Alfred Nash Patterson Grants

Lifetime Achievement Awards

Grant Application and Guidelines

News and Events

Choral Arts New England History

Chorus Directory

Support Choral Arts

Contact

Grant Application & Guidelines

Download the Grant Checklist and Application
(2009 forms posted 8 January 2009)
Word 97+ •  Adobe Acrobat/PDF •  PDF form

Eligibility: Who May Apply
Our grants support choral music in New England. Grants are thus awarded to: (1) New England choruses, both volunteer and professional; (2) parent organizations of New England choruses; and (3) New England organizations that provide support to choral music. Church choirs and school or college choruses are also eligible.

Applicant organizations must be non-profit and tax-exempt. Groups or consortia planning a collaborative project can apply under the auspices of a designated fiscal agent (e.g., local historical society, arts council, library, museum, etc.) if desired.

The Application Process
The following instructions must be followed in order to be apply for a grant:

1. The application form must be typed or machine-printed and mailed to the address given below by the deadline. PDF forms are available for your convenience, but they still must be submitted in paper (not electronic) form. You must submit the original form plus EIGHT COPIES, as specified on the checklist page. Please confine your description to the space allotted; however, you may attach additional materials supporting your application as addenda.
2. Include EIGHT copies of your annual financial statements for your organization's most recently completed fiscal year, to provide us with an overview of the organization's financial status. (This is different from the project budget on the back of the application form, which is for the specific project for which you are requesting Choral Arts New England funding.)
3. Include ONE copy of your organization's IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status form.
4. Include THREE IDENTICAL copies of a recent CD or cassette tape of about 30 minutes duration that contains in its first ten minutes the material you would most like our Artistic Advisory panel to hear. Mark both the case and the CD or tape itself with the name of your group. Include a separate contents listing that gives the title, composer (and, where appropriate, the period and country of origin) for each selection to be considered. The recording may be of a performance, a rehearsal, or a combination of the two and must not contain any material submitted with previous applications to Choral Arts New England. Do not include any extensive non-choral segments. The CD need not include complete pieces or movements of pieces. Please do not submit DVDs, as these will not play on most audio equipment.
5. Additional supporting materials could include program books, press clippings, or other material that could tell us more about the importance and potential benefit of the proposed project. Please remember that we cannot guarantee to return any material that has been submitted.

Application Deadline
Application packages for each project period must be complete at the time of submission and MUST BE POSTMARKED NOT LATER THAN FEBRUARY 28, 2009, or they will not be considered. There are no exceptions to this requirement. Applications should be sent to:

We suggest that you send your submission through a traceable mail service, and that you keep a copy of your submission for future reference throughout the grants process.

Acknowledgments of Receipt
We will make an effort to acknowledge receipt of applications by sending an email to the contact person who is listed on the first (checklist) page of the application. These acknowledgments may not be sent immediately, but if you have not received word fom us by 7–10 days after sending, feel free to query us at admin@choralarst-newengland.org.

Criteria for Funding
The foundation tries to distribute its grants throughout the New England area. Organizations in rural or otherwise musically underserved areas are particularly encouraged to apply. Choral Arts New England is especially interested in the programming of new works and important neglected music of the past; educational programs; technical assistance projects; and organizational development projects that show potential for moving grantees toward greater strength and self-sufficiency, in such areas as audience development, fund raising, board development, and business planning.

Grants are awarded for, among other things: salaries for artistic personnel (including orchestral musicians); consultant fees and/or other costs involved in organizational development projects; composer commissions; rental or purchase of music; and costs associated with a performance, festival or other special project. We are unlikely to fund general operating expenses, capital equipment purchases, or traditional regular programs such as an annual Christmas concert, community sing-along or performance of Messiah.

The Grant Awards Process
Choral Arts New England's Grants Committee, which consists of members of its Board of Directors, meets in early March to screen grant applications. The committee evaluates the eligibility of each application, the strength of the applicant, and the suitability of the proposed project, eliminating applications that do not meet the guidelines, funding objectives or artistic standards of Choral Arts New England. The remaining applications are forwarded to the Artistic Advisors, three eminent musicians selected annually for this purpose, who evaluate the applications based on recordings and other information. After receiving the ratings of the Artistic Advisors, the Grants Committee meets again to decide on recommendations for grant recipients. Those recommendations are presented for final approval to the Choral Arts New England Board of Directors at its Annual Meeting in the spring (usually in mid-April). All applicants will be notified of the decisions shortly thereafter.

If You Are Awarded a Grant
You will want to refer to these guidelines at various points throughout your project, so keep them handy! All organizations awarded a grant will be invited to an Awards Ceremony in the Fall of the year for which the Grant is awarded, and will be expected to send one or two representatives to the event. Grant checks will be sent to recipient organizations at around the same time.

All published materials and announcements regarding your project must give credit to CHORAL ARTS NEW ENGLAND with references such as the following: "This project is supported in part by an Alfred Nash Patterson Grant from Choral Arts New England." For example, if your project consists of a concert or other performance, this or a similar statement should appear prominently in your concert program book. Full guidelines for grant acknowledgment will be forthcoming.

When your project is completed you must submit a final report of your experience with the project, plus an itemized financial statement of the project's actual income and expenses and certain addenda described on the report form. These forms will be provided to grant recipients when they are notified of their grants. Final report forms are now available online, as either a fillable PDF form or in Microsoft Word format. You must submit your final report or you will be ineligible for any future funding from Choral Arts New England.

GOOD LUCK!

Choral Arts New England • 781-721-SING (781-721-7464)
P.O. BOX 608 • Newton, MA 02456-0608