DCA Cultural Grant Program - Max Allowable Grant Calculator

  • Allowable Grant Request Calculator

    This tool is provided to assist eligible applicants with calculating a maximum allowable grant request when preparing an application for DCA's Cultural Grant Program.

    All applicants should review the full program guidelines at http://dcaredesign.org/grants/ to verify organization and project eligibility.

    Before continuing, please ensure you have completed your DCA Organization Financial & Programmatic Profile form and have prepared at least a draft budget for your proposed project, as you will need to refer to both when using this tool. Questions may be directed to DCA Grants Staff at dca.grants@lacity.org.

  • Step #1: Verify Applicant Organization Budget Size Category

    The category selected below should correspond to the "Total Revenue Less In-Kind" (line 8af) from the most recently completed fiscal year entered in Financial & Programmatic Profile that you plan to submit with your grant application.

    Organizations with less than $20,000 in cash flow or fewer than two completed years in their DataArts report should select the Emerging Arts Organization checkbox. If you are a non-arts 501(c) organization proposing a Festival/Parade project, select the button that corresponds to the financial statement or 990 that you will provide in your application in lieu of a Financial & Programmatic Profile form.

  • Step #2: Enter Total Revenue Less In-Kind from your DataArts Report

    Refer to the Financial & Programmatic Profile form that you plan to submit in your grant application. Copy the value listed as your Total Revenue Less In-Kind (line 8af) from the most recently completed fiscal year into the box below.

    If you are an Emerging Arts Organization with fewer than two years in your DataArts report, or if you are a non-arts 501(c) organization proposing a Festival/Parade project, enter the prior-year cash revenues that correspond to the financial statment or 990 that you plan to submit with your application.

  • Step #3: Verify Project Type

    Indicate the type of project you are proposing in your grant application. Note your selection below will affect the calculation of your maximum allowable grant request based on project type. Review the program guidelines at this link for more information about eligible project types and restrictions.

  • Step #4: Enter the estimated total project revenue that you will outline in your grant proposal (enter your project's total income, which should exactly match total project expenses, reflecting a project budget for a nonprofit event).

    When determining your total project budget, ensure you consider such factors as the appropriateness of the proposed project size and scope, production feasibility, interpersonal value of the project's cost-per-head ratio, and your organization's financial-matching capabilities from the prior year. Please be reminded that DCA grant requests will be calcuated by this tool as 50% or less of your project budget because DCA is a matching funder.

  • Maximum Allowable Grant Request & Explanation

    Based on the information provided, your maximum allowable grant request, along with a brief explanation is provided below. If you have questions or would like to discuss these results, please contact DCA grants staff at dca.grants@lacity.org.

  • Festivals and Parades

    The primary applicant must be a nonprofit organization that leads the organizing, hosting, and promoting of a thematic set of presentations by four or more artistic groups during one day or one weekend, at a single outdoor address or street-corridor. The maximum request amount is $40,000 for large outdoor public-space festivals/parades (more than 2,000 in attendance in the prior year), $15,000 for small outdoor public-space festivals/parades (between 500 and 2,000 attendance in the prior year), or $6,000 for very-small festivals (fewer than 500 attendees in the prior year). Grant requests cannot account for more than 50% of the total project budget.

  • Emerging Arts Organizations

    Emerging organizations include very small nonprofit arts organizations with an operating budget of less than $20,000 in its most recently completed fiscal year and newly incorporated arts organizations with fewer than two years included in their DataArts report. Emerging applicants may request between $1,500 and $3,000 for an eligible project, with requests accounting for no more than 50% of the total project budget.

  • Small Organization Project Support

    A small nonprofit arts organization with an operating budget between $10,000 and $100,000 in its most recently completed fiscal year may request up to 20% of its last completed fiscal year budget to a maximum of $10,000, with requests accounting for no more than 50% of the total project budget.

  • Mid-Size Organization Project Support

    A mid-size nonprofit arts organization with an operating budget greater than $75,000 in its most recently completed fiscal year may request up to 10% of its last completed fiscal year budget to a maximum of $40,000, with requests accounting for no more than 50% of the total project budget.

  • Large and Extra Large-Size Organization Project Support

    A nonprofit arts organization with prior operating budgets of greater than $800,000 (Large) or consistently $10 million or greater (Extra Large) may request up to 4% of its most recently completed fiscal year budget to a maximum of $80,000, with requests accounting for no more than 50% of the total project budget.

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