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2020 CATS Manifesto
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C.A.T.S.

MANIFESTO

2020


Table of contents

What is CATS?

CATS Member Expectations

CATS Ignition Roles

Pussies Galore - Secretary(cats@apogaea.com)

Grant Meow (grants@apogaea.com)

Disbursements Meow (grants@apogaea.com)

CATS Liaison to the Board of Directors (chel.C@apogaea.com)

CATS Liaison to Placement, Registration, WWWW, DPW, and BAMF Meow (cats@apogaea.com)

Communication Meow (art@apogaea.com)

Web Meow

Meowtreach (art@apogaea.com)

Transparency Meow (art@apogaea.com)

CATS Sparks Roles (Kittens)

Art Fair Kitten

Granted Art Signs Kitten

EduCATion Kitten

Art of Apo Fundraising Kitten

Art Tour Kitten/Art Guide

Feline-tographer/ Web Support Kitten

Creative Grants

Grant Preparation & Planning (July - September)

Grant Guidelines

Grant Adjudication (October-April)

Conflicts of Interest

Rubric and scoring

Objective Scoring and Subjective Scoring

How are grants awarded?

Questions --- Remember: we get a lot of applications.  Please be as concise as possible.

1. Describe your idea/project (subjective)

2. Describe your Project’s Logistical and Placement Requirements (objective)

3. Safety (objective)

4. Project Team (subjective and objective)

5. Budget / Value (subjective and objective)

Question and answer round and scoring

Final selection

Effigy / Temple Voting Process and Non-Effigy or Temple Grant Voting Process

Cash for Gas  voting process

Emergency online voting process

Grant Disbursements

Effigy and Temple Grants

Grant Contracts & Payments

Grant Post-Payment Follow up

On-site Interactions

Post-event

What is CATS?

  1. Creative Art Team Support (CATS) is a diverse cross-section of the Apogaea population dedicated to maintaining a community that cultivates interest in and pursuit of art, music, and artistic expression
  1. Membership in CATS is open to all participants in the Apogaea community
  1. All members of CATS are active members of Apogaea, Inc., aka Ignition (*Kittens are Sparks)

CATS Member Expectations

All members of CATS are subject to the following agreements and terms:

 

CATS agree to:

CATS must agree to the following terms:

CATS agree to communicate by:

CATS Ignition Roles

All CATS roles are Ignition roles.  CATS will present the list of members for ratification in time for ratification at the October board meeting.

Meeting Meow - Secretary(cats@apogaea.com)

Grant Meow (grants@apogaea.com)

Disbursements Meow (grants@apogaea.com)

CATS Liaison to the Board of Directors (chel.C@apogaea.com)

CATS Liaison to Placement, Registration, WWWW, DPW, and BAMF Meow (cats@apogaea.com)

Communication Meow (art@apogaea.com)

Web Meow (cats@apogaea.com)

Meowtreach (art@apogaea.com)

Transparency Meow (art@apogaea.com)

CATS Sparks Roles (Kitten)

Kittens (Sparks) roles are a non grant voting role. Kittens attend meetings as able or needed, but are not required to attend all of them. Typically new members of the committee start their term as kittens to learn how CATS functions before applying for an Ignition CATS role the following years.

Art Fair Kitten

EduCATion Kitten

Art of Apo Fundraising Kitten

Art Tour Kitten/Art Guide

Granted Art Signs Kitten

Feline-tographer/ Web Support Kitten

Creative Grants

Grant Preparation & Planning (July - September)

