The California Nonprofit Performing Arts Grant Program is funded by the State of California and
administered by the California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA). Eligibility criteria applies.

PLEASE NOTE: Lendistry is the sole entity designated as the Intermediary of the California Nonprofit Performing Arts Grant Program (the “Program”). This site (canonprofitperformingarts.com) and the other websites available on or through this site (the “Designated Sites”) are the only approved websites designated for the administration of the Program. Any other website purporting to administer or otherwise act as an Intermediary in connection with the Program may be fraudulent. As such, you should exercise extreme caution and avoid providing any information (personal or otherwise) in connection with the Program on or through any website other than the Designated Sites. Further, neither Lendistry nor any of its partners will charge any fees to apply for a grant under the Program and we recommend that you avoid any third parties purporting to charge fees for you to apply.

This Program is now closed, and grant awards are no longer available.

Important Information for 2023 Tax Returns

1099 Tax Forms Now Available for Download

If you received a grant for this program in 2023, you are required to report it on your upcoming 2023 tax returns. In order to do so, you will need to retrieve a copy of you 1099 tax form.

How can you retrieve your 1099 tax form?
Your 1099 tax form is available at https://tax1099.com/edelivery/login. CLICK HERE for a guide on how to retrieve your 1099 tax form with step-by-step instructions.

This guide also provides information on your username and password that is needed to sign in. Once signed in, you may elect to opt-in to download your 1099 tax form electronically or opt-out to receive it by mail.

For assistance with accessing your 2023 tax form please contact Lendistry’s dedicated Customer Experience Team at (888) 870-2203 (Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. PST) or [email protected].

Important Note: Lendistry and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. Readers should consult their own tax, legal and accounting advisors before completing their tax filings.

THERE ARE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, AS TO ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR RESULTS OBTAINED FROM ANY INFORMATION POSTED IN THIS PRESENTATION OR ANY LINKED WEBSITE.

Important Deadlines

The application window for the California Nonprofit Performing Arts Grant Program will be closing on June 16, 2023.

To be considered for a grant award, applications must be submitted with all required documents uploