Decentralization Grant Resources

Please contact our Grant Coordinator, Fred Balzac, with any questions about the Decentralization Grant Program.

Click here for information on the 2021 grant cycle

How to submit your application: 

All grant applications must be submitted electronically through our online application system at Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts Submittable

For technical questions about Submittable, please contact their team directly: 

Phone:  (855) 467-8264, ext. 2

Email: support@submittable.com 

Grant Applications (for reference only):

2021 Community Arts Grant Application

2021 Arts Education Grant Application

Grant Writing Tips:

In addition to attending a DEC Information Seminar, please read the updated Community Arts and/or Arts Education Guidelines in their entirety. These guidelines are amended each year to meet NYSCA's requirements. 

Download this Brainstorming Worksheet to organize your thoughts into a competitive grant application. 

Project narratives should be thorough, clear, and concise. Any narratives regarding your budget should match your budget form, and any large or questionable expenses on your budget form should be explained in your budget notes. 

Suggested information to include in your project narrative:

• Detailed project summary: The Who, What, When, Where, and Why

• Goals for the project: specifically, what you hope to achieve through the project

• The project's feasibility, accessibility, management, and evaluation

• Explain the project's need and importance to the community: think about whether you are filling a specific void in your community

• Why you chose the artists and their qualifications

• Your marketing plan, using multiple media outlets

• Detailed funding requests reflecting everything in the budget

• How you will adapt your project and/or budget if you receive partial funding 

Templates to Download:

2021 Community Arts Budget Template(Required to use for the Community Arts application)

2021 Arts Education Budget Template(Required to use for the Arts Education application)

Lesson Plan Template - Arts Education Grants

Grant Informational Seminars:

The Decentralization grant application process typically begins with prospective applicants attending one of the many informational seminars scheduled throughout the Quad-County service area. The Arts Center offers free informational seminars to provide prospective applicants with instructions on how to apply for Decentralization grants. At these seminars the Grant Coordinator will review changes in the grant guidelines from the previous year, answer questions, and provide feedback and technical assistance. In order to receive funding, applicants are required to attend one of these seminars before completing the application. The seminars are free and open to the public. All applicants (new and returning) must attend a seminar or arrange for a consultation with the Grant Coordinator. Please note, the contact person, the grant writer, and the person who attends the seminar must be the same person.

For specific questions about your eligibility, please contact the Grant Coordinator, Fred Balzac.

Eligible Applicants

• Must have a permanent address in the same county the project is taking place. This applies to organizations or individual artists who are direct applicants, as well as to fiscal sponsors. However, with applications involving a fiscal sponsor, the sponsored applicant is not required to reside in that county. 
• Designated New York State nonprofit organizations incorporated in NYS or registered to do business there, agencies of local government (not NYS agencies), tribal organizations 
• Individual artists, groups or collectives: unincorporated entities must have a fiscal sponsor or community partner (see specific program guidelines)
• Private colleges/universities

• Individual applicants must be 18 years of age or older at the time of application 

Ineligible Applicants

• Public or private school districts, state universities
• Departments or agencies of New York State (including BOCES)
• Applicants with outstanding final reports from prior years
• Applicants living outside of the county in which the grant project is taking place without a fiscal sponsor
• Organizations or individuals that have applied directly to the New York State Council on the Arts for the same grant cycle, regardless of funding status

Crediting Your Grant

It is mandatory that all Decentralization grantees credit the DEC program appropriately. It helps raise awareness for funding programs like DEC and shows your legislators and NYSCA staff members how valuable these funds are. Please use the following language on all DEC grant-sponsored program materials:

This project is made possible with funds from the Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts.

Find your local legislatures and elected officials.