  1. Determine the grant budget for the upcoming year
  1. Board of Directors votes to allocate a lump sum of grant funds each year
  1. Historically this been ~30% of the previous year’s ticket revenue (complete Grant History http://goo.gl/s0Twhp), but has changed to a recommended budget of 25% of the previous year’s ticket sales to allow more flex in other departments’ budgets.
  1. This typically happens in September, submitted in October to the Board and approved by November for the first round to open in December.
  1. Determine the schedule and grant rounds, review window, scoring, judging meetings, Board of Directors approval, disbursements, milestones, check ins, define the conflict of interest
  1. Convene the existing CATS and Kittens in Sept/Oct to discuss and have everything finalized by Oct/Nov to announce the opportunities in December.
  2. CATS meets to discuss goals for the upcoming grant cycle
  1. Recruit any new CATS/Kittens to maintain the litter
  1. Accept applications starting in post-event in June/July for CATS and as needed for Kittens
  2. New members ratified by Board of Directors in October along with returning CATS
  3. CATS application process
  1. Applicants must demonstrate the ability to:
  1. Communicate via email
  2. Communicate via phone
  3. Use Google Documents, Spreadsheets, and Forms
  4. Respond to emails in a timely fashion
  1. CATS collectively select new CATS and Kittens. New applicants will frequently start in a Kitten role their first year with CATS to gain additional experience before becoming a voting CATS member.
  1. When the rounds are determined, the Grant Meow and Communication Meow post the requirements and schedule on the website by emailing telemetry@apogaea.com
  1. This should happen in Nov/Dec, with additional details and reminder announcements to follow every 2-4 weeks through the grant cycles.
  1. Ask CATS and Apogaea community to promote the opportunity on social media and by telling their friends.  Ideas for promotion include, but aren’t limited to
  1. Posting a link to the announcement on the Apogaea website in your Facebook news feed
  2. Emailing the application link to an artist
  3. Posting announcements on other regional’s Facebook pages
  4. Local advertising to artists and artist communities

Grant Guidelines

  1. Everyone is eligible to receive an Apogaea grant EXCEPT individuals or individuals belonging to these groups within Apogaea, Inc.:
  1. Conflicts of Interest
  1. Grants funds CAN NOT BE USED for any of the following items:

  1. CATS primarily funds ART. Grant funds CAN be used for anything that is NOT specifically prohibited by the list above.  This includes, but is not limited to the following types of items:

  1. High dollar grants (those above $4,000 in the BIG MONEY grant round) may be asked to commit to showing their project at Apogaea for more than one year, as these levels of grants are a greater investment.

  1. Requests for funding for propane should be made during the Cash for Gas round
  1. All grant requests must be submitted through the Grant Robot within the published dates for each grant round. Grant requests that fall outside of the grant rounds will not be considered for funding.

Grant Adjudication (January-April)

Conflicts of Interest

CATS are required to abstain from discussing, scoring, and voting on any applications with which they have a conflict of interest.

Rubric and scoring

It is difficult to assign a score to something as personal as art.  To address this, grants are scored in two phases: objective scoring and subjective scoring.  Here’s what that means:

Objective Scoring

This phase happens first to ensure that applications meet the minimum requirements for grants.  When awarding grants, CATS asks applicants to provide specific information on their application.  This begins with an automatic review by the Grant Robot and ends with CATS checking off application requirements from a list provided to the applicant and CATS to ensure the answers provided are realistic and comprehensive.  If your application is missing information, your application will not progress to the next round, Subjective Scoring.

Each application must meet the following OBJECTIVE requirements:

If your project includes fire:

If your project is being considered for the Effigy or Temple:

Subjective Scoring

“Art is subjective.”  We hear this phrase quite a bit. While the statement about subjectivity is true, what does it actually mean?  One definition of art is “the expression or application of creative skill and imagination, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.”  This means that an individual’s reaction to something is based on and influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.  

The important word in that last sentence is “personal,” because any type of art speaks to each of us in very different ways – even multiple people who might appreciate the exact same piece of work. For example, a group of individuals standing in front of a painting may all agree that they appreciate the artwork. But each one of them will appreciate the piece in different ways and for different reasons – no matter how subtle or broad those differences are – because each of them has had different life experiences that have brought them to that place and point in time.  Like precious little snowflakes, no two people are exactly alike – even identical twins will still have varying subjective opinions and thoughts on things.

