Cultural Organizations Program

Organizations must meet the following criteria to qualify for COP funding:

• Must be a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt entity as provided by the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, as amended, in good standing for at least 3 years.
• Must be an established City of Dallas arts or cultural organization with an operation history of at least 3 years.
• Organizations must have administrative offices permanently located in the City of Dallas. This does not include P.O. Boxes – organization must have a physical office and Dallas address.
• Must have an annual operating budget of at least $100,000, based on the organization’s prior year’s actual audited expenses. If not available at the time of application, an audited financial statement must be provided to the City before the organization may enter into a contract for organizational support.
• Obtain and maintain during the contract term all necessary licenses, permits, insurance and other approvals required by law for the provision of services.
• An audit that has been conducted by an outside certified accountant for the most recently completed fiscal year must be submitted by all COP funded organizations every year that they are funded.
• Must have at least one paid part‑time Director/Manager staff person hired upon award of City contract and employed throughout the 12-month contract period.
• Must produce a season of programs, exhibitions, and/or performances in the City of Dallas for the public.
• Must work to have a diverse community representation on the Board of Directors.
• Must be in compliance with local, state, and federal laws prohibiting discrimination.
• Must be in good standing IRS regulations related to 501(c)(3) tax-exemption status.
• Must be authorized to transact business in the State of Texas.
• Must demonstrate community outreach programs.
• Must work to demonstrate commitment to cultural equity, diversity, and inclusion in all aspects of the organization’s operations and programming.
• The primary focus of the organization’s operation must be to provide services to residents and visitors in the city limits of Dallas and at least 50% of activities must take place within the city limits of Dallas. ity funding may only be used for services provided within the City of Dallas.
• Comply with regulations pertaining to federal grant recipients including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, the Education Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988.

COP funds allocated cannot be used to pay direct costs for:

• Activities which do not have a cultural or artistic focus or whose primary focus is religious in nature
• Projects planned primarily for fundraising purposes
• Activities restricted to members or which do not benefit the general public
• Tuition expenses
• College/university or school projects that are part of a course or curriculum or which do not benefit the general public
• Fellowships/grants, scholarships, cash prizes or awards
• Activities that include food or alcohol
• Out‑of‑city travel
• Underwriting of capital expenditures (buildings, land, permanent equipment or artwork)
• Purchase of artwork
• Activities that have occurred prior to the execution of the cultural services contract
• Underwriting of past deficits
• Endowments
• Non‑contract related services, lobbying, attorney’s fees, fees for penalties, and fees for incorporation or obtaining tax-exempt status

First time applicants must contact OAC staff before the application deadline. This is to ensure that the applicant is aware of the COP requirements and additional information that is needed.

Note: The term first-time applicant refers to applicants submitting proposals to the program for the first time, as well as to applicants that have applied in the past but are not currently funded through the program.

In addition to the funding requirements, first-time COP applicants should submit one copy of the following:

• Charter and by-laws of the organization.
• Status as a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. A copy of the organization’s Internal Revenue Service letter of determination must be submitted with the completed proposal form. Failure to submit this IRS letter will result in disqualification of the proposal.
• Prior Year Audited Financials or IRS Form 990’s if audit is not completed. An audit will be required if the organization is recommended for funding in the COP program prior to contract execution.
• First time applicants will also be required to show the last three years of audited financial statements. This is a separate form that will be provided to you.

Applications for the Cultural Organization Program are evaluated by a review panel. The review panel should, to the greatest extent possible, reflect the diversity of the City of Dallas, without sacrificing expertise, knowledge, or demonstrated interest in arts and culture.

Nominations to review panels shall be provided by interested members of the public, the Arts & Culture Advisory Commission, and City staff.  In no instance shall a City employee, Arts & Culture Advisory Commissioner, or other City official be a member of a review panel.

Review panel members shall be independent, impartial, and responsible only to the people of the city and shall comply with the Code of Ethics in Chapter 12A of the Dallas City Code including, but not limited to, recusal and disclosure provisions.  Panelists should strive to avoid the appearance and risk of impropriety.

All COP funding applicants will be reviewed in tier levels based on their adjusted operating budget from the previous year’s official audited records. There will be one review panel for each tier level. The tier levels are as follows:

Tier I – $100,000 – $499,999
Tier II – $500,000 – $999,999
Tier III – $1,000,000 – $4,999,999
Tier IV – $5,000,000 or more

Every organization that applies for funding is required to make a presentation to the review panel. Applicant organizations must be represented at the review panel by principal representatives, e.g. the Executive Director, Artistic Director, Board President and/or a Financial Officer or other staff as determined by the organization.

The presentation times will be allotted in the following manner:

2 minutes – Organization will be introduced to the panel members by a Commission member
10 minutes – Presentation time for the organization to the Panel
10 minutes – Q and A time for panel members with the organization

A notice about audio-visual capabilities and equipment for the presentation will be sent to groups prior to the panel dates.  Failure to attend the Review Panel meeting will result in the organization being disqualified.

Panel and staff scores are forwarded to the Arts & Culture Advisory Commission for review.  The Commission recommends a level of funding for each organization taking into consideration the scoring, prior year funding, funding projections, contract compliance, and fiscal management of applying organizations. An organization whose normalized score is below 70% is only eligible to receive a maximum of 60% of their FY 2019-20 COP funding level.  All scores are normalized within their tier. Normalizing a score means each score is divided by the highest score of that tier.

The Commission’s recommendation is then forwarded to the City Council through the City Manager’s Office.  The recommended allocation and individual contracts will receive approval or modification by the City Council in October of each year.

Each applicant will be scored on a 100-point scale. Seventy points will be at the discretion of the review panel. The remaining 30 points will be an administrative and compliance score calculated by OAC staff.

Review Panel Scoring

• Quality of Services (35 points) – The organization exhibits a commitment to high quality standards in its artistic and cultural services and programming for Dallas residents and visitors.
• Impact of Community Programming and Neighborhood Outreach (20 Points) – The organization has a broad and significant impact on the residents of Dallas by direct neighborhood/community outreach or an intentional inclusion and involvement of underserved populations and/or outlying neighborhoods/communities at a headquarter location.
• Overall (15 points) – The overall evaluation of the organization. The organization demonstrates a benefit to the residents and visitors of Dallas through a strong application and panel presentation.

OAC Administrative Scoring 

• Contract Compliance & Financial Viability (8 points)
• Organization Program Management (8 points)
• Organization Board Governance (2 points)
• Adherence to Cultural Policy Diversity Criteria (12 points)