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Iowa Cultural Trust Endowment Challenge Grants

NOTICE: The application deadlines for Cultural Trust Stability Grants and Endowment Challenge Grants have been postponed. For questions, please contact Matt Harris, Iowa Arts Council Administrator, at Matthew.Harris@iowa.gov.

Grant Program Description

Iowa Cultural Trust Endowment Challenge Grants help Iowa nonprofit arts, history, and cultural organizations strengthen their long-term financial sustainability by increasing their endowments. Organizations awarded Endowment Challenge Grants are required to raise a minimum of $3 in new endowment funds raised specifically for this campaign for every $1 of grant funds awarded. Endowment Challenge Grant funds will be paid to grantees after they document that they have achieved the 3:1 cash match, but no later than two years and 90 days beyond the date of the award.

When to Apply

A limited number of Endowment Challenge Grants will be approved annually.  No organization may receive more than one Endowment Challenge Grant in a five-year period.
The next deadline will be announced after January, 2012. This is NOT a postmark date. All application materials must be received in the Iowa Cultural Trust office by 4:30 p.m. on the deadline date.

Grant Amount

Organizations with an operating budget up to $150,000 may request up to $20,000.  Organizations with an operating budget over $150,000 may request up to $35,000. The requested grant amount should be appropriate to the needs and the fund-raising capacity of the institution.

Use of Funds

Iowa Cultural Trust Challenge Grant funds, and all matching funds, must be deposited into an endowment fund designated to support annual operating expenses of the grantee organization.

Eligible Organizations

An eligible applicant organization must:

  1. Operate with one of the following organizational missions:
    1. Arts Organizations: primary mission and purpose must be the arts; it must operate as an arts organization, such as an art museum, performing arts-producing organization, or community arts agency.
      OR
    2. Historical Organizations: primary mission and purpose must be historical; it must operate as an historical museum or interpretive center.
      OR
    3. Cultural Organizations: primary mission and purpose must be cultural; it must operate as a cultural center, civic arts presenting venue, botanical center, museum, or zoo.
  2. Have been in existence in its community for at least 3 years.
  3. Be an Iowa nonprofit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, or a local, municipal, or county governmental agency. The applicant must be located in Iowa.
  4. Have at least one paid part-time or full-time professional employee who is responsible for managing the business of the organization.
  5. Have, at the time of application, an established endowment fund for the support of organizational operating expenses.
  6. Demonstrate that it is actively implementing a multi-year strategic plan that incorporates a fundraising plan with long-term sustainability as a clear, measurable goal.
  7. Certify and demonstrate that its operational practices are in good alignment with the Iowa Principles and Practices for Charitable Nonprofit Excellence.  Alignment may include any of the following:
    1. The board of directors may pass a resolution adopting the Iowa Principles and Practices for Charitable Nonprofit Excellence as the standards for institutional operations.
    2. An organizational representative may complete an Iowa Principles and Practices for Charitable Nonprofit Excellence training program which will result in a certificate of completion for a stated period.
    3. An Iowa charitable nonprofit that is accredited by a national organization or licensed by a state agency will be presumed to have significantly complied with the Iowa Principles and Practices for Charitable Nonprofit Excellence.
  8. Institutions may apply for only one Cultural Trust Endowment Challenge Grant at a time and may have only one application pending at a time. An institution is eligible to apply for a subsequent challenge grant beginning in the fifth year after the ending date of its most recent Cultural Trust Endowment Challenge Grant. For example, if a grant ends June 30, 2012, the institution that received the grant could not apply for a subsequent challenge grant until July 1, 2017.

NOT eligible to apply:

  1. Individuals
  2. An entity of federal or state government
  3. An organization applying through a fiscal agent
  4. An organization with an outstanding late Final Report to the Department of Cultural Affairs or any of its divisions
  5. A library, park, or recreation center
  6. A for-profit corporation or business
  7. A religious organization, labor union, political party, or national service/professional organization
  8. An educational institution, organization, or K-12 school, whose primary orientation, mission, and purpose is education and the awarding of academic credits

Applications from ineligible organizations will not be reviewed.

Matching Funds

  1. All matching gifts must be made (i.e., given, pledged, and pledges fulfilled) during the Endowment Challenge Grant period.
  2. Gifts eligible for matching must be made explicitly in response to the Endowment Challenge Grant.
  3. Donors must be aware that their gifts will be used to support the organization’s general operating expenses and to match the Endowment Challenge Grant.
  4. Eligible types of gifts may include:

    1. Cash.
    2. Nonfederal and non-state grants.
    3. Special allocations from county or municipal governments and government organizations. This allocation must represent a level of support above the normal operational funding for the recipient institution, and must be deposited in the endowment.
    4. Net proceeds from special fundraising events or benefits held specifically to raise funds to match the Endowment Challenge Grant. Only the net proceeds are eligible; the intrinsic value of items donated for auction or sale is not eligible.
    5. Membership contributions, “friends” or alumni giving, or similar campaigns. The value of any tangible items received by donors, such as magazines, newsletters, or gift “premiums” must be deducted from a membership contribution to assess the actual gift value. Membership forms or solicitation material should indicate that contributions will be used to match the Endowment Challenge Grant.
    6. Marketable securities, valued as of the date of transfer from donor to grant recipient, if the securities are held in the endowment and are earning interest.
    7. Real estate donated during the period of the Endowment Challenge Grant and converted into cash by means of sale before the end of the grant period. The value of the gift is equivalent to the net sale value.
    8. Charitable gift annuity contracts that are signed during the period of the Endowment Challenge Grant. Annuities will be valued at the amount of the donor’s charitable deduction.
  5. Ineligible gifts include:
    1. Gifts deferred beyond the end of the grant period.
    2. Bequests and other forms of planned giving that are not paid out or completed during the grant period except charitable gift annuities that are finalized within the grant period and meet the criteria outlined above.
    3. Discounts on goods or services provided through contracts.
    4. In-kind gifts or donated services.
    5. Income from other endowed funds.
    6. Gifts that derive from the grantee institution itself. For instance, the sale of land or assets already owned by an organization would not be eligible unless the land or asset was donated within the Endowment Challenge Grant period and in response to the Endowment Challenge Grant.
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