This score can be based on fact, but it is one person's interpretation of that fact. In this way, subjective information is also analytical.  Bear in mind that there is usually another equally valid viewpoint that can be supported with other sources.

Each application receives a score based on the following SUBJECTIVE criteria:

How are grants awarded?

First, the application is judged OBJECTIVELY to ensure the application has all of the information required.  Any application that is missing or incomplete information will result in a disqualification.  All applications meeting the OBJECTIVE requirements will then be discussed by CATS at an in-person meeting.  

Next, CATS score the application SUBJECTIVELY.  This subjective score is used to drive discussion and determine the order of nominations.  If the application receives a majority vote, the application will be recommended to the Board of Directors for funding.  Nominations continue until funds for the round are depleted.

Questions in the grant application

  1. Describe your idea/project (subjective)

This is your opportunity to tell us about your project in general terms.  What is the big picture? What is your inspiration for creating this? What do you want to accomplish and why? We have WAY more requests for money than we have money to give out.  Help us understand what sets your project apart from the other applications we receive, and show us you have put thought into what challenges you may encounter.  CATS will score your response using the following criteria, make sure to address all of these points in your answer.

2. Describe your Project’s Logistical and Placement Requirements (objective)

Bringing a project to an event like Apogaea can be difficult.  A great idea isn't worth much if you aren't able to get it installed before the event is over.  This is your opportunity to tell us how you plan on building, transporting, installing, and keeping your project operational at the event.  If your project has any unique requirements, like needing specific placement, heavy machinery, etc., let us know that too.  CATS will score your response using the following criteria, make sure to address all of these points in your answer.

3. Safety (objective)

Apogaea can not fund any project that, in the opinion of CATS or Apogaea Board of Directors, presents a safety risk to participants. Any project with fire or flame effects, including the Effigy and Temple, should read the BAMF Fire Art Guidelines. Safety is an important part of your application.  Apogaea will ultimately not fund anything that is deemed unsafe.  It is important to outline how your project will be safe by describing its construction and any relevant safety features.  CATS will score your response using the following criteria, make sure to address all of these points in your answer.

     

      If your project includes fire:

      If your project is being considered for the Effigy or Temple:

4. Project Team (subjective and objective)

Who is responsible for creating this project? Whether this will be a piece created and executed by one individual, or by a team of dozens, tell us about who is directly involved, their area of expertise, and what they will be doing specifically. We’d also love to hear about other projects you’ve successfully completed or see pictures of past work.  Demonstrating that you can get your project installed and functional at the event is important to us. CATS will score your response using the following criteria, make sure to address all of these points in your answer.

5. Budget / Value (subjective and objective)

A budget is a requirement for all applications.  It is important for us to know that you have accounted for all of the funds your project requires.  We encourage projects to seek additional sources of funding such as fundraising, individual contributions, etc. to help offset the total cost of a project.  There is a separate grant round (Cash for Gas) for propane. CATS will score your response using the following criteria, make sure to address all of these points in your answer.

Question and answer round and scoring

After the grant application closes, CATs members will have roughly 2 weeks to ask questions of the applicants. CATS members will each agree to a certain area of specialty for questions, and will ensure they specifically are reviewing all applications with that area of questions in mind to ask additional details. CATS Members may also ask questions about any topic, but by having a specific area of expertise this allows us to make sure each application has provided all necessary information for appropriate consideration and scoring. See Question Topics Groups for how this was divided in the past year, as an example.

Final selection

During a scheduled meeting, the ranked applications are discussed, nominated, voted on, and a grant amount is assigned.

