Excellence:

• Mission statement clearly describes the organization and program/activities fully support the mission.
• Goals and objectives focus on relevant entrepreneurial training to help minority artists develop essential business and marketing skills.
• Consider adding complimentary assistance/arts training and how to curate, display, and talk about art at a professional-level to improve participants’ confidence and career opportunities. 
• The rotating art gallery and the entrepreneurial center (EC) are commendable and align with the mission and help foster the creation and growth of small business owners in Broward County
• The proposed activities and description of partnerships are reasonable but would benefit from a more thorough explanation/delineation
• More attention to assessment and how activities would be measured would be helpful (e.g., consider including a rubric with qualitative criteria and measures and stretch targets)
• Additional supporting documents would further reinforce claims

Impact:

• Worthy cultural service to community
• The marketing and promotion plan is appropriate and effective
• Activities can be achieved in grant cycle and outcomes are measurable
• Total number of individuals this proposal would benefit seems low (and limited to those directly affected). A larger ROI would be plausible, and could be claimed, if the aggregate impact on families, neighborhoods, and the ability of these arts events to further stimulate cultural and economic outcomes were considered/calculated.

• Consider emphasizing and/or expanding your organizations contributions creative economy by citing the American’s for the Arts, Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 report which provides free statistical data, testimonials, case studies and affiliated economic prosperity calculator that is compelling.

Management:

• Very confident in ULBC’s fiscal stability and the ability and drive of the organization to carry out the remainder of the project as described in the proposal.

Accessibility:

• Appears to fully satisfy accessibility criteria (504 Self Eval, compliance staff person, etc.)

I found very limited detail on the specifics of the program, or evidence of prior accomplishment, to support a determination on the quality.

I would have liked to see any of the following: artist and/or instructor bios, lesson plans, examples of PR materials, details on the partnership with ArtServe (mentioned only in passing with no background or context); images of past exhibitions and receptions; description of curatorial process or goals, etc.

Another suggestion: if indeed the artistic component is largely provided by ArtServe, perhaps they could help provide specifics for future proposals.

Budget is high for limited activity: $16,000 for two instructors? $5,000 for two receptions?

No attachments or website that might have addressed the concerns stated above. 

There's no doubt in my mind that artists of color are generally under resourced, so I genuinely would have liked to support a recommendation for funding, but this proposal didn't reassure me that the organizers had thought things through.

Excellence: Nation's largest and oldest direct service civil rights organization. Would be strengthen by clearer breakdown of goals and the objectives that feed back into them.

Impact: Is there a goal you have in mind for economic impact?

Management: Culture of diligence. Add economic boost of conference to impact section. Cash reserves, debts, long term liabilities? Wish you would have addressed significant decrease to marketing budget as well as increase to rent.

Accessibility: ADA accessible. Any future plans to address other physical or intellectual disabilities?