amount should correspond to Line D (FY 14 actual) on the budget form. (See Financial Information)

2. Total Grant requested per year up to $250,000 (Cannot exceed 10% of operating expenses line 1): $___________________ This amount should correspond to Line M (FY 16) on the budget form.

3. Amount of funds requested per year to support ongoing services, projects and activities for jazz, contemporary dance, theatre and/or the presenting of those same disciplines (cannot exceed 75% of Total Grant requested in 2 above). $_________________This amount should correspond to Line J (FY 16) on the budget form.

4. Amount of support requested per year to support long-term capitalization needs (must be at least 25% of line 2 above) $_________________This amount should correspond to Line L (FY 16) on the budget form.

5. Total Grant Amount requested for FYs 2016 and 2017 (should be twice the amount of line 2 above) $_________________

PROPOSAL NARRATIVE: In eight pages or less, using the same headings seen below, please provide the following information:

A. General Background – Describe the work of your organization addressing each of the following:

1. A brief description of the organization’s history, including date of founding, mission and core values.

2. Requirements for membership or affiliation (if any)3. A description of the current membership and/or constituencies served,

including number of members/constituents and geographic reach4. Cost of membership dues, if applicable (please be specific for each

category if there is more than one).

B. Current Programs and ActivitiesPlease describe current programs and activities. If specific programs or activities are not available to the full membership, please note as appropriate.

1. What are the field needs that current programs address?2. How much of the membership/constituency served accesses each of these

programs?3. How are the quality and success of programs/activities evaluated? Please

be specific.4. Is the membership or constituency surveyed about programs/activities? If

so, when was the most recent survey conducted? What was learned from this survey?

5. How does the organization currently utilize technology to further its mission, programs and services?

C. Future plans1. Will any of the current programs/activities be eliminated or significantly

altered during the grant period? If so, please explain the reasons.2. Will any new programs/activities be launched during the grant period? If

so, please give a brief description of the intent of these new programs/activities.

3. What are the field needs that these future programs will address?4. Are there pressing field needs that will not be addressed by programs and

activities in the future? Please note and explain the rationale for leaving these issues unaddressed.

5. What are the projected financial and staff implications for these changes? Do you anticipate growth, contraction or “flat” resources (both human and financial)? Please be specific.

6. Are there significant plans for new programs or activities that will commence beyond the grant period? If so, please explain.

7. Are there significant changes in use of technology anticipated in the next two years? If so, explain.

D. Ability to embrace and manage change1. Please provide specific examples of significant changes within the

organization over the last three years.2. Please identify three specific activities, projects or services currently

offered by the organization that were not part of the organization five years ago.

3. Please identify three specific activities, projects or services offered by the organization five years ago that you no longer offer (if applicable).

4. Have resource allocations and/or direction of the organization shifted in the last five years? If so, please explain.

5. If your plans for the future include undertaking new areas of expertise, please explain how your will be prepared for this new area of work. Will this imply new staff with new expertise? New partnerships? Etc.

E. Staff and Governance1. How large is the current staff? What is the breakdown between full time

staff and part time staff? Please indicate the tenure of senior staff and percentage of annual staff turnover.

2. Please describe the demographic composition of the staff, based on categories you define as important for your organization to fulfill its mission and serve its constituency. Are there areas in which your organization wishes to change or improve this mix? If so, please explain.

3. Please provide a brief description of the organization’s governance structure (including committee structure). How many people serve on the board?

4. Please explain whether the Board composition is appropriate to help the organization meet its current and future needs. If it is not appropriate, please explain how and over what period of time you expect the composition to change. (Composition in this area refers to mix of demographics, expertise and viewpoint, not to specific individuals. You might choose to say “Our board is entirely from the field we serve. This is appropriate because…” or “Our board is people outside the field. This is appropriate because…” or “While the board composition is historic, we anticipate change because…” etc.)

5. Is the Executive Director a member of the Board? What is the rationale behind this status? If you anticipate a change in this status, please explain the reasons for the change.

