§ 2-07 Scoring and Fund Allocation.
RCNY § 2-07
(a)Eligibility for single year awards. Applicants that did not receive a CDF grant award in any of the three fiscal years immediately preceding the fiscal year for which the applicant is applying for CDF funds are eligible only for a single-year award. The Department’s guidelines may provide additional guidance governing limitations of awards for these applicants.
(b)Eligibility for multi-year awards. Applicants that received a CDF grant award in any of the three fiscal years preceding the fiscal year for which the applicant is applying for CDF funds are eligible for a three-year award, provided, however, that such applicant must submit a renewal application each year of such award, such application must comply with 58 RCNY § 2-03, and such application must demonstrate continued eligibility. The renewal application will not be subject to panel review.
(c)Scoring and award determination. CDF funds will be awarded in accordance with the following steps: (1) Step one. Each application will be assigned to a panel. Panelists determine and assign a final score to each assigned application according to a methodology developed by the Department and designed to provide consistent scoring across the panels. The methodology to score applications will use the following evaluative criteria: the benefit of the proposed project to the public; the applicant’s fiscal and administrative capacity to execute the proposed project; and overall project quality and excellence.
(2)Step two. The Department will determine the minimum final award score needed to receive an award based on the available CDF budget for the relevant fiscal year. The Department may designate in its guidelines different applicant budget categories describing ranges of applicants’ budgets and provide a different award amount to each such category. Applicants assigned a final panel score at or above the minimum award score will receive, at a minimum, the minimum award provided for in their budget category.
(3)Step three. The Department’s guidelines may provide for a process to adjust awards above the minimum award, or to provide an award for applicants that did not meet the minimum award score, for each budget category in consideration of any of the following factors: (A) The total amount of funding appropriated for the CDF program; (B) The percentile in which the applicant’s panel score ranks compared to that of all other funded applicants; (C) The applicant’s operating budget for the fiscal year for which the applicant is applying for CDF funds or relevant prior years as determined by the Department; (D) The applicant received CDF baseline awards for the six consecutive fiscal years preceding the fiscal year for which the applicant is applying for CDF funds, and submitted an eligible and complete application for such current fiscal year but did not achieve the minimum final award score needed to receive an award pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subdivision, provided that such applicant may not receive an award exceeding half the average of their total CDF baseline awards from such prior fiscal years; (E) Whether the application furthers agency priorities by meeting at least one of the following criteria, which may be further defined by the Department in its guidelines: whether additional funds would provide critical support for arts or cultural organizations serving vulnerable populations or areas of the City with fewer community resources; whether additional funds would provide critical support for arts or cultural organizations located in cultural deserts, defined as geographic areas with limited arts and cultural resources; whether the applicants experienced a temporary increase in programmatic expenses associated with the completion of a City-funded capital investment for such applicant organization; or whether the applicant would be significantly impacted by a proposed decrease in CDF funding compared to funding awarded to such applicant in prior fiscal years; and (F) Whether Create NYC Initiatives awards as described in 58 RCNY § 2-05 are available.
(d)Allowable expenses. CDF awards may only be used for project expenses, including programmatic operating expenses, such as staff salaries, space rentals, insurance costs, or any other costs incurred to realize the organization’s proposed project. (Added City Record 6/12/2024, eff. 6/12/2024)
