Welcome to the WAYAL FY25 Program Application

What is WAYAL? 

The Washington Youth Arts Leadership (WAYAL) Program is an annual cohort of youth and young adults (ages 16-19) from across Washington State. WAYAL leaders work with the Arts in Education (AIE) team at ArtsWA to explore and amplify the role of arts engagement in their communities. Young artists build community among their peers, gain leadership and communication skills, and explore arts careers with mentors in the field. Youth leaders receive a stipend for their participation. 

What will selected WAYAL cohort members do? 

• Explore careers in the arts and cultural sector.
• Refine multimedia communication skills.
• Engage in activities as an artist and critical thinker.
• Gain understanding of the creative economy, arts funding and related policy.
• Build community among their artist peers across the state.

Important Dates: 

• Application & Nomination Opens: April 15, 2024
• Application Deadline: July 11, 2024, at 5:00pm
• Notification to WAYAL cohort members: September 6, 2024
• Cohort virtual retreat: October date TBD (2 hours)
• WAYAL Program: October 2024 – May 2025

Apply Now

Who Can Apply? 

Application or Nomination: Youth ages 16-19 may apply directly to this program. Mentors, teachers or community members may also nominate a youth artist from their communities; once nominated, youth will be contacted to complete the entire application in order to be considered.

Eligibility: Applicants/nominated youth must be:

• Between the age of 16-19 (by start of cohort, October 1, 2024).
• A Washington State resident.
• Living within the state of Washington throughout October 2024 - May 2025.
• Engaged in arts or cultural activities beyond school-related assignments.
• Interested in building leadership skills and working with youth across the state.
• Able to attend 9-12 afternoon online seminars (October – May); contribute to a collaborative project; and participate in at least 2 learning or leadership opportunities (in-person or online) outside of seminar time.

How Does ArtsWA Select WAYAL Members? 

Evaluation and Scoring Panel

A panel of artists and educators evaluate eligible applications to the WA Youth Arts Leadership (WAYAL) Program. Panelists use scoring criteria to give a numerical score to each application. An application’s final score is the combined average of all panelists’ scores. Top scoring applications from each ArtsWA-defined region are selected for the WAYAL program. Panelists will assign each application a score between 1 -30 using the evaluation and point system below. 30 points is the highest possible score for this application.

1. Artistic Practice (10 points possible) 

• a) Engagement with art making/creative practices 
• b) Artist Work Sample 

2. Artistic Aspirations (10 points possible)

• a) Interest in exploring creative careers 
• b) Interest in joining the WAYAL Program 

3. Community Engagement (10 points possible) 

• a) Interest in amplifying youth voice/input in art spaces and policies
• b) Experience with working collaboratively on projects 

Art Project Grant

Project Support for the 2025 Fiscal Year (July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025)

ArtsWA is offering support to groups providing art programming with and for the people of Washington State. Organizations do not need to have an arts-focused mission to apply.

Funding amounts: Applicants can request between $2,000-$5,000 for general operating expenses. If awarded, grant amounts may vary depending on panel recommendations. Funding provided by ArtsWA and National Endowment for the Arts.

Eligibility Requirements

Projects that are eligible will:

• Be open to the public.
• Happen between July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025.
• Have arts as a main component.
• Take place in Washington State.

Eligible applicant groups should have a history of producing at least one project or program in the past, and must be one of the following types of organizations:

• 501(c)(3) nonprofit. 501(c)(3)s must have current state corporate nonprofit status and current federal tax-exempt determination under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. 
• Local Arts Agencies. Local Arts Agencies are officially designated by a local government to provide art services to the public on behalf of the local government. Learn more here.
• Tribal Governments
• Group fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. See our fiscal sponsorship guidelines, responsibilities, and agreement.

Who is not eligible?

• Individuals
• For-profit organizations
• Government agencies, universities, colleges, academic departments, and K-12 schools
• Full list of what ArtsWA can and cannot fund as a state agency.
   

