The Grant Cycle:

Artists give sound, shape, weight and movement to contemporary ideas and experiences so that they might be shared with, better understood, and responded to by society. Without a lively community of artists, the evolution of any society's cultural heritage will be incomplete. In order for artists to succeed in the current environment, they need to acquire skills and tools that can complement their artistic talent and enable it to flourish. Creative Capital surrounds artists with a wealth of services and opportunities to learn how to be more in command of their own careers, and therefore, thrive.

Creative Capital funds artist projects in four disciplines: visual arts (includes installation art, painting, fiber art, mixed media works, public art, etc.), film/video arts, performing arts (includes music, dance, theater, puppetry, performance art, etc.), and emerging art fields (includes all forms of digital work, and innovative literature). Projects that transcend traditional discipline boundaries are highly encouraged.

Creative Capital operates on a two-year grant cycle, funding alternative disciplines each year. The first year of each cycle, we issue grants in visual and film/video arts; the second year, performing, emerging arts and innovative literature.

After an initial review involving staff and professionals from the field, selected applications are recommended for more extensive evaluation. Panels of arts professionals convene to look at and discuss additional support materials, including work samples, submitted by the finalists, and select projects to be funded upon final board approval. Decisions are made based on the artistic strength and vision for the proposed project, the professional capabilities of the applicant, the feasibility of the initiative, and the likelihood that the artist would benefit from participating in the Creative Capital process. After awards are finalized and announced, grantees are given access to our four-part system of support:

Support the Project: Following the initial grant award ($10,000), artists are eligible for three additional kinds of funding. Strategic Financial Support of $5,000 is reserved for each project and has assisted in the purchase of equipment, creation of promotional materials, and hiring of assistants. Special Opportunities Funding, generally $2,500 or less, is often used to help artists travel to attend conferences and festivals or to maximize an opportunity such as an exhibit or festival presentation. Creative Capital makes further investments in projects through the Follow-Up Project Support category, which awards additional funding for post-production needs. Since 1999, Creative Capital has committed almost $5 million of direct financial support to 242 artists’ projects, representing 297 artists, with our services to artists valued at nearly $5 million.

Creative Capital also offers project support through our website. Each artist has her/his own page on the site, and some have received exhibition opportunities as a result of the exposure. In addition to the website, Creative Capital also sends quarterly updates on the artists' projects to our growing email list, now numbering more than 16,000. We further use email to send periodic "opportunities" notices to grantees, which include information about important deadlines (festivals, residencies, grants, etc.). Finally, if artists feel that their project might have commercial possibilities, Creative Capital can provide them with professional consultations to help create their own business plan.

Support the Person: One of our core goals is to ensure that the artists gain benefits that will last long after the formal relationship with Creative Capital concludes. Toward that end, we provide opportunities for our grantees to develop proficiency in strategic planning, fundraising, public relations, and marketing through our Artist Services Program, which includes an initial project-planning meeting with each grantee and offers a number of other useful resources.

The most valuable tool that has been developed as part of the Artist Services Program is the Strategic Planning Project, designed by consultant Colleen Keegan who has adapted her work in the corporate world specifically for Creative Capital artists. This optional process involves the artists participating in at least one strategic planning workshop, which serves as an introduction to the program. The artists are then given Creative Capital's planning workbook to fill out on their own. The book instructs the participants to outline specifically all their goals for the next year to five years, and guides them in creating a timeline and financial plan which will allow them to work toward their goals in an organized and efficient manner. After finishing and self-evaluating their workbook, participants have the opportunity to work one-on-one with Colleen to discuss further and more specific strategies for obtaining their goals. This process has allowed the participating artists to gain control over their own futures in ways that have often been radically transforming.

The Creative Capital Professional Development Program (PDP) was launched in 2003 to offer the career-building component of Creative Capital's Artist Services Program to a broader community of artists. The program is designed to help empower artists to better manage their professional paths by providing them with the training and tools they need to thrive in the marketplace. PDP has served more than 1,000 artists nationwide, and features a comprehensive menu of workshops that include a Weekend Retreat, as well as Day and Evening-long Workshops.

Nurture the Community of Creative Capital Artists: Two out of the three years of a funding cycle, Creative Capital holds an Artist Retreat outside of New York City. The Retreat invites grantees to participate in the Professional Development Program (PDP) workshop; present their work to retreat attendees, including fellow grantees and arts professionals; and consult one-on-one with arts professionals in attendance. Each grantee is invited to attend two retreats during their active relationship with the organization. The 2006 Retreat will be held in early August at Colgate University in Hamilton, NY. Many concrete opportunities for the artists, such as gallery representation and collaboration invitations, can be attributed to the retreats.

Engage the Public: In an effort to engage the public and maximize the impact of the funded projects, promoting all 158 artists' projects is the focus of our work in 2003. Creative Capital will use both print and online resources to promote the aggregate work of our grantees. For the print resources, we have developed one-page brochures that profile each funded project. In addition to biographical and contact information for the artists, each brochure includes a commissioned essay about the project and photographs of the work. All the artists will receive copies of the brochure to use in their own promotional activities.

In an effort to engage the public and maximize the impact of the funded projects, promoting all 242 artists' projects is the focus of our work in 2006. Creative Capital will use both print and online resources to promote the aggregate work of our grantees. For the print resources, we have developed one-page brochures that profile each funded project. The organization engages professional writers who attend the Artist Retreat to see the work, interview the artists, and write promotional essays for the projects. The profiles also contain biographical and contact information for the artists and photographs of the work. In addition to the print version, the brochures are posted on the grantees own webpage on Creative Capital's online "Channel" - an evolution of the former website that features exciting "behind the scenes" coverage of our artists, as well as monthly highlights, and special features including work excerpts and webcasts.