Student Ticket Subsidy

Activities eligible for STS funding are those that qualify as at least one of the following Program Types listed on the Teaching Artist Roster :

• Arts Appreciation– Exposes students to a broad variety of cultural experiences, arts disciplines and artists and increases their appreciation for the art form. While students are primarily observers watching, listening, and/or reacting to professional artists performing, creating, and/or discussing their art forms, a hands-on component might be included.

• • Arts Appreciation Examples: exposure-based arts performances, exhibits, or field trips

• Arts Curriculum– Deepens student understanding and participation in a specific art form through lesson(s) based on national and/or state curriculum standards in the arts. Instruction is experiential and hands-on, with an emphasis on artistic skills, techniques, and vocabulary. Student assessment is included.
• Arts Integration– Provides interdisciplinary lessons that connect arts and non-arts national and/or state curriculum standards. Instruction is experiential and hands-on, with an emphasis on exploring a non-arts concept through the teaching of artistic skills, techniques, vocabulary, and/or social and historical context. Student assessment is included.

• • Arts Curriculum/Arts Integration Examples: artist residencies of more than one day that allow students hands-on participation in an art form with supplemental activities like a field trip, school-wide assembly, or performance/showcase

PLEASE NOTE: The Commission does not act as an agent on behalf of the Teaching Artist at any point in the granting process.

All STS applications must be submitted online through the Tennessee Arts Commission’s Online Grants System beginning on August 15, 2024 at 8am CT/9am ET.

• Applications must be received a minimum of thirty (30) days prior to the start of the proposed program activity.
• Artists must be selected from the Tennessee Arts Commission’s Teaching Artist Roster.
• Projects must occur between September 15, 2024 through May 23, 2025.
• A school may apply for a maximum of $3,000 in STS funds per school year.
• STS events or projects must occur during school hours.
• Virtual projects are ineligible to receive funding.
• A school should submit ONE application for all students and teachers participating in ONE event or project.
  • For additional events or projects, multiple applications WILL BE considered for funding up to the $3,000 maximum for all combined applications. Teachers from the same school should make every effort to coordinate the projects together.
  • Example: One application for Artist A, requesting $1,000 for artist fees for an in-school project. A second application to see Artist B, requesting $2,000 for tickets and transportation fees for a field trip. Two applications = $3,000 maximum from a school.
• An event or project with multiple dates is considered ONE event/project if the SAME artist or arts group is used over the course of multiple dates.
  • Projects with multiple days do NOT have to be scheduled over consecutive days. Applicants should indicate estimated project beginning and end dates in the STS Application and actual project beginning and end dates in the STS Evaluation.
• A school should only manage one school applicant profile in the Online Grants System; however, multiple individuals at the school are allowed to register for their own login and password to manage grant applications for the school.
• No later than thirty (30) days after the completion of the STS activity, or by June 1, 2024, whichever comes first, the organizing teacher must complete the STS Evaluation in the Online Grants System. Failure to complete the Evaluation may result in the school not receiving the STS grant funds. 
• All changes to program activity or questions must be communicated by the school via email to Julia Stark at Julia.stark@tn.gov 

PLEASE NOTE: The maximum amount of compensation STS artists may receive in any fiscal year from all STS activities is $16,000 for individual artists or $30,000 for arts groups. In the event a school has selected an artist or arts group that has reached the maximum amount, schools will be given the opportunity to select an alternate artist or arts group from the Teaching Artist Roster.

Follow these steps to locate and select approved artists:

1. Approved artists may be found on the Commission’s Teaching Artist Roster
2. Under Program Type, select Arts Appreciation, Arts Curriculum, and/or Arts Integration depending upon the program type(s) you would like to carry out. Use the remaining boxes to narrow your search by Artistic Discipline, Travel Regions, and Populations/Areas of Interest. As many artists work statewide, teachers may want to use broad search criteria. Click the “Search” button.
3. Click on the name of an artist/arts group to view that profile and sample programs. While each sample program will only include one of the Arts Appreciation, Arts Curriculum, or Arts Integration indicators, the artist/arts group may be able to offer a multi-faceted program for your school that incorporates more than one Program Type.
4. Contact the artist/arts group to arrange the activity.

The online grant application will become available at 8:00 am CT on August 15, 2024. Below is a list of information that schools will need to complete the application. Applicants are strongly encouraged to register and complete the Organization and People Profiles ahead of time so that when the application becomes available, it can be completed in a short amount of time. Please use the Application Draft Worksheet to gather all required information necessary to complete your application online.

