The purpose of the Heritage Sustained Support Program is to provide operating support for heritage museums and organizations that collect, exhibit, interpret, preserve, or protect resources relating to the histories of people and places in King County.
The Heritage Sustained Support Program provides operating support to assist historical museums and heritage organizations meet the following goals:
Professionalize operations and establish best practices
Improve public education and ability to work with schools and students
Extend public services and audiences or develop new exhibits and programs
Leverage other public and private funds and in-kind support for public history activities
The Sustained Support Program seeks to provide predictable levels of financial support to allow organizations to plan on stable funding from year to year.
The 2010 cycle of Heritage Sustained Support will be for one year only. In 2009, $290,500 was awarded to 36 heritage organizations through the Heritage Sustained Support program.
Who Can Apply
King County-based nonprofit and governmental cultural organizations with facilities that provide certain heritage services to the public
Eligible Applicants Include:
Federally-recognized 501 (c) (3) historical museums and heritage organizations
Preservation and development authorities
Eligibility Criteria Qualifying organizations must:
Have a minimum of two [2] years experience operating a public facility, managing collections, and/or presenting exhibits and programs with a focus on King County heritage to the citizens of King County
Be financially accountable, as reflected in actual and projected budgets or other financial management or accounting procedures, including compilations, reviews or audits.
What Gets Funded Operations
Applicants apply based on the organization's overall annual accomplishments, not an individual project or program
Heritage Sustained Support funding may be used for:
Annual operating expenses relating to heritage programs and services which are accessible to King County residents and visitors, and provide public benefit (see definition of public benefit under Obligations of Award Recipients).
Staff salaries, utilities, supplies, fees or services
Heritage Sustained Support funding may not be used for:
Capital construction projects, or for purchase of equipment
Fundraising expenses
When
2011 Program Deadline: December 8, 2010
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This cycle of Heritage Sustained Support will be a single year: 2010. The deadline for the 2010 program is December 7, 2009, close of business day (5pm PST).
How
Competitive selection process and review criteria
The Review Process
Recommendations for funding awards will be made by a review panel composed of professionals from the field, community representatives and members of the 4Culture Heritage Advisory Committee. The panel's recommendations will be forwarded to the 4Culture Board for final approval.
The following review criteria will be used in the panel review process to determine support, if any, above baseline levels in each of the two tiers of funding:
Professional Qualifications & Standards
Professional staff with background and training in a field related to the organization's core mission
Professional standards adopted by the governing board of the organization, including adopted policies and procedures relating to collection and resource management, conservation, historic preservation, archives, or operations
Accreditations or certifications received from professional associations or other agencies, including the organization's participation in the Museum Assessment Program and/or the Conservation Assessment Program
Quality & Diversity of Programs
Quality of existing programming, and proposed programming, and the relationship of the programming to the mission and goals of the organization. The panel will read on-site reviews as part of their process (see box below)
Diversity or range of programs available to the public
Public Benefit / Audiences Served / Accessibility
Accessibility of services, including open hours of facilities
Primary service areas
Community outreach, including efforts to expand and/or diversify visitors, membership, staff, and/or leadership
Numbers of citizens served by programs
Heritage Priorities
Organization's contribution to the preservation, conservation or interpretation of resources relating to King County history and heritage
Organization's focus on resources that represent neglected aspects of King County heritage including those defined by theme, ethnicity or geography
Budget
The measure of community support for an organization and/or the organization's commitment or contribution to public service as reflected in its budget, including in-kind contributions from volunteers, the community, and partnering governments
The proportion or percentage of the applicant's budget actually devoted to King County history and heritage purposes
4Culture contracts with all recipients of Heritage Sustained Support funds to provide one or more types of "public benefit" for the funds received.
On-Site Review Program
In addition to the application completed by your organization, 4Culture staff administers an On-Site Review program, in order to acquire detailed, qualitative assessments regarding the quality and community impact of programming offered by organizations applying for Sustained Support.
A group of evaluators composed of outside professionals from the field and community representatives attend events and programs offered by the applicant organizations, and provide written reports based on the program's review criteria.
Participation in the On-Site Review program provides valuable additional information to panelists in the Sustained Support peer review panel. New applicants should contact 4Culture staff right away, in order to set up an on-site visit, if possible.
Requirements and appeals Learn about the legal requirements of award recipients, and about the process for appeal of a 4Culture award here.
Public Benefit Requirement
Heritage Sustained Support program funds provide general operating support for organizations managing heritage facilities that provide public benefits. Funds can be used to offset the expenses and costs of heritage facility operations, including those for staff, utilities, supplies, fees or services. Public benefits provided by organizations may include, but are not limited to:
Free admissions, open hours or public access to heritage resources, programs or facilities
Free or discounted rental or use of facilities by public agencies or nonprofit cultural organizations conducting public benefit activities
Educational services for public schools and students
Services to governmental agencies including city councils, parks or planning departments
Free distribution of resources including publications, audio and video recordings, electronic files and documents provided to libraries, museums, web sites and tourist agencies
Creation of publicly accessible research information or files including documents, oral and video recordings and electronic files
Augmentation of existing public service grant projects including those funded by 4Culture or other public agencies
Development of professional practices and adoption of standards that improve public access to resources, provide technical assistance or training opportunities in best practices or that enhance management and protection of resources held in the public trust.
Audience development, diversification of services and enhancement of public accessibility through ADA improvements, services to underserved populations, community outreach efforts or new exhibits, publications or programs
Management of collections or protection of resources relating to King County history and heritage including care of museum and archival collections or protection of landmarks properties and built environment resources
Questions about uses of funds or public benefit? Contact Eric Taylor at 206 296.8688 or 206 296.7580
Ready to Apply How to submit your application
STEP 1 – Read all of the above sections STEP 2 – Prepare your information
You will be asked to submit your application using an online form. Here is an annotated preview of what you will be asked so you can prepare your information:
Simple and concise: paint the clearest picture possible of what your organization is, what it does and why this funding will help achieve your organization's mission
Assume that the panel knows nothing about your organization's work
Step 3 - Sign in to fill out your application
Note: Once you have started the process of applying online, you can hit "save" after each step in the application, sign out, and your application will remain saved as a draft. You can then return to your application any time before the deadline to continue working or to make changes by signing in with the username and password you created. Once you hit "submit," you will still be able to see your application, but you will not be able to make any more changes.