6. How are board members identified? What criteria are used in selection?7. Is there a formal board orientation process? A board training process?

Please describe.

8. What are the requirements that Board members are expected to meet once elected?

9. Are there term limits for Board members? Is there a formal board evaluation process? If so, please describe.

10. Does the Board interact directly with staff (beyond the organization leader(s)? If so, please describe how.

11. What is the average length of service on the current board? What percentage of the board attends full board meetings, on average?

12. How is the Executive Director evaluated? Who participates in this process?

F. Financial Strength1. Please review your financial results over the last three years. If there has

been a deficit in any of these years, please explain. Does the Board have a plan to address the deficit?

2. How are surpluses used, if relevant? Are these expended or added to ongoing reserves? If there are reserves, please explain what the purpose(s) of these reserve funds are? (Working capital, building reserves, etc.) Are there policies about how reserves are to be replenished or grown over time? If so, please explain any policies governing their use and requirements to replenish?

3. Is there an endowment? If so, are there board policies governing how much of endowment earnings may be used to support programs? Please explain, including any policy addressing use of endowment funds in years where endowment return is negative.

4. How frequently are financial reports created measuring progress against budget? With whom are these shared?

5. Based on an analysis of your balance sheet over the last three completed fiscal years, what are the organization’s greatest financial challenges long-term?

6. What does the organization most critically need to do to strengthen the balance sheet?

7. What are the first steps and the anticipated schedule for taking such action?

8. Please explain how you will use the required minimum 25% to strengthen the organization’s financial position.

G. Strategic Objectives: The success of this grant will be measured against specific benchmarks identified by the grantee, in consultation with DDCF (explained further in “Reading Between the Lines” at the end of this document). Please propose at least one specific benchmark (citing both current level and projected level at the end of the grant period) and explain its significance for each of the following areas (please note that

growth is not assumed to be the most important priority and that maintenance or even reduction of activity may be proposed):

1. Membership or constituent reach2. Programs, including technological capacity3. Ability to embrace change4. Staff and Board structure and/or composition5. Finances6. Other (if applicable)

FINANCIAL INFORMATION:

1. Completed DDCF financial forms (budget worksheet and financial questions)

ADDITIONAL MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS TO BE PROVIDED AS ATTACHMENTS:1. Detailed organizational budget for two completed fiscal years, the most recent example of the current year re-projected budget showing both original and re-projected lines, (please also specify start and end dates for your fiscal year), and general budget projections for FYs 2016 and 2017. Cultural Data Reports may be submitted here in lieu of the Organization Budget. 2. Two most recent annual audited financial statements and Cultural Data Project report for last two years if available3. Any additional budget and/or audit explanations. Organizations are encouraged to provide explanations for any significant variances within the current annual budget and/or major reductions or increases in budgets from one year to the next. In addition, please indicate how often budgets are re-projected.4. List of other foundation, corporate and government supporters and amount of support received for the past two completed and current fiscal years to support work in the contemporary dance, jazz, theatre and/or organizations that produce and present these disciplines. 5. The current strategic plan, if available.6. Short bios (and number of years with organization) of executive director and key senior staff7. A list of the organization’s board of directors, their affiliations (indicate individual artists where appropriate), positions and location. Please give a sense of the diversity of the board as you measure diversity.8. List of current organizational members (if applicable), including an analysis of membership by budget size (where appropriate). SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS:

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR STATEMENT: (TO BE SENT UNDER SEPARATE COVER)

In three pages or less, the Executive Director is invited to reflect on this moment in the organization’s health. Among the questions that the Executive Director should address are the following (remembering to be specific in each):

1. What are the two or three greatest challenges facing the relevant field?2. What are the organization’s two or three greatest strengths?3. What are the two or three greatest challenges facing the organization?4. Assess the ability of the current staff and board to address these

challenges. Is the board a fundraising board, a “think tank” board or something else? How well is this board positioned to help the organization meet the challenges it and its field/constituency will confront in the years ahead?