First-time grant applicants, please read the following carefully:

Register in Online Grants System

A school representative planning to apply for the STS grant MUST register first if they are not already in the Online Grants System.

Once you have submitted your registration, you will receive an email from Lee Baird, Grants Analyst, which will contain your username and information on how to retrieve your password. For information on how to register, click here. For issues in registering, contact Mike Chambers at 615-532-9800 or mike.chambers@tn.gov.

Complete Your Organization Profile 

NOTE: Before you apply for the STS grant, it is essential that you complete your Organization and People profiles. Completed Organizations and People profiles will pre-populate in grant applications which will make the process for applying for STS quicker! Completing your Organizations and People profiles can be done at any time of the year.

How to complete your Organization Profile: 

1. Log into the Online Grants System
2. Click the “Organizations” tab on the left-side navigation
3. Select your Organization Profile from the list view that displays on the right when you click the Organizations tab
4. Click the “Edit” button
5. Make updates to your Organization Profile
6. Click the “Save” button

IMPORTANT: As a public school, you only have to complete information in the Organization profile that is listed below. 

Contact Details

• Legal Name (This is the name of the school not school district.)
• Is your organization a Public School that serves any grades between PK-12?
• Street Address
• City
• TN County
• Country
• State
• 9-digit Zip (If you do not know your 9-digit zip code, contact your local post office or obtain it from zip4.usps.com.)

• Organization Phone

School Information

• Principal Name
• Principal Email
• Principal Phone
• School District
• Superintendent Email
• School Bookkeeper Name
• School Bookkeeper Email

Organization Information

• Tax-Exempt ID # (EIN)
• Unique Entity ID

Fiscal Year End Date

• Month
• Day

Accessibility Coordinator Information

• Name
• Title
• Email

MAILING ADDRESS FOR PAYMENTS – Must match W9 form on file with State of TN

• Is your mailing address the same as your street address?

The following sections are not required by schools to fill out, you can leave them blank: Policy Statements, Mission Statement, Underserved Statement, Arts Advocacy Statement, Specialty License Promotional Activities, Board Information.

Additionally, schools are not required to fill out Title XI information unless contacted.

How to complete your People Profile:

1. If you’re not already logged in, log into the Online Grants System.
2. Click the “People” tab on the left-side navigation
3. Select your People Profile from the list view that displays on the right when you click the People tab
4. Click the “Edit” button
5. Make updates to your People Profile
6. Click the “Save” button

IMPORTANT: As a public school, you only have to complete information in the People profile that is listed below. 

People Profile

• First Name
• Last Name
• Email
• Work Phone
• Work Phone Extension

Information

• I am (may be) applying for funding as an individual (in the future)

Choose from the drop-down list

• I identify my race/ethnicity primarily with the following population

Choose from the drop-down list

Personal Contact Information

• Street Address
• City
• TN County
• County
• State
• 9-digit Zip (If you do not know your 9-digit zip code, contact your local post office or obtain it from zip4.usps.com.)
• Mobile Phone

Is your mailing address the same as your street address?

All STS application questions and required information for the STS grant application cycle are in the STS-Application-Draft-Worksheet for you to download and have all the required information to successfully submit your application on time.

NOTE: This is not the application. Applications will only be accepted through the Online Grants System starting August 15th. Applications not submitted in the Online Grants System will not be considered for funding.

ORGANIZATION & CONTACT INFORMATION

As part of the application submission process, you should have completed your Organization Profile as well as your People Profile. Review the Organization and Contact Information to ensure that it is complete and correct. If any information is incorrect, please modify your Organization and People Profiles. See above.

When the grant application is open, copy and paste the information from the STS-Application-Draft-Worksheet into the Online Grants System.

Save your work in the online portal frequently.

The primary signatory is the person who has the legal authority to bind the applicant or applicant organization to this grant application. If the name of your Primary Signatory is not showing in the dropdown box, click “Add New” and fill in the Title, First Name, Last Name, and Email, at a minimum. Click Save. Individual or Project Director for School must certify application:

• Enter Name and Title (if applicable)
• Click *I certify
• Save
• Submit

Remember to click the Save button before navigating away–the form will not auto-save.

Submit STS application on or after August 15, 2024. 

*Verify that the status changes from DRAFT APPLICATION to SUBMITTED APPLICATION.

NOTE: Once submitted, the application will move from the Draft Applications to Submitted Applications, if it is still in Draft Applications then the application was not submitted. Please verify that you clicked the Submit button properly and the application was received by checking the Submitted Applications tab in your Online Grants Account. All applications must be submitted to the Online Grants System.

