Funding Criteria

Program Update

(11.23.11)

The December 1, 2011, deadline will be the last for Meet the Composer/New England as it currently exists. The program guidelines are currently under review as NEFA evaluates the partnership with Meet the Composer, Inc., as they transition to become New Music USA. 

The amount of funding awarded is based on the extent to which the project meets the criteria below. 

• Include at least one public performance and at least one community engagement activity. (A public performance is open to the general public and advertised accordingly.)
• Include a composer residency for a minimum of two days and multiple types of activities (workshops, lecture-demonstrations, and discussions) that enhance understanding of the composer’s work and ensures informative contact between the composer and the audiences and communities
• Extend the arts to populations whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. (NEFA's CultureCount provides free and easily accessible demographic information for New England communities.)
• Include activities which are cross-disciplinary, cross-cultural, and/or cross-sector.
• Present artist(s) with disabilities.
• Include a budget that reflects revenue from a variety of sources including businesses, corporations, civic organizations, private foundations, individuals, and/or government agencies.
• Include the commissioning and/or premiere of a work.
• Include a first-time presentation of the composer for whom funding is being requested.
• Present a new art form or discipline for the community.

Meet the Composer/New England gives priority to organizations that:

• Have a commitment to arts presenting which annually includes at least three performances by artists from outside the local community.
• Book a tour of the composer with at least two other presenting organizations.
• Show evidence of collaborative planning with other community organizations for increased and/or more diverse community participation.

Award levels may be reduced for the following reasons:

• The application does not include a project marketing plan. NEFA encourages presenters to engage in marketing efforts to reach the broadest audience possible.
• The program is a repeat of a particular artist or ensemble within the past five years. NEFA encourages diverse program offerings.
• There are performances where no admission is charged (this does not include the distribution of free or lower-priced tickets). NEFA strongly encourages charging admission for the following reasons:
  • Admissions are a vital source of income to help pay artist fees and other event expenses.
  • Admissions remind audiences that the work of artists has face value and that the professionals involved, in order to continue, must make a living from their endeavors.
  • Admissions purchased through advance ticket sales help ensure attendance.

       Please state in your narrative if your organization is not allowed to charge admission.

Meet the Composer/New England will not fund

•  Applications from organizations which have presented the same composer within the past year with Meet the Composer/New England support.
• Projects with composers who are employed by or serve as board members to the applicant organization.
• Activities and programs which take place exclusively in schools during class time.
• Fundraisers.
• Events outside of the six New England States.
• Events that are not open to the public and advertised accordingly.