5. Are there specific goals for staff and/or board development for the future?6. How has the organization learned from failure in the past? 7. If funded, how will this grant make a difference to the organization? To the

field?8. Is there anything else about the organization you would like the panel to

know that has not been addressed elsewhere in the application?

BOARD CHAIR STATEMENT: (TO BE SENT UNDER SEPARATE COVER)In three pages or less, the Board Chair is invited to reflect on the current

board’s health. Among the questions the Board Chair should address are the following:

1) How strong is the current board’s ability to provide strategic guidance and resources for the organization?

2) What are the board’s major responsibilities? Is the board a fundraising board, a “think tank” board or something else? How well is this board positioned to help the organization meet the challenges it and its field/constituency will confront in the years ahead?

3) Are there anticipated changes in board composition? (Please see earlier note about composition as structural rather than specifically named individuals.)

4) Is the Board the appropriate size for the organization? If not, what changes should be made in the future, and why?

5) What are the two or three greatest challenges facing the board?6) How does the Board evaluate the CEO/ Executive Director? Who

participates in this process?7) Is the current meeting schedule and board structure appropriate to the

needs of the organization? If not, what plans should be undertaken?

8) Is there a succession plan for Board leadership? How far in advance is a new Chair identified?

9) Please give two specific examples of important decisions the Board has made in the last three years, and two important issues it must resolve in the next two years.

ADDITIONAL PUBLICATIONS OR SUPPORTING MATERIALS: (TO BE SENT UNDER SEPARATE COVER)

1. Up to 10 pieces (three copies of each) of supporting materials produced by your organization (such as brochures, magazines, books, field financial reports, advocacy alerts, etc.)

READING BETWEEN THE LINES

In the spirit of helping applicants understand our program more fully, we’d like to offer some “straight talk” to look beyond the application forms and articulate a bit more clearly some of the assumptions of this program.

This year’s application has been redesigned to more closely parallel the review criteria, even while much of the requested information was included in earlier applications.

The panel will consider six areas:

Quality of programs and impact on the dance, jazz, presenting and/or theatre fields Quality of vision, future plans and rigor of thinking Ability to embrace and manage change Strength of board, staff and governance practices Financial health and practices, including long-range objectives and strategies

Viability and specificity of proposed benchmarksThe first three criteria are by far the most important. Any organization which cannot demonstrate strength in current programs, a strong vision for the future, strong self-understanding and rigorous thinking, and concrete examples of significant changes undertaken in response to the external environment is unlikely to be considered further for funding. As a result of this emphasis, we urge you to pay careful attention to Section B, C and D outlined above.

The Executive Director statement will in particular be a critical piece of the application and must be written personally by the leader of the organization. It represents the chance for a panel to hear firsthand the leader’s perception of where the organization is vs. where (s)he wishes it to be. The Executive Director needs to speak candidly, personally and searchingly; indeed, the 2013 panel responded most strongly to applicants who were rigorously self-critical and frank, and responded less favorably where applicants seemed to spin information in the interest of a “sale.” Recognizing that this may well be somewhat sensitive in nature and that the on-line application materials may well involve the direct entering of information by other staff, the Executive Director should send this statement under separate cover.

The remaining three criteria are designed to measure the ability of the organization to move forward. An organization must be able to demonstrate that it has the financial strength to move forward, and significant accumulated deficits (especially in the absence of a concrete plan to retire the deficit), going concern status in audits and/or disproportionate debt may be sufficient reason to reject the application. Again, candor is key: an organization with significant debt may still warrant support if the applicant can demonstrate detailed understanding of the debt, how it came to be accumulated, and a grasp for how it is to be managed in the future. Applicants without such plans or that do not recognize the urgency of their financial conditions are likely to be rejected.