Before you apply:

1. Read the entire guidelines to make sure your group is eligible and a good fit for the grant.

2. Get your all your information ready! You will need:

• Your last completed fiscal year, board approved, operating budget.
• One to three work samples (View Work Sample Guidelines)
• For 501(c)(3)s, you'll need your Unique Entity Identifier from SAM.gov, your Statewide Vendor Number if you already have one, your Federal Tax ID (EIN), and your IRS Letter of Determination. Fiscally sponsored groups: you'll need this information from your fiscal sponsor. Tribal governments or Local Arts Agencies: no IRS Letter of Determination is required.
   

What's in the application?

• Eligibility Form: Before you begin, you will answer a few questions to verify that your organization is eligible.
• Pre-Application: Organization Information. Enter your contact information, legal status, and organization identifiers. Upload additional documents required by Washington State to ensure public funds are allocated correctly.
• Application Section A: Project Overview. Give logistical details about your project, select your art practices and audiences, describe your project goals in a narrative response, and upload your work samples.
• Application Section B: People.  Answer two narrative questions about your community and your staff/contractors/volunteers.
• Application Section C: Budget. Tell us how much funding you are requesting, fill out a budget worksheet, and answer one narrative question about your funding strategy.

Narrative Questions

Narrative responses can be submitted as either written responses or in an audio and/or video format. You can answer some questions with a video upload and others with a written response.  For each question you will choose:

• "Write a response": Enter your written responses in the text boxes below each question. There is a 250-word limit for most questions, but your responses do not need to meet this limit.
• "Upload a video or audio response": Upload your files in the sections below each question. Most video and audio responses should be no more than 1 minute in length.

Guidance on video/audio responses: You will not be evaluated on the quality of your video/audio. This option is meant for applicants who prefer verbal communication over written communication. We suggest capturing your response in one take without background noise for audio submissions, and capturing video with a phone or simple camera that includes the speaker's face(s).

Evaluation Criteria

1. Art Programming (25 points)

Well scoring applications will have a project that: 

• Reflects strong artistic merit by uplifting and encouraging robust participation in creativity and art.
• Centers art in the services provided.
• Includes art programs that are responsive to the communities served.

2. Community Access and Responsiveness (25 points)

Well scoring applications: 

• Describe engaging, accessible, and culturally relevant ways for the community to participate in and experience the project.
• Describe direct actions that increase access to the project for communities negatively impacted by structural inequity (i.e. rural communities, BIPOC community members, mental or physical disability, LGBTQIA2S+, immigrant or refugee communities)
• Solicit, consider, and include community input in project planning. 

3. Personnel (25 points)

Well scoring projects:

• Have staff, contractors, or volunteers that are qualified (whether through lived experience, training, etc.) to work with the community the project serves especially if serving vulnerable communities (disabled, youth, etc.)
• Have staff, contractors, or volunteers that are qualified (whether through lived experience, training, etc.) to provide the arts services your project offers. 

4. Budget (25 points)

Well scoring project budgets:

• Reflect financial support for applicant organization’s personnel/staff and contracted professionals. 
• If the applicant organization is currently operating as a volunteer organization, tracking volunteer hours in the in-kind section of the budget ensures that the applicant organization is fully aware of what it costs to do what you do. This is important for panelists reviewing your application. 
• Have a clear, feasible, funding strategy for the project.

Tips for making a strong grant application

• Be specific! Paint a clear picture in the panelists’ minds by giving solid details about what you do and how you do it, especially if you provide services to vulnerable communities (children, youth, elders, veterans, trauma survivors, etc.)
• Review the evaluation criteria to strengthen your responses to narrative questions.
• For work samples, photos or videos of your work-in-practice help tell your story better than posters or PDFs.
• Balance your budget! Make sure your income total and your expense total match when you are filling out the budget table in the application.
   

Important Dates

• Application open: March 12, 2024 – April 23, 2024 at 5pm
• Application info sessions: March 19 & April 16, 2024 at 12pm. 

Click here to register for the March 19 info session.

Click here to register for the April 16 info session.

• Notification of application results: by August 14, 2024
• Funds can cover project expenses that incur between July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025
• This is a reimbursement grant, meaning that payments will be made after the grant recipient expends funds, and after expense documentation and invoice forms have been submitted to and approved by ArtsWA. 
• Final report due July 31, 2025

Can organizations apply for multiple ArtsWA grants?