Effigy / Temple Voting Process

  1. CATS begins the process by making a motion to nominate the highest scoring application for the full amount of funding: “I move that we award the Effigy/Temple to XXX for the full amount requested, $XXXX”

2. The initial motion should be for the full amount of funding requested by the artist on the application

  1. The motion must be seconded
  2. Discuss the pros and cons of the motion - discussion should be about the motion only
  3. Allow for amendments to the motion allowing for things like alternate funding amounts or any other application specific terms (e.g.  “I move that we change the funding amount to $XXX”)
  1. Amendments must be seconded
  2. Discussion is restricted to the pros and cons of the amendment, and not to whether the main motion has merit
  3. Only one amendment to an amendment can be considered at any one time
  4. Requires a majority vote for adoption, even if the main motion requires a different vote for its adoption
  5. Votes on amendments do not need to be recorded
  6. An amendment to change the funding amount can only be made for an amount described by the applicant in their application
  1. Call for a majority roll call vote on the motion
  1. Votes (YES/NO/ABSTAIN) are recorded for each committee member present
  2. If the motion succeeds, we all just won and the application has been selected for funding
  3. If the motion fails, continue

3. CATS continues to vet applications by allowing any committee member to make one of the following motions until it passes by majority roll call vote:

  1. Motion to nominate the next highest scored application: “I move that we award XXX the full amount requested, $XXXX”
  2. Motion to nominate another project: “I move that we award XXX the full amount requested, $XXXX”
  3. Motion to forgo awarding a grant: “I move that we not award a Temple/Effigy grant”

Non-Effigy or Temple Grant Voting Process

  1. CATS begins the process by making a motion to nominate the highest scoring application for the full amount of funding: “I move that we award XXX for the full amount requested, $XXXX”
  1. The initial motion should be for the full amount of funding requested by the artist on the application
  2. The motion must be seconded
  3. Discuss the pros and cons of the motion - discussion should be about the motion only
  4. Allow for amendments to the motion allowing for things like alternate funding amounts or any other application specific terms (e.g.  “I move that we change the funding amount to $XXX”)
  1. Amendments must be seconded
  2. Discussion is restricted to the pros and cons of the amendment, and not to whether the main motion has merit
  3. Only one amendment to a motion can be considered at any one time
  4. Requires a majority vote for adoption, even if the main motion requires a different vote for its adoption
  5. Votes on amendments do not need to be recorded
  6. An amendment to change the funding amount can only be made for an amount described by the applicant in their application
  1. Call for a majority roll call vote on the motion
  1. Votes (YES/NO/ABSTAIN) are recorded for each committee member present
  2. If the motion succeeds, we all just won and the application has been selected for funding
  3. If the motion fails, continue

2. CATS continues to vet applications by allowing any committee member to make one of the following motions until it passes by majority roll call vote:

  1. Motion to nominate the next highest scored application: “I move that we award XXX the full amount requested, $XXXX”
  2. Motion to nominate another project: “I move that we award XXX the full amount requested, $XXXX”
  3. Motion to pass funding to the next round: “I move that we pass the remainder, $XXX, to next grant round”
  4. Motion to award a special circumstance grant: “I move that we award $XXX to XXX”
  5. Motion to return the grant funds: “I move that we return $XXX, to Apogaea.”

Cash for Gas voting process

  1. During scoring, CATS will vote to fund or not fund each application for propane using the scoring form
  1. CATS will prioritize funding for projects that were funded through other rounds.
  1. Funding will be allocated to projects with the most ‘Fund’ votes until no funds remain. 
  1. Propane requests should include the amount of propane needed
  1. If the end of the ‘Fund’ list is reached before the budget is exhausted, the remaining money will be allocated to the next year’s grant process.

Emergency online voting process

  1. This should only be used as a last resort.  It is a painful process.
  2. The initial motion should be emailed to cats@apogeaea.com.  Motions proposed through any other means, except during the course of a meeting, are out of order.
  3. Motions are considered in the order they are received by cats@apogeaea.com
  4. A notification is sent to Art Committee members stating the initial motion and calling for a second
  5. The initial motion must be seconded
  6. Once seconded, any proposed amendments to the initial motion must be emailed to cats@apogeaea.com.  Amendments proposed through any other mean are out of order.
  1. A voting form is created that clearly states the motion, any amendments, and the deadline
  2. Call for a vote by sending the vote form to CATS

