Who is eligible to apply?
How do I register?
What do I have to submit for registration?
When do I submit a full application to NYSCA?
Questions about projects, eligibility, etc.

Who is Eligible to Apply?

The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) awards grants up to $25,000 for artists who are residents of New York State in production on a Film, Media, New Technology, or Video project. Fiction, experimental, animation, and documentary projects are all eligible to apply. Because NYSCA cannot fund individual artists directly, all applications to the Individual Artists program must be submitted through a fiscal sponsor (that’s where WMM comes in). Previously funded artists cannot apply in consecutive years. Artists who have received previous support for a phase of production must complete that phase before re-applying.
As of last year, NYSCA is restricting its funding of documentaries. Documentary filmmakers can only apply if their project is in post-production, and must be able to provide a 15-minute work sample.

Read NYSCA’s Individual Artists guidelines: http://www.nysca.org/public/guidelines/individual_artists/index.htm

You DO NOT need to be affiliated with WMM in order to apply to NYSCA through us. If you are eligible for a NYSCA grant, you can apply through WMM! As this is a service WMM provides to NYSCA, all New York filmmakers can apply through us.

Please note that NYSCA has moved up its deadlines for 2010.
 
All intended applicants must register their intent to apply in the WMM Office between January 6 and January 20, 2010. You must sign up for a timeslot in order to do so. This is our deadline for registering your request for funding, which will then be submitted to NYSCA via their website.

The registration step has 20 very simple questions, and is meant to just let NYSCA know that you will be applying later in the spring.

Your complete application (step two of the application process) must be completed online by April 12, 2010. However, if you do not register your "intent" to apply, NYSCA will not allow you to submit a full application at the later date. To sign up for a WMM timeslot, read through the instructions below.

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How do I Register?

The application process to NYSCA involves two steps.

Step One: Register your intent to apply with WMM by following this link and selecting a time slot. You (or someone who can come to the office in your stead) will register your project into the NYSCA website from our office. Please only select a timeslot if you are serious about registering, as timeslots are limited. NYSCA will auto-generate and email you a username and password (make sure you add NYSCA to your safe sender list). You will then have access to your own online application. (See “What do I have to submit for registration?” below)

*If you are a WMM fiscally sponsored filmmaker and absolutely cannot make these dates/times work, please contact Program staff.

Step Two: Submit your online application via your personal computer and postmark supplemental materials by April 12, 2010.



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Instructions
Please read the following very carefully! 

• Answer all the questions at home BEFORE coming to the office to save yourself time-DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING BLANK. We recommend printing them out to bring, or emailing them to yourself to copy-paste when you come. (Do not bring a flash drive.)
• See SAMPLE email for reference

1. Project Title: name of your project – 34 characters MAXIMUM length. (including spaces)

2. Project Description: your project description--300 characters MAXIMUM LENGTH, INCLUDING spaces and punctuation. DO NOT submit more than 300 characters. The NYSCA website will reject it and you will waste time editing it down at the office.

3. Project Total Cash Expenses: total amount, NOT an itemized budget. You will need to supply an itemized budget when you do your final application. Remember: NYSCA will not fund more than 50% of your budget. Your budget should be at least $50,000.

4. NYSCA Grant Request: MAXIMUM amount is $25,000

5. Arts Discipline: Pick ONLY ONE:
* Media-Audio, Radio, Sound Art
* Media-Film
* Media-Technology/Experimental
* Media-Video

6. Project Race: this is specific to you, or if the project presents subjects/characters/issues particular to a race or ethnicity, Pick ONLY ONE:
* No single group
* American-Indian/Alaska Native
* Asian
* Black/African-American
* Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
* Hispanic/Latino
* White, not Hispanic

You MUST complete the following statistics; they don’t necessarily correlate to film projects, but they are a necessary part of NYSCA’s required elements. Answer in numerals, not words. (100, not a hundred.)

7. Numbers of Students Benefiting: If your film is appropriate for educational distribution or audiences, ballpark figure is fine, otherwise put “0”.

8. Numbers of Teachers Benefiting: If your film is appropriate for educational distribution or audiences, ballpark figure is fine, otherwise put “0”.

9. Numbers of Artists Benefiting: Those working on your project, as crew and/or consultants.

10. Numbers of Youth Benefiting: If appropriate, otherwise, put “0".

11. Numbers of Others Benefiting: If appropriate, otherwise, put “0”.

12. Project Descriptors: If your film’s subject is appropriate for or about the following, list all that applies.
* Youth at Risk
* International
* None

13. Applicant First Name, Last Name

14. Applicant Address

15. Applicant City

16. Applicant Zip code

17. Applicant phone

18. Applicant fax: if not applicable, leave blank

19. Contact Email

20. Individual artist category: PICK ONE
* Animation – Post Production
* Animation – Pre Production
* Animation – Production
* Art/Experimental – Post Production
* Art /Experimental – Pre Production
* Art/Experimental – Production
* Audio Art/Installation – Post Production
* Audio Art/Installation – Pre Production
* Audio Art/Installation – Production
* Documentary – Post Production
* Installation/Performance – Post Production
* Installation/Performance – Pre Production
* Installation/Performance – Production
* Interactive/Digital Technology – Post Production
* Interactive/Digital Technology – Pre Production
* Interactive/Digital Technology – Production
* Narrative – Post Production
* Narrative – Pre Production
* Narrative – Production
* Radio – Post Production
* Radio – Pre Production
* Radio – Production

Full project description, sample tape and resumes are not submitted at this time.

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After you have completed your registration at the WMM office by the January 20 deadline, you will have to submit your full application by April 12, 2010. When you have registered your project for Intent To Apply, NYSCA will auto generate a username and password and email that to the email address you provided in the form. Thereafter you are responsible for submitting your own application by the April 12 deadline date.

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