**Please save the Application ID (####-#####) of your STS Grant Number. ALL communications with Commission staff should include this number as a point of reference. 

• When an organizing teacher is notified that their STS application has been awarded funding, they should notify the artist/arts group immediately. Then, notify the school accountant to expect that a check will be mailed to the address indicated in the W9 form after proper submission of the STS Evaluation in the Online Grants System. The Tennessee Arts Commission will make payment directly to the school approximately thirty (30) days after the STS Evaluation has been properly completed and submitted in the Online Grants System.
• The maximum amount of compensation STS artists may receive in any fiscal year from all STS activities is $16,000 for individual artists or $30,000 for arts groups. In the event a school has selected an artist or arts group that has reached the maximum amount, schools will be given the opportunity to select an alternate artist or arts group from the Teaching Artist Roster.
• While the school is required to contact the artist or arts group to notify of funding approval or denial, the Tennessee Arts Commission will also email each artist/arts group a list of schools that are awarded and denied funding to work with that artist/arts group during each round of funding.
• If awarded STS funds, the school is responsible for paying the artist or arts organization the agreed upon fee that is associated with the Reservation/Confirmation Number.
• Grant funds cannot be used to cover administration fees for schools. The full grant award must be applied toward the STS activity. Organizing teachers are responsible for maintaining communication with artists and school bookkeepers.
• Artists and arts groups presenting STS-funded activities must provide student preparatory materials to teachers at least ten days prior to the event.

• The organizing teacher must reserve tickets or book the arts event with the chosen artist or arts organizations. The teacher will note the Reservation/Confirmation Number provided by the artist or arts organization in the STS Application.
• It is the responsibility of the school and the artist/arts group to work out the details of the project or event funding through Student Ticket Subsidy. The school must notify the Commission of all changes to program activity via email to Julia Stark at julia.stark@tn.gov.
• If a funded event is canceled due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances, the organizing teacher or school principal MUST notify the Tennessee Arts Commission within ten (10) working days from the date of cancellation to change the date, reschedule, or cancel the event. Every effort should be made to reschedule the project during the current school year.
• If a grant is canceled, grant funds cannot transfer to the next school year.

ARTIST MUST SEND INVOICE TO SCHOOL: Artists and arts groups will bill the school using this STUDENT-TICKET-SUBSIDY-ARTIST-INVOICE-FORM on or following the date of the event.

• It is suggested that artists and arts groups not charge admission for teachers, principals, parent chaperones, and other school staff accompanying students (maximum of one free chaperone per ten students).

COMPLETE REPORT WITHIN THIRTY (30) DAYS: The STS Evaluation can be found in the Reports Due section in the Online Grants System under the same account that was used to create the awarded STS application and must be received in completion within thirty (30) days after the project has taken place or by June 1, whichever comes first.

The STS Evaluation must include:

• actual date(s) the project occurred
• actual amount(s) of ticket fees and/or travel funds charged by the artist/arts group and/or transportation provider
• supporting documentation showing actual charges which includes an invoice with the correct dates of the program activity from the artist/arts group and/or a receipt from the transportation provider. The artist should use this STUDENT-TICKET-SUBSIDY-ARTIST-INVOICE-FORM. 

A school awarded a Student Ticket Subsidy (STS) grant is required to submit the STS Evaluation before receiving the grant funds. THEN:

1. Payment will be made in the form of a check by the Tennessee Arts Commission directly to the school and will be sent to the mailing address provided in the STS Application and STS Evaluation. Checks will not be made to the teaching artist.
2. You will be asked to verify the correct mailing address in your award letter by submitting this version of the W9 form.

No grant funds will be disbursed until an acceptable STS Evaluation is received through the Online Grants System. Failure to complete the STS Evaluation by June 1 may result in the school not receiving the STS grant funds. (See Step #9)

• If the final amount for the artist or arts organization is less than what was awarded in the application, the school should request in the STS Evaluation the lesser amount charged as indicated in the artist’s or arts group’s invoice.
• If a grant is canceled, grant funds cannot transfer to the next school year.
• Artists and arts groups should use this STUDENT-TICKET-SUBSIDY-ARTIST-INVOICE-FORM to bill the schools for the STS project on or following the date of the event.

The STS Evaluation can be found in the Reports Due section in the Online Grants System under the same account that was used to create the awarded STS application and must be received in completion within 30 days after the project has taken place or by June 1, whichever comes first.

No grant funds will be disbursed until an acceptable STS Evaluation is received through the Online Grants System. Failure to complete the STS Evaluation by June 1 may result in the school not receiving the STS grant funds.