Grant Disbursements

  1. Grant recipients might be asked to meet pre-determined project milestones and provide receipts before receiving additional grant funds if the grant amount is over $1,500.00
  2. The Grant Meow will work with the Disbursements Meow to add chosen grants to the Grant Spreadsheet

Required information

  1. Using the Apogaea Grant Contract, the Disbursement Meow will create the initial contracts using the information gathered from the application
  2. The Disbursement Meow will save the the contract in the application’s folder in Google Drive
  3. There is a one week review period during which the list of grants is presented to the Board of Directors for review.  If there are any issues, CATS should be informed by emailing the CATS Liaison to the Board of Directors the specific concerns before the review period ends.
  4. Send an email to all projects being recommended for funding which includes:

You have been recommended for funding, pending Board of Directors approval

From this point on the Disbursements Meow (name & email address) will be your point of contact.  Please email or call them with any questions or concerns that you might have with your contract or payment schedule

Once the CATS’ recommendation has been approved by the Board of Directors, you will receive another email with instructions for announcement of the award, tickets, placement etc.  Until this point, please don’t publicly announce your award.

Effigy and Temple Grants

  1. The Disbursements Meow acts as the liaison for the Effigy and Temple to facilitate contract discussions
  2. If the application doesn’t contain all of the required information, but was still selected to receive a grant, the artist will have a specific number of days to update their application before the offer expires.  Required information includes, but is not limited to:
  1. Burn plan
  2. Safety plan
  1. Once all required information has been entered into the application, the base contract is generated by the Disbursement Meow and the Board of Directors Art Liaison and artist are introduced to begin ownership negotiations to determine:
  1. Who owns the art?
  2. Who is responsible for post-event transportation if there is a burn ban?
  3. How much storage space is available for the art (Effigy/Temple separate)? (ask Apogaea Quartermaster)
  4. What dimensions does/must the art breakdown to for storage? (in application or ask the artist)
  1. Once negotiations and contract are final, the grant contract is updated with the specific terms agreed upon by the applicant and Board of Directors

Grant Contracts & Payments

  1. Once the Board Review is completed and grant recommendations are approved, Individual contracts are created by the Disbursements Meow.
  2. The Disbursements Meow emails the artist the contract and a link to the W-9 (for all awards over $600) and asks the artist to sign, complete, and return the signed contract and W-9 by emailing them to grants@apogaea.com
  1. Also in this email tell the artists to tell that the CATS recommendation for their funding has been approved by the Board of Directors.  
  2. Directions on how to request payments for milestones if applicable.  Something like “In order to get paid look at your contract which lists the milestones.  Send me photos to show that you’ve met that milestone and request the appropriate amount to be paid.”
  3. Information on tickets.  Something like “Each awarded project will be eligible for 2 reserved tickets to Apogaea.  If you need more than 2 please reply here (and only here) so that we can secure them for you.” Big Money, Temple, and Effigy projects are eligible for up to two ‘Sparks’ level tickets.
  4. We will work now to announce your award.  If you have any new photos or URLs (think Facebook group, Fundraising campaigns/events or online galleries) please send them now.  Once the announcement has gone out you can publicly talk about your Apogaea award.
  1. The artist is responsible for emailing the signed documents as scanned docs or photos of docs to grants@apogaea.com before the deadline listed in the contract.  The deadline is usually around 7-14 days after the contracts are emailed to the artists.  
  2. Upon receiving the artist’s signed contract and W-9 (if applicable), check that every line has been initialed, that the date and signature are present and that no edits have been made.  Save the signed documents in the application’s Google Drive folder.
  3. Enter the information into the Disbursements sheet of the Apogaea Creative Grants spreadsheet
  4. Once all contracts and W-9s are received from artists, send an email to the Treasurer and include Artist’s name, project name, total amount of award. At this point the Treasurer will enter the artist’s contact information into Quickbooks and schedule the payments.
  5. Disbursement Meow will then have a member of the Board of Directors countersign all of the grants contracts (this is usually done by the Board Member who is the contact person for CATS.
  6. Create a document for telemetry@apogaea.com to use to announce the awards.  Include:
  1. Summary of applications submitted and amount requested
  2. Summary of awards given and amount awarded
  3. Granted project title, description, artist name, links to project pages (FB or other), and images.
  1. Send an email to the Ticketing Lead with the name and email addresses for each granted project.  The Ticketing Lead will send emails to everyone with directions on how to purchase tickets including codes for reserved tickets.
  2. Follow up with all grants on milestones at the designated milestone time to ensure milestone is met and remaining funds can be disbursed.

