OBJECTIVE

Business Organization for a New Downtown (B.O.N.D.), in association with the Texarkana Main Street Program, recently hosted the first Broad Street Blues Festival and Barbecue Cook-Off in downtown Texarkana.  With the assistance of several business sponsors and the Arkansas Main Street Program, the event was able to break even with an admission price of three dollars per person.  Reaching the break even point in the first year suggests that the Festival has the potential to do well in the future.  Mere break even does not, however, ensure sustainability. 

The festival could probably yield a much better draw with greater publicity, greater promotion, and the addition of a few performers who are better known outside of our region.  The hope is to make downtown a more "cool" place for people to go for recreation, entertainment, work, and living.  Importantly, it would be economically advantageous to attract interest from visitors in all of the ArkLaTex region and even the entire four states region of Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma.

 
CALL FOR PROPOSALS

The Arkansas Arts Council has a call for proposals that might be helpful starting in the FY 2006 year.  Although it is restrictive in what aspects of the project can be funded, we probably could ask for assistance on some parts of the project.

The grant application document (MS Word format) can be downloaded from:

http://www.arkansasarts.com/grants/2006/FY06_Project_Support_Instructions_and_Application_Form.doc

The budget sheet (MS Excel format) is at:

http://www.arkansasarts.com/grants/2006/FY06_Project_Support_budget_only.xls

Some agency hints are at:

http://www.arkansasarts.com/grants/2006/FY06_Project_Support_Narrative_Hints.doc

A list of recent recipients is at:

http://www.arkansasarts.com/grants/recipients.asp

 
ASSIGNMENT

With the information that our client gives us during her class visit, write the grant proposal.  It is likely that you will find that you need more information after you start working on this.  Do not call the client directly; email your question to the professor, and the answer will be posted for all to see on the syllabus Web page. 

You MUST use the MS Word document and the MS Excel spreadsheet that is provided by the grant agency.  Where it says "use only the space provided," don't cheat on the space.  In Section 6, use Texarkana MSA statistics for current area populations - refer to our first assignment.  Leave the Section 9 page blank (artists involved); check the online syllabus periodically for updates on other sections that you will need to leave blank (since we won't have all information to complete the proposal ourselves - that's a reason to call me rather than to bother our client).  Section 10, the Narrative Outline, is the crucial part of your proposal.  Note that you are given a four page limit and that acceptance of the proposal depends on the evaluators' allocations of points to each part of this section.  You may actually speculate in some of your discussion in Section 10 as long as you address this in your oral presentation to the client. For example, input from educators (Part C) has not yet been requested, so your discussion in this part would actually be proposing particular sources to our client.  Write the narrative as if this had been done, but you MUST persuasively address why you did so in your oral presentation.

You may work in teams of one to three, where all members of a team receive the same grade.  You are encouraged to work in a team and are encouraged to collaborate between teams.

Neatness in the written proposal is considered a minimal requirement in your grade.  Neatness is defined here to include grammar, spelling, typos, correct use of paragraphs, and such.  Since this agency has provided a Word document for applicants to complete, "neatness" also means that you work within its formatting constraints.  Problems with these would not be acceptable in a "real world" grant or research proposal and are therefore not acceptable in this assignment.

Do not use any kind of report folders - they will be discarded if you do and could jeopardize a submission to a grant agency.  Just use plain white paper with a single staple in the top left corner.  Bring three copies of your proposal to the final presentation.