Grant Guidelines
Application PRocedures
Application Form
Reporting Requirements
Grants Awarded
Creating New Work
Initiated in 2003, the foundation offers a special grant program designed to:
- Foster creativity in Greater Hartford by supporting local artists in the creation of new work
- Foster collaborations between artists and arts organizations that benefit the artist, the organization and the community
- Further the foundation’s mission to support and encourage excellence in the arts in Hartford and the immediately surrounding community
We hope this special program will provide greater support for artists in the Greater Hartford community and that the community
As of 2023, applications for the Creation of New Work grant program will be considered throughout the year alongside Excellence in the Arts grant applications. Multiple Creation of New Work grants may be awarded in a year. Based on the availability of funding, organizations will most likely be restricted to either an Excellence in the Arts grant or a Creation of New Work grant per year.
Please contact the executive director to discuss your organization’s project before applying.
Grant Guidelines
Projects under the Creation of New Work Initiative must involve collaboration between an artist or artists and an arts organization. A specific artist or artists must be named in the request. Residencies (in which the artist works on-site over a period of time) and commissions (in which the artist may work on his or her own) will be considered.
Geographic Area Served
CNW is designed to support local artists. To be eligible, all artists affiliated with the project must primarily live or work on their art in:
Hartford, Avon, Berlin, Bloomfield, East Granby, East Hartford, East Windsor, Ellington, Farmington, Glastonbury, Manchester, New Britain, Newington, Rocky Hill, Simsbury, South Windsor, Vernon, West Hartford, Wethersfield, Windsor, and Windsor Locks.
Eligibility
As of 2023, you may apply for visual or performing arts programs. Sponsoring organizations are not restricted by their primary genre. For example, a theater may apply for a CNW grant if the resulting work is a visual arts or film piece.
The artist(s) must complete their project within 24 months of the grant award. The organization will be required to submit brief status reports every three months until the project is completed.
The result of the collaboration must be new work that is exhibited for the benefit of the community. Preference will be given to pieces that are permanently installed and/or available free of charge.
Should additional funds be necessary for the presentation of the resulting work, please contact the executive director to discuss options before submitting your application.
Sponsoring organizations may apply for a CNW grant in consecutive years. However, if the organization received a CNW award previously, the project funded by that award must be completed prior to a new grant submission. Artists may not apply for a CNW grant in consecutive years.
Criteria for selection
Projects are judged on the following criteria:
- artistic excellence and potential of the project to advance the artist(s)’s work
- quality of the collaboration between the artist(s) and the organization
- potential impact on the benefit to the community
The organization must demonstrate a clear plan for working with the artist(s) and be able to articulate the project’s benefit to the organization and the community.
The sponsoring organization and artist must submit a post-grant report within six months of the close of the project.
Who may apply
- 501(c)(3) arts organizations in the foundation’s geographic giving area. The foundation gives priority to requests from organizations in the following cities and towns in Connecticut: Hartford, Bloomfield, East Hartford, Newington, West Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor.
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Artists may not apply directly to the foundation but must seek out a partnering organization in the foundation’s geographic giving area.
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Organizations may apply for either the Creation of New Work grant or an Excellence in the Arts grant within a calendar year. Should an organization’s Creation of New Work application be declined, it may apply for an Excellence in Arts grant in a subsequent cycle.
Deadlines and Decisions
For first time applicants, the executive director may wish to schedule a site visit.
Applications are considered quarterly. 2023 deadlines include:
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Applications should be submitted with required attachments by 11:59 p.m. on the deadline date.
The board will meet on the following dates in 2023:
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Organizations will be notified of the board’s decision shortly after the meeting.
Information Required
Please contact the executive director to discuss your proposed project well in advance of the application due dates.
Application Submission Instructions:
Before you initiate the online application, please review the lists below and be prepared to provide the information requested.