Allowable: Applicants for Grants to Organizations programs can apply for and receive grants from other ArtsWA programs if they support different expenses and services. Other ArtsWA program grants include:

• Creative Start Grant
• Wellness, Arts, and the Military (WAM) Grants
• Tribal Cultural Affairs (TCA) Grants

Not allowable: Applying to different grants within the Grants to Organizations Program. If you applied to the Emerging Grant, your organization is ineligible for the Art Project Grant.
 

What happens after you apply?

Screening for Eligibility: Staff will screen your application to make sure your application meets eligibility requirements. 

Panel: All applications are reviewed and scored by a panel. Panelists ensure that people from across Washington State are an integral part of distributing public money. After the application window closes, panelists representing a variety of creative fields and backgrounds will review applications and make recommendations for funding to ArtsWA’s Board of Commissioners.

Board Approval: Recommendations will go to the ArtsWA Board for approval on August 7, 2024.

Notification: Notification of award or decline will go out by August 14, 2024. Awarded applicants can expect their contract and instructions on how to receive funds in the next weeks after notification. Learn more about managing a grant here.

What are my chances of receiving a grant?

This changes from year to year depending on number of applications received. ArtsWA can set aside approximately $100,000 next fiscal year for art project support, which averages 25 groups funded. Based on previous years, we predict nearly 400 applications will be submitted for this grant, meaning only the highest scoring 6% of applications can be funded.

The best thing you can do to increase your chances of receiving a grant is to submit a strong application. Although we can never guarantee you will get a grant, we encourage you to reach out to us to discuss your application, especially if this is your first time applying. We love hearing from you, learning about your goals, and providing helpful tips based on your goals. Hopefully, we will make you feel more confident pressing the submit button for this highly competitive program. 

Additional Information

Accessibility

Federally funded projects must be accessible to people with disabilities. You can use this accessibility checklist when planning your programs. You do not need to check all boxes to be eligible for funding; this is simply a worksheet and resource for your organization. 

ArtsWA accepts grant applications via an online form. If you require an alternate format or assistance to access the application, please reach out to us at the contact information below or Alexis Sarah, ArtsWA Accessibility Coordinator, alexis.sarah@arts.wa.gov or at 360-228-6359.

Civil Rights

All applicants for funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) are required to certify that they are following the civil rights statutes that govern nondiscrimination in Federally assisted programs. For a FAQ on Civil Rights for applicants and to ensure your organization complies, click here.

Appeals

Unsuccessful applicants can appeal in accordance with Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 30.12.036, found here. 

About ArtsWA 

ArtsWA is the Washington State Arts Commission. The Washington State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts fund our programs. Grants are contingent on available state and federal funding. ArtsWA complies with all local, state, and federal laws and regulations concerning civil and human rights. For more information regarding Washington State Arts Commission’s policies on Accessibility, Diversity, and Nondiscrimination, click here.
 

Submittable Tips
 

• Saving: Save your Grant to Organizations (GTO) Application as you work on it by clicking the "Save Draft" button located at the end of this webpage. You can log out and log back in, take a break, or work on your application over several days without losing your data.
• Collaboration: If multiple people from your organization will be contributing to your application, invite them to collaborate by clicking on the "Invite Collaborators" button located at the top right of this webpage.
• Required Questions: Questions marked with a red asterisk '*' must be completed before you submit your application. You will not be able to submit your application if any required questions have been left unanswered.
• Submitting: Once you have completed your application, click the "Submit" button at the end of this webpage. You will receive an automated email confirming that your application has been successfully submitted.
• Print or download a copy of your application by navigating to your "Personal Submissions" account list. Click on your Application submission. This will open up the submission's details page, where you can click the Download button in the upper right of the viewing box.

Questions?

Ashley Marshall, Grants to Organizations Administrative Assistant, at 360-485-1524 or ashley.marshall@arts.wa.gov

Miguel Guillén, Grants to Organizations Program Manager, at 360-252-9970 or miguel.guillen@arts.wa.gov