Onondaga County Microgrants Program

Eligible Applicants

To apply for the MicroGrant, applicants must:

• Have an operational budget of less than $25,000
• Have a permanent address located in Onondaga County.

Unincorporated entities are eligible to apply but must have a short consultation call with CNY Arts Program Staff prior to submitting an application. The time and date of the consultation will be a required field in the application to complete for a submission. 

Ineligible Applicants

• An organization with an operational budget of more than $25,000 
• An agency of the County (includes libraries)
• An educational institution, school or educational foundation
• A radio or television broadcasting network or station, a cable communications system, or a newspaper or magazine.
• An organization that is engaged solely in the acquisition or physical restoration of property
• An organization that has received direct funding from Onondaga County for 2024
• Individual artists
• A CNY Arts Grantee with an outstanding final report from a prior year grant

Eligible Expenses

Grant dollars could cover expenses related to: 

• Artist and talent fees; 
• Space rental for arts and culture programming;
• Marketing and communication costs;
• General operating support directly related to arts and cultural programming, including: administrative and personnel fees; contractual fees and equipment, dues and subscriptions;

Program Timeline

Below are key dates for the MicoGrant Program. Please note we do not accept applications or corrections after the deadline.

Applicant Information

• CNY Arts funding history
  • New applicant? Y/N;
• Contact information of applicant;
• Organization Summary

Basic Project Information

• Grant request amount;
• Brief project summary, including dates & locations

Project Narratives

You will be asked to provide detailed project descriptions in response to the project narrative questions, such as:

• Descriptions of planned public activities;
• Audience engagement and promotion plan;
• Community involvement and support; and
• Use of grant funds, project timelines, and evaluation.

Uploaded Documents

• Project Budget Form (you must use this template);
• Biographies or Resumes of Key Artists (optional);
• Proof of nonprofit status and list of staff and Board of Directors*;
• Letters of support (optional); and
• Additional artistic samples and support materials (optional).

*If registered as a 501(c)3 nonprofit

Grant awards and funding recommendations will be determined by a competitive peer review process conducted by a panel of business leaders, academics, and arts professionals. Because funds are limited, project proposals must meet specific criteria as published within these guidelines. The panel’s funding recommendations will then be submitted to the CNY Arts Board of Directors for approval.

Panelists

Panelists for the MicroGrant program are nominated by residents and community members of Onondaga County and are subsequently appointed by the CNY Arts Board of Directors. Panelists must be nominated and must be residents of or work in Onondaga County to serve. Panelists are paid a nominal honorarium to participate and may not serve for more than three consecutive years. To nominate yourself or another individual to serve as a peer review panelist, please complete this nomination form. New panelists will be selected on a rolling basis.

All applications are reviewed by CNY Arts staff for completeness and eligibility before they enter the Peer Review Panel Process. The Peer Review Panel will then use the following criteria to evaluate and score each application:

Creativity (40%)

• clarity of arts and culture program being proposed, its intended audience, and benefit to the community;
• Experience, credentials, and work samples proposed artists and personnel;
• Originality, innovation, relevance within the community

Community Engagement (40%)

• Thoughtful engagement with audiences from historically excluded communities (those communities might be: cultural, racial, ethnic, religious; related to age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, income level, education, limited access to transportation or rural locations, etc.) ;
• Availability of free or low-cost attendance options

Capacity & Feasibility (20%)

• Overall clarity of project proposal with defined objectives;
• Previously demonstrated ability to implement projects;
• Budget is clear and aligns with project scope

Panel Scoring Rubric

If you have an eligible project or organization but these criteria and rubric seem daunting, we encourage you to apply anyway, or to reach out to us to talk. We share this scoring information to support you in crafting a strong application – not to make the process feel overwhelming.

CNY Arts provides extensive, free technical assistance and support to all interested applicants. Application guides and panel feedback summaries will be available to all applicants. 

CNY Arts also provides optional webinars and office hours with members of the Regrants team to review the guidelines, eligibility requirements, and the application. Additional accommodations to facilitate your participation in this program include but are not limited to interpretation or translation services, computer or technical support, budgeting, grant writing, or project development. For more information on any of these services, please contact the CNY Arts Regrants Program Staff.

Organizations that receive a Onondaga County Microgrants Program Support award must meet the following requirements. 

• Sign and follow to the terms laid out in the contract (funding agreement);

• Produce all funded activities as described in the application;
• Send CNY Arts copies of promotional materials and an advance schedule of all funded events;
• Provide CNY Arts with complimentary tickets for all funded events for auditing purposes, as applicable;
• Attend the CNY Arts Awards Ceremony (anticipated Spring of 2024);
• Immediately and in writing notify CNY Arts of any changes to the project, including dates, locations, admission fees, artists hired, or activities conducted (all changes to funded projects are subject to approval)

Crediting Requirements

• Prominently and correctly include the following credit language in all printed and published materials:

This project was made possible with funds from the County of Onondaga through the MicroGrant administered by CNY Arts.

• Credit language should be accompanied by the CNY Arts logo (found here) and the Onondaga County seal (found here).
• Language should be used in all printed, broadcast, or online publicity related to the services supported by Onondaga County and CNY Arts, or in any program, publication, catalog, film, or comparable product.

Notification of Programs/ Events and Utilizing Arts & Entertainment Calendar

• All grant-funded events, projects, and programs must be submitted to CNY Arts’ Arts & Entertainment Calendar at least 30 days in advance of the first event.
• Agencies must maintain an up-to-date profile on the CNY Arts Directory for the full contract period.