GOS II is a highly competitive and rigorous category. Rather than simply focusing on the grant award, applicants are encouraged to consider organizational capacity, financial stability, and right-sizing. When determining which funding opportunity is the most appropriate fit, applicants should also consider which category will allow the organization to grow their organizations in a healthy, protracted manner, strengthen sustainability and create strong partnerships in the community. Applicants are always encouraged to contact AHCMC staff for guidance before the application deadline if it is unclear which grant category represents the best fit.

Updates to AHCMC guidelines are iterative and developmental. The FY21 changes are intended to more equitably distribute the county’s finite resources with the least amount of harm to the fewest number of organizations.

GOS II grants are a multiyear funding opportunity, offered every two years. During each 2019 “Listening Session”, constituents expressed the need for two-year awards to reduce administrative burden, allow for long-term budget planning, and afford greater financial stability.

Applicants will be required to complete a full application for panel review in FY21. Grantees will submit a mid-year report and final report. In FY22, the administrative process will repeat except grantees will not submit a full application. Instead, grantees will simply provide updated financials, including their FY20 audit and 990. Grantees will also be required to submit a FY22 mid-year and final report, providing updates on organizational changes, progress made toward achieving organizational goals, other successes, and/or organizational challenges.

Each year, all grant funding is subject to fiscal appropriation, including possible reduction or termination, by the Montgomery County Government. For FY21 and FY22, GOS II base awards will consist of a percentage of the organization’s average total allowable cash expenses and/or allowable cash income during the past three completed fiscal years.

Each grants cycle, in FY21 and in FY22, AHCMC will calculate the allowable financial figure for each of the past three fiscal years based on the organization’s audits. The base awards will incorporate allowable cash/income calculations as well as the current county allocation. While the base award percentage may shift due to county allocation budgetary shifts, AHCMC’s budget advocacy is aimed at ensuring that base awards do not fall below 5% to avoid causing financial instability for grantees.

A grantee’s score will remain the same for both FY21 and FY22, until the grantee submits a full application for FY23 panel review. A more in-depth explanation can be found on page 9 of the guidelines.

The competitive excellence awards will be provided if funds remain after the minimum 5% base awards have been calculated for all GOS II grantees. As detailed on page 10 of the guidelines, the competitiveness excellence awards factor in the organization’s panel score, the average panel score of all organizations that are recommended for a grant, and the mean. Grantees receive an excellence award if their score is above the mean. Grantees who receive an excellence award in FY21 will also receive an excellence award in FY22. The higher the grantee’s score and the further away from the mean, the higher the grantee’s excellence award. The score earned in FY21 will be carried forward in FY22.

Since 2012, the guidelines for organizations that meet the eligibility requirements have remained constant in that all GOS II awardees will receive a minimum 5% base award. Should funding allocations from the county increase in accordance with increased demand and growth in the budget size of organizations in this category, the base awards will continue to fluctuate, based on overall budgets, demand, and the county’s appropriation.

No. Scores awarded in FY21 will be used for funding allocations in both FY21 and FY22. If an organization scores below a 60 and is not funded in GOS II in FY21, that organization may apply for a GOS I Grant, a Programming & Capacity Building Project Grant or Advancement Grant in FY22.

The appeals process remains unchanged from prior years. The guidelines provided to the field in FY20 contained the same appeals process.

AHCMC has instituted a funding cap for GOS II to more equitably distribute the county’s finite resources to the majority of our funding portfolio. In the process of revising the grant guidelines, AHCMC staff researched the grantmaking practices and reviewed guidelines created by a significant number of arts/humanities funders across the country, paying special attention to counties comparable to Montgomery County in size.

Some arts/humanities funders set firm caps for their general operating grants, for example, Fairfax County’s cap is $50,000. Other funders use a regressive funding formula. For example, San Antonio uses a regressive formula; organizations with operating expenses over $10 million receive up to 3% of their operating budget.

Communities are unique. What helps to grow the arts sector in one community in one part of the country will differ from what helps the sector to thrive in another. AHCMC is fortunate to serve a multicultural community with a vibrant arts scene and strives to nurture a broad and varied portfolio of artists, scholars, and arts/humanities organizations.

