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In forming grant advisory panels, the Tennessee Arts Commission seeks to identify and eliminate any potential conflicts of interest. We are aware that some may still exist. Therefore, if you are serving as a panelist for any of the Commission’s grant panels, we ask that you declare any conflict of interest with any applicant organization that you are reviewing. Conflicts include you or anyone in your household serving as a board member or employee of an applicant organization, or receiving funds from any proposed project or activity. Please contact staff if you have any questions about conflicts of interest. If a conflict of interest exists with a particular application, it will be removed from your work list and during the advisory panel meeting you will be excused from the panel room while that application is adjudicated. If you discover a conflict of interest, a potential conflict of interest, or have a question while reviewing an application contact your program officer.
What the Tennessee Arts Commission can fund:
• Projects that involve and promote Tennessee artists
• Visiting artists conducting master classes
• Specific aspects of workshops, festivals, and conferences
• Public performances, productions, and exhibitions produced by the applicant
• Exhibitions of art by Tennessee artists and artists from outside Tennessee
• Promotion, publicity, and newsletters
• Administrative and artistic staff support
• Consultancies and residencies for administrative and artistic activities
Exceptions exist. Please view individual grant guidelines for more information.
What the Tennessee Arts Commission cannot fund:
• Capital improvements (buildings or construction)
• Programs not open to the general public
• “Seed money”
• Elimination of an accumulated deficit
• In-school, curriculum-based projects except under Arts Education
• Applications for colleges or universities that do not involve community planning and implementation
• Applications to begin, match, add to, or complete any type of endowment campaign or program
Exceptions exist. Please view individual grant guidelines for more information.
Accessibility
• All Commission programs, services, and facilities are fully accessible to all Tennesseans
• No person on the grounds of race, color, national origin, disability, age, religion or sex shall be excluded from, participation in, or be denied benefits of, or otherwise be subject to discrimination of services, programs, and employment provided by the Tennessee Arts Commission and its contracting agencies
Things to make your participation easier and smoother
• Panel reviews typically begin in the morning.
• Base ratings on value, quality, and excellence – not on the organization’s perceived need for the money
• Panel meetings are open to the public. Applicants are notified of date, time, and place
• Please contact us during the process if we may be of assistance
General Evaluation Criteria
It is important to read the entire grant, but much of the information contained in the narrative section will help you when evaluating how effectively the applicant has met the evaluation criteria. Below are some helpful tips on where to locate the information you are looking for within each application. Again, the overall impression that the entire application gives you is important, but you may find most of the answers in the narrative section of the application.
When evaluating the following criteria, please consult the scoring rubric. Note that evaluation criteria may vary by grant program. Please consult the grant guidelines for more information.
Thank you for serving as a panelist and don’t hesitate to call the program director associated with your panel meeting if you have any questions.