Grant Post-Payment Follow up

  1. The liaison will continue to work with the funded artist through the construction phase and right up to the event to answer questions, give advice, and help find resources and support the artist whenever possible to ensure that the project is completed and at the event.  Liaison should also be able to connect the artist to the person who can answer a question that they themselves cannot.  In particular, make sure artists are connected with the following departments/deadlines as needed.
  2. Tickets - CATS should decide how many reserved tickets each project will receive as part of their grant award.  Usually the larger projects will require more tickets, but not always.  Each project will be notified of the number of reserved tickets they have and the opportunity to request more if they need them.  Big Money, Temple, and Effigy projects are eligible for up to two ‘Sparks’ level tickets. This year, ticketing held 100 tickets for granted artists at the request of the CATS and any/all unclaimed tickets went into the “last chance” sale. Typically projects are offered up to 2 tickets as needed unless they request more.
  3. Placement and Registration - Ensure all artists are told where to register their art piece and make placement requests. Coordinate with Placement lead to send them a list of all granted projects and basic description to help in facilitating and make sure all projects are registered and placed.
  4. WWWW Listing and Events. Make sure that the original description of all granted art is included in the WWWW as granted art. This includes: Name of Art, Artist Name, and Description. This can be the same as the original announcement of grant winners, but allow the artist to make changes now if necessary.
  1. Also remind artists to submit and register any specific events they will be hosting with the WWWW lead. Facilitate as necessary.
  2. Invite artists to be present for the Art Tour during the event.
  1. Work Weekend and Early Entry - tell artists where to register for Work Weekend and Early Entry. All granted artists are eligible to receive these if needed. Communicate with DPW who is on the granted artist list and pre-approved for this.  
  2. Connect artists with DPW to ensure that artists who received propane grants receive their propane on site during the event.
  3. BAMF/ Fire - Ensure any artists using fire components are aware of the safety rules in place. Connect them with the BAMF department to ensure they submit appropriate documentation and on site approval. Communicate a list of all planned fire projects and contact information to the BAMF department as well so they have a list of all planned granted projects.

On-site Interactions

  1. Traditionally, the CATS do a compulsory walk-about to see the granted projects in action.  The purpose of the walk is for fun and for the CATS to see projects in action and talk to the teams about their work.  This is often overlapped with the Art Tour.
  2. Projects that are not present and fully functioning at the event are subject to legal action at the discretion of the CATS and Board of Directors.
  3. CATS may also capture additional photographs, video, artist interviews or statements about how their projects are being received by the community. 
  4. Artists are also required to document at least one photograph of their art at the event as part of their grant contract
  5. Projects may be subject to other special requirements made by the county, local authorities, the landowner, and Apogaea.  This may include but is not limited to fire bans, large sound authorization, and mutant vehicle permits.

Post-event

  1. Grantees will be required to provide photographs of their project at Apogaea before the deadline listed in their contract.  
  2. CATS gets artist feedback and files transparency report.
  3. Celebrate a job well done! Rest and begin thinking about next year :-)

Public link to this doc for reference: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTD6V0Em6VY2cxuor3HJyUMRTzgZNL3359jnmK7yG3POGly8PipNjmynJzW4tXKT8yTx7wI5RfKzlyr/pub