Awards/Grants Application FAQs

Who is eligible for Artist Foundation Awards?
What is the city of residence distinction in the Foundation Awards?
Who may apply?
Who may not apply?
How do I apply?
What is the student restriction in the grant application?
I have a project idea to be done in collaberation with other artists, can we apply jointly?
What is the Robert L.B. Tobin Grand Prize for Artistic Excellence?
What is the deadline for applications?
May I submit more than one application?
May I submit a project in more than one category?
May I submit a project that has already been performed/exhibited?
Who do I contact if I have any questions about my application?
How do you select the artists to recieve grants?
If I am awarded a grant, when will I recieve the money?
If I am awarded a Foundation grant, must my project be completed and performed/exhibited by the conclusion of the grant period (one year)?
Can you explain why you don't award grants for performance other than original production?
Is the grant taxable?
What is not funded?
I need help making a PDF to upload for my application, can you help me?

Who is eligible for Artist Foundation awards?

All residents of Bexar County (who are at least 18 years old AND have 12 consecutive months of residency as of the date of submitted application) are eligible for Artist Foundation awards.

What is the city of residence distinction in the Foundation awards?

The City of San Antonio, through The Cultural Collaborative Artist Grants program, has awarded matching grant funds to the Foundation. Grants made by the Foundation with these monies can only be given to artists who reside in the City of San Antonio. The remainder of the grants made with monies raised by the Foundation may be awarded to artists residing anywhere in Bexar County (ex. Balcones Hghts, Alamo Hgts, Leon Valley, Olmos Park, Shavano Park etc)

Who may apply?

Foundation awards are open to individual artists who create original work
All artists must be United States citizens or Resident Aliens
All applicants must be residents of Bexar County, Texas for:
- 12 consecutive months, as of the date of application
- and are at least 18 yrs old
Artists proposing a project must demonstrate one or more of the following characteristics:
- a potential for artistic growth
- a significant shift in their work
- or a challenging exploration with new materials, concepts or artistic practices
- only professional artists demonstrating high artistic quality should apply
- The Foundation will confirm applicant eligibility

Who may not apply?

Applicants may not be, nor related to current panelists.
Applicants who received a previous Foundation award are not eligible to apply for 5 years from the award date.
Groups of artists are not eligible only individual artists may apply.
You may not apply if you are a student:
- enrolled in an art or art-related college
- planning to attend an art or art-related college
Awards may not be used to support academic research or to study toward an academic professional degree.
Artist Foundation awards are not awarded to commercial artists or crafts-makers or any artist whose work primarily falls into commercial, advertising art, crafts and decorative art categories.
Previous Foundation award recipients may not reapply for 5 years.

How do I apply?

Applications are accepted through artistfound.org ONLY.
No FAX, e-mail, courier, mail, or other delivery methods.
E-mail info@artistfound.org if electronic submission is not possible.

What is the student restriction in the grant application?

The Foundation does not make awards to individuals who are full time students who have not already been artists for three years or more. That doesn’t mean that applicants cannot be pursuing studies, just that their career as artists can be demonstrated by the body of work they have already created.

I have a project idea to be done in collaboration with other artists, can we submit this jointly?

No, grants are made to individual artists only. However, an individual artist may submit a project where they are the creative director and producer and even performer. This would be a grant made for Original Production under the Performance Category.

What is the Robert L.B. Tobin Grand Prize for Artistic Excellence?

The Foundation received a grant ($7,500) from the Tobin Endowment with the requirement that it be a ‘special’ award above the customary Foundation grant. As such it will be awarded on top of the Foundation award ($5,000) for a total of $12,500. The artist that receives the Tobin Grand Prize will be selected by the Foundation board of directors.

What is the deadline for applications and materials?

Online application and materials upload deadline is 11:59pm, October 15, 2010.

May I submit more than one application?

Applicants may submit no more than two applications in one grant cycle. However, each should be for a different project.

May I submit a project in more than one category?

You may NOT submit one project in more than one category. Please select the category that is most suitable for your project. (Please read the answer to the FAQ above).

May I submit a project that has been already performed/exhibited?

The Artist Foundation awards are for projects that have yet to be realized, exhibited and/or performed.

Who do I contact if I have any questions about my application?

If you have any questions, please email: info@artistfound.org. Please give specific details about your question and include your name and telephone number.

How do you select the artists to receive grants?

Artists are selected by a panel of expert jurors appointed by the Grants Committee. The panel may include arts professionals from within and outside of San Antonio.

If I am awarded a grant when will I receive the money?

Half of the award ($2,500) will be given to the artist in November 2010. The second half ($2,500) will be awarded at midpoint of the project and no later than May 2011. In order to receive the second half the artist will submit a midpoint report on the status of their project.

If I am awarded a Foundation grant must my project be completed and performed/exhibited by the conclusion of the grant period (one year)?

While it is preferable that the project be completed we realize that the project could have already been underway before receiving the grant and that the grant funding may not be sufficient to complete the project or to exhibit/perform it. Therefore that is not a requirement.

Can you explain why you don’t award grants for performance other than original production?

Foundation grants are made for original work only. As such we don’t make grants for performances but rather for original composition, original choreography and original production.

Is the grant taxable?

Yes. Award funds are taxable to the recipients under IRS guidelines. Recipients should consult their tax advisor regarding proper reporting for the award. Each artist receiving an award will be sent a Form W-9 for completion and return before receiving the award funds.

What is Not funded?

The Foundation does not make grants to pay for:

past debts or legal fees
the purchase of real estate
moves to other cities
the costs of installations, commissions or projects ordered by others
Normally, the Foundation will not support travel grants.

I need help making a PDF to upload for my application, can you help me?

Yes. Please convert your documents to PDF format before uploading to our site.

To convert your Word document to PDF, open the document in Word. Select "Print" from the "File" Menu. In the bottom left-hand corner, there is a button called "PDF", click this button and select the first option "Save as PDF". See illustrations below.

STEP 1:

STEP 2:

Or you can use one of the following free websites to convert your Word and text documents to PDF:

This site requires that you upload your existing document for conversion to PDF. The site will then send your PDF to the e-mail address that you provide. Please check your e-mail, save the file to your computer, and then return to our site to upload your PDF.