The most recent panel found the issue of Board and governance practices the most difficult to assess. You will see, as a result, significant expansion of the questions related to the board; additionally, we are asking for a statement from your Board chair for the first time. Again, candor is key. Applicants should feel free to acknowledge weaknesses in these Board/staff (as

requested in the Executive Director statement), and may well propose objectives and benchmarks to improve them. Like the Executive Director statement, this Board Chair statement should be submitted under separate cover.

We ask each organization to propose specific objectives to be achieved over the life of the grant and specific benchmarks to measure progress. In essence, we are asking, “What plans do you have to strengthen the organization? How will you know you are getting stronger? And how will we know that our money has made a difference?” We will ask the panel to review your objectives and benchmarks and may “press back” at a post-panel meeting we plan with each grantee. We may ask you to be more specific, to think a bit more rigorously, or to be more precise about your methodology in measuring progress. We do not wish to impose benchmarks on grantees: at the same time, we want to make sure that we’re in accord about how we’ll know whether you did indeed grow stronger and whether our funds were important to you in your work. Past panels have taken specificity of benchmarks as indicators of larger patterns of specific and strategic thinking within the organization.

As you complete your applications, please bear in mind the following:

“Grantsmanship” and “hard sell” are discouraged. The panel will be far more interested in the quality of your thinking, the depth of your self-understanding, your ability to perceive and learn from failure and the creativity/responsiveness in your thinking about the future than they will be in an inflated parade of accomplishments. Remember as well that the panel is composed of working arts professionals who have a strong sense of their respective fields.

Comparisons between your organization and others are strongly discouraged. Speak for what you know to be true for yourself, not for what you perceive about other organizations, their motives or their practices. Inflated comparisons—especially if they are not true—can undermine the panel’s confidence in the entire application.

Benchmarks for future evaluation should be specific—how will you know you are achieving success? Goals should demonstrate your own understanding of your capacity and of your energy—in a sense, they should be potentially achievable but not “slam dunk” doable. At the same time, they should stretch the organization and grow from ambition, rather than from complacency.

In calculating a grant amount request, applicants should think about their needs and capacity. The panel will not be bound by an “all or nothing” response to a requested amount; they will be able to make recommendations to DDCF President Ed Henry for full funding, partial funding or no funding. That said, excessive requests might provoke other questions about capacity and planning ability that might reflect negatively on the organization.

DDCF will continue to be responsible in allocating overhead and indirect support for the regranting initiatives your organization offers or complementary gen op support in the Fund for National Projects. This initiative recognizes the important ongoing work your organization does for its field beyond the specific kind of regranting or consulting work we have engaged you to do. It is designed to support other ongoing annual infrastructure and organizational needs of the organization (beyond regranting), which is why we ask you to isolate those regranting monies (both in income and expense) in the budget forms. Services provided, counsel, etc., can be

calculated as an in-kind expense, however. If you are providing such a figure, please provide explanation of how you arrived at this figure (e.g. number of staff hours spent/rate of staff time/etc.)

As always, DDCF initiatives are periodically reviewed by the Board, and hard decisions may be required if budgets change. We urge organizations to think strategically about use of funds and to assume that this support will not be offered again in 2017 or beyond as they draw up their requests. (Funding through 2017 would represent a 10-year arc of funding, an admittedly long investment for many foundations to maintain a program.) Recognizing the destabilizing impact that changes in funder initiatives can have, we now require at least 25% of the grant be utilized to address long term financial needs. An organization could well decide to use 100% of the grant for this purpose as well. Organizations may not, however, use DDCF funds to create or amplify permanently restricted endowments, or to build or renovate facilities.

DDCF deeply values the work of your organization, understands the critical role you play in the arts ecology, and is aware of the paucity of funding sources to which you can appeal for help. We look forward to learning more about—and with—all applicants, as well as about the merits and flaws of this program. If we can be of any help to you in completing the application or in understanding the program more fully, please do not hesitate to call either Ben Cameron (212-974-7107) or Cheryl Ikemiya (212-974-7108). For help in the mechanics of working with our online application system, please contact Lillian Osei-Boateng (212-974-7109).

We wish you all the best, as always.