FUNDING
The state of Idaho and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) provide funding for the Idaho Commission on the Arts and its programs. All programs are dependent upon available dollars from these sources. All grant categories require a match of Commission funds. In many cases, in-kind contributions are allowed as matching funds and furnish important evidence of commitment to a project.

Grants and awards are made on an annual basis (except for QuickFund$) and new applications must be submitted each year. Grant and award programs are highly competitive and eligibility or a current grant does not guarantee future funding. The Commission uses the following basic criteria to measure the merits of most applications. Each grant or award will contain important, specialized considerations.

High artistic quality or artistic merit.
To the extent possible, an organization's project should be part of a long-term cultural plan that outlasts the grant.
Sound governance, management, and operations.
Financial soundness with evidence of wide support.
Extensive public benefit, community interest, and access for underserved populations including older and disabled people.
Commitment to arts education and promoting understanding and public awareness of the arts.

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FUNDING LIMITATIONS
Although the Commission can assist artists and organizations in many ways, it cannot fund:
Endowments.
Fund-raising projects that do not raise funds for the arts.
Prizes, scholarships, or free tickets. Funds are not available to generate or attract audiences.
The offsetting of personal or organizational debts.
Activities that are primarily promotional or created for mass distribution; for example, duplication of CDs, creation of portfolios, gallery announcements, self-published books, flyers, brochures, or Web sites.
Student exhibitions, anthologies, publications, or performances, unless those activities document an arts education grant.
Costs associated with any degree, such as tuition, fees, or teaching materials.
Projects or activities already completed, or documentation of projects.
Projects primarily recreational, therapeutic, vocational, rehabilitative, or religious.
Projects restricted to an organization's membership.
Cost for activities or consecutive attendance at annual activities that should be built into an organization's budget; for example, the National Assembly of Arts Agencies, Americans for the Arts, or Western Arts Alliance conferences.
Pageants, festivals, or celebrations unrelated to arts, ethnic, or cultural activities.
Journalism, scholarly, or academic works in history, languages, archeology, and political science, as well as historical or academic documentary film and electronic media arts that does not demonstrate significant artistic emphasis, consideration, and distinction. (Contact the Idaho Humanities Council, 888/345-5346 or 208/345-5346.)
Lobbying expenses or political activities.
Hospitality expenses, such as food and drink.
Capital expenditures for individuals.

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