DOWNLOAD THE INSTRUCTIONS AS A PDF
Application Questions
You will be asked to answer the following questions:
- Contact Information
- Organization’s IRS Tax Identification Number
- Amount Requested
- What is the organization’s mission?
- What is the organization’s vision statement?
- Provide a brief history and describe the organization’s activities.
- Describe the diversity of the board. What percentage make a personal financial contribution?
- Project Description including activity details, dates, venue, admission fees and attendance goals.
- How will this collaboration advance the artist’s work and help the organization reach its goals?
- How will you promote/market the project?
- How will Roberts Foundation support be recognized?
- What is your organization’s definition of artistic excellence?
- How does this project align with that definition, and how does it advance your mission?
- How will your audience and the community benefit from this project?
- How will the project be evaluated?
Application Attachments
You will be asked to attach the following documents:
- Cover Letter – on organization letterhead with official address and signed by your executive director or board President
- Board List
- IRS 501(c)3 Determination Letter
- Financial Statement or Audit
- Previous Year Operational Budget
- Current Year Operational Budget
- Balance Sheet
- Project Budget
- Annual Report (if your organization produces one)
- Strategic Plan (if your organization has one)
For Creation of New Works
- Artist CV
- Artist’s statement
- Artist’s work samples
Only applications submitted using our online application will be considered. Materials delivered, mailed or emailed to the foundation will not be considered.
GO TO THE ONLINE APPLICATION FORM
Questions should be directed to Executive Director Lisa Curran.
Application Procedures
01
Research
Please review our grant guidelines and procedures before submitting your application to ensure that your organization qualifies for funding. Review the list of application questions and the required attachments and be prepared to provide all of the information requested. Click here to print a PDF of the application questions and required attachments.
02
Reporting Requirements
Complete and submit the post grant report form. You must attach the final budget to actuals for the project. After submitting your final report the system will generate a confirmation email with a code. This code is required to complete your application.
You may send playbills or other collateral material related to the project to our mailing address.
03
Application Form
Eligible organizations are invited to submit applications for the programs. Please review our guidelines and procedures of each grant before submitting your application.
04
Review
Your application will be considered at the next scheduled board meeting. Please note that we meet quarterly. Organizations will be notified of the board’s decision shortly after the meeting.
01
Research
Please review our grant guidelines and procedures before submitting your application to ensure that your organization qualifies for funding. Review the list of application questions and the required attachments and be prepared to provide all of the information requested. Click here to print a PDF of the application questions and required attachments.
02
Reporting Requirements
Complete and submit the post grant report form. You must attach the final budget to actuals for the project. After submitting your final report the system will generate a confirmation email with a code. This code is required to complete your application.
You may send playbills or other collateral material related to the project to our mailing address.
03
Application Form
Eligible organizations are invited to submit applications for the programs. Please review our guidelines and procedures of each grant before submitting your application.
04
Review Phase
After your application is reviewed for completeness, it will be evaluated by the board at its next quarterly board meeting. Organizations will be notified of the board’s decision shortly after the meeting.
Application Form
Because the foundation limits funding to 501(c)3 arts organizations located in specific communities in Hartford County, we ask that all applicants complete the following eligibility quiz before continuing.
Using the Save and Continue Function If you cannot complete the application in one session, you may save the form and return at a later date to finish it.
To save the form, click “Save and Continue Later.” This will generate a link that you can copy and save, or if you add your email address (recommended), the link will be emailed to you. This link will work for 30 days and will save your progress.
You may use the Save and Continue Later function only once. You must complete the application on your return visit.
Reporting Requirements
All funded organizations must submit a post grant report.
The purpose of the final report is to account for the use of the foundation’s funds and to provide the foundation with information as to the success of the project.
It is generally expected that organizations will execute and complete their Creation of New Work projects with 24 months of receipt of the grant. Upon completion of the project, a final report must be submitted. No further applications will be considered by the foundation until the project is completed and a final report has been submitted.
In addition to answering the questions in the reporting form below, you must attach the originally proposed budget and actuals (revenue and expenses) for the project. You may send playbills, programs, brochures or other collateral material related to the project to our mailing address.
Complete and submit this form to fulfill your organization’s grantee reporting requirements.
Grants Awarded
2021: Real Art Ways
$20,000
To commission an immersive performance installation based on The Sonnets to Orpheus by choreographer Peter Kyle.
2020: Hartford Public Library
$20,000
In honor of The Year of the Woman, to commission a sculpture by Marilyn Parkinson Thrall. The art piece will celebrate Hartford’s Suffragist movement in 1920.
2019: Charter Oak Cultural Center
$15,000
To commission a theater piece written by Joni Weisfeld, artistic director of The Other Voice theater company.
2018: West Hartford Art League
$15,000
To commission a mural installation designed by Ed Johnetta Miller.
2017: Cuatro Puntos
$15,000
To commission a musical composition by David Macbride.
2016: Real Art Ways
$15,000
To commission a contemporary Paper Sculpture exhibition by Hong Hong.
2015: TheaterWorks
$15,000
To commission the play, Raging Skillet, by Jacques Lamarre.
2014: Real Art Ways
$15,000
To commission the film, Hasta Manana, by Pedro Bermudez.
2013: Charter Oak Cultural Center
$15,000
To commission two musical compositions by Michael Gatonska and Scott Comanzo for the 2014 Hartford New Music Festival.
2012: Vernon Community Arts Center
$15,000
To commission artist Barbara Hocker to create a photo-based, multi-media installation entitled River/Sea.
2011: Windsor Art Center
$15,000
To commission composer Katherine Swanson to create The River, a multi-media presentation of music, dance and photography inspired by the Farmington River.
2008:
Charter Oak Cultural Center
$12,500
To commission visual artists Carlos Hernandez Chavez and Marela Zacarias to create two murals titled The Mural as Mirror: Reflections on the Immigrant Experience.
Real Art Ways
$5,000
To commission Hirokazu Fukawa’s sculpture exhibition, A Thought at the Edge of the Continent: Manchuria to Siberia 1942 -1947.
2007: Real Art Ways
$12,500
To commission A Thought at the Edge of the Continent: Manchuria to Siberia 1942 -1947 by Hirokazu Fukawa, a series of sculptures/site installations inspired by artist’s ongoing exploration of suicide bombings in current and past political contexts.
2006:
Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz
$12,500
To commission The Hartford Suite, a new work by jazz musician/composer Steve Davis to premier at the 2007 festival. The piece, comprised of multiple movements, commemorated various Hartford area landmarks, people, or events.
Trinity-On-Main
$12,500
To commission No Mas Muertes, a work about illegal immigration, by composer David Macbride with spoken text drawn from Luis Alberto Urrea’s The Devil’s Highway.
2005: Wadsworth Atheneum
$12,500
To commission a work by choreographers Adam Miller and Katie Stevenson-Nollet as part of the Wadsworth Atheneum’s initiative to present a full performance series in the museum’s theater.
2004
Hartford Symphony Orchestra
$12,500
To commission composer Michael Gatonska to create Wandering the Moon Nursery, a new work that premiered at a Masterworks Series concert in November, 2005.
New Britain Museum of American Art
$12,500
To commission composer Ken Steen, e-cellist Jeffrey Krieger, and media artist Gene Gort to create a multimedia work entitled Reliquary of Labor which premiered at the opening of the newly expanded museum and performance space in 2006.
2003
Hartford Art School – University of Hartford
$12,500
To commission photographer Christine Breslin to create a mixed media work entitled Beyond the Veil, a series of interviews, photographs and digital images exploring the challenges Hartford-area Muslim teenage girls face in maintaining their identity in the context of contemporary American mass culture.
Real Art Ways
$10,000
To commission musician Stephen Haynes to compose a new jazz piece in conjunction with Real Art Way’s 2005 exhibition, Faith.