We reviewed the most recent grant awards, the eligible budget for grantees, and determined that capping grant awards at $600,000 will ensure the equitable distribution of the county’s finite resources to the greatest number of eligible applicants with the least amount of harm to the fewest number of organizations.

No. The cap is per year and applies to GOS II only. Applicants may also be eligible to seek additional funding in other categories.

Considering that AHCMC’s goals differ from that of MSAC, our approach to funding calculations also differs.

Glen Echo, Maryland ($137,156)

Adventure Theatre MTC educates and inspires new generations of theater artists and audiences with exceptional theatrical experiences.

Silver Spring, Maryland ($40,543)

Artivate engages communities to create interactive arts experiences that inspire learning. The organization offers arts-based learning to motivate and invite audiences to participate through performances and workshops representing a wide range of artistic disciplines and cultural traditions in order to captivate the imagination and activate human potential. Through Artivate’s focus on education, the organization enables access to the arts for all, particularly under-resourced communities.

Chevy Chase, Maryland ($38,426)

Through collaborative performance and lifelong learning opportunities, ArtStream enables people with intellectual and developmental disabilities gain the skills and confidence to engage with the world.

North Bethesda, Maryland ($258,976)

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performs quality symphonic music of all eras that nurtures the human spirit. The BSO is committed to engaging, inspiring, educating, and serving its audiences in a fiscally responsible manner and to enhancing the State of Maryland as a cultural center of vitality and importance.

Rockville, Maryland ($58,515)

The Bender JCC is an all-inclusive community – from the people served to the programs offered – rooted in Jewish values. The JCC’s arts and cultural programming illuminates the human experience through film, music, gallery exhibits and literary events. Their workshops and classes present the community with the opportunity to try something new in a comfortable, welcoming supportive place. The Bender JCC Kreeger Auditorium, a 290-seat performing arts theater, is utilized for internal events and external rentals.

Germantown, Maryland ($80,869)

BlackRock Center for the Arts inspires the community to explore, experience, and engage in the arts through artistically excellent programs that foster lifelong participation in the arts. BlackRock’s overarching goals are to: present local and international artists of the highest quality; offer educational opportunities in a variety of arts disciplines; and to provide leadership within our community by forging partnerships.

North Bethesda, Maryland ($97,468)

Since its founding in 1996 with a mission to transform lives and communities through dance, CityDance has pursued its vision of a thriving arts community where every child has access to the benefits of an arts education and where world-class dance is available to all. CityDance achieves its mission by providing high-quality dance instruction including a pre-professional training program for students ages 3-18; producing and presenting world-class professional dance; and providing tuition-free dance programming to students from low-income communities.

Takoma Park, Maryland ($33,876)

Dance Exchange ignites inquiry, inspires change, and connects people of all ages to the questions at the heart of our lives through dance making and creative practices. Dance Exchange collaborates across generations, disciplines, and communities to channel the power of performance as a means for dialogue, a source of critical reflection, and a creative engine for thought and action.

Rockville, Maryland ($53,591)

Friends of the Library strengthens, promotes, and champions Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) to serve the learning interests and needs of the diverse and changing communities of the county.

Glen Echo, Maryland ($109,125)

Glen Echo Park presents vibrant artistic, cultural, and educational offerings and promotes the park as a unique destination for the region’s diverse population. The Partnership nurtures a dynamic community of artists and performers while preserving and managing historic facilities within the National Park Services. The strategic objective is to bring an overarching identity with a seamless experience for visitors, participants, and donors as they interact with Glen Echo Park.

Bethesda, Maryland ($265,554)

Imagination Stage (IStage) empowers all young people to discover their voice and identity through performing arts education and theatre. IStage envisions a future where theatre experiences are a fundamental aspect of children’s lives, nourishing their creative spirit, inspiring them to embrace the complexity and diversity of their world, and helping them overcome their challenges with hope, courage, and above all, creativity.

Silver Spring, Maryland ($139,427)

Levine is the region’s preeminent center for music education committed to developing a lifelong love of music in everyone, regardless of age, ability, or means. Levine is founded on three pillars: Education, Performance, and Community. The organization’s goals are to provide the cognitive and social benefits of arts education; create a new generation of music appreciators; spur community redevelopment; provide mentors to students; and offer scholarships and free outreach programs for hundreds of children with limited financial resources.

Silver Spring, Maryland ($118,383)

Maryland Youth Ballet (MYB) provides the highest caliber of training and performance opportunities to prepare young dancers for a career in the performing arts as well as to provide classes to dancers of all ages and levels, together with high-quality classical ballet productions, to the community.

Gaithersburg, Maryland ($48,156)

Metropolitan Ballet Theatre providies arts opportunities to all through exceptional dance education, community outreach, and inspiring performances.

Bethesda, Maryland ($74,206)

The KID Museum empowers kids to become the creative problem-solvers of tomorrow. The museum provides impactful hands-on learning that incorporates art, culture, creativity and critical thinking.

Rockville, Maryland ($177,715)

Montgomery Community Media (MCM) creates and delivers unique content that educates, entertains, informs, and inspires those who live and work in Montgomery County. The organization’s vision is to become the preeminent resource for all people who live, learn, work, and play in Montgomery County, to create and access media content that enhances our community. MCM creates original content, provides educational instruction, presents resident’s contributed content on multiple platforms, and digitally archives their community contributions in the humanities and arts.

Rockville, Maryland ($18,403)

Montgomery History has been serving Montgomery County through exhibits, programs, educational activities, a research library, and history-themed conferences since the organization was founded in 1944. The organization collects, preserves, interprets, and shares the histories of all of Montgomery County’s residents and communities.

North Bethesda, Maryland ($107,662)

The National Philharmonic is a dynamic organization providing quality orchestral, choral, and other musical experiences to enrich and inspire the lives of people in Montgomery County through concerts and educational programs for all ages.

Olney, Maryland ($359,462)

Olney Theatre Center (OTC) produces, presents, and tours extraordinary performances for a diversity of audiences. The center educates and inspires the next generation of theater-makers.

Bethesda, Maryland ($210,554)

Round House Theatre is a home for outstanding ensemble acting and lifelong learning. Round House seeks to captivate audiences with stories that inspire compassion, evoke emotions, and demand conversation.

Sandy Spring, Maryland ($31,885)

Founded in 1981 to preserve the unique history of Sandy Spring, Sandy Spring Museum (SSM) has consistently adapted to the demands, requests, and needs of its community. In direct response to community feedback, SSM embraced a mission that shifted the museum’s efforts from a focus on preservation to one on participation. Sandy Spring Museum supports community-driven cultural arts and educational programs. SSM gathers community to build a sense of place and belonging.

North Bethesda, Maryland ($620,460)

Strathmore presents and produces exemplary visual and performing arts programs for diverse audiences; creates dynamic arts education experiences; nurtures creative ideas and conversations that advance the future of the arts.

Rockville, Maryland ($98,956)

The Metropolitan Center for the Visual Arts (VisArts) transforms individuals and communities through the visual arts.

Glen Echo, Maryland ($22,981)

The Puppet Co. creates and presents professional puppet theater for children and families as an art form, reflecting excellence in both the performance and visual experiences. The organization provides an array of supporting programs including classes, demonstrations, publications, and exhibitions. In addition, they maintain a puppetry library, a collection of puppets, and puppetry memorabilia focused on the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, available by request.

Bethesda, Maryland ($66,745)

The Writer’s Center empowers writers, and those who want to write, through workshops, events, and creative collaboration. They also support and celebrate those who publish.

Bethesda, Maryland ($55,098)

The Washington Conservatory of Music provides exceptional musical learning and listening experiences for area students and the community.

Silver Spring, Maryland ($50,749)

Washington Revels uses performance, education, and community engagement to revive, sustain, expand, and celebrate cultural traditions — in music, dance, storytelling, and drama — that bind people together in spirit and joy. The organization strives to illustrate the world’s common humanity, connecting all people in a community that stretches across ethnic, cultural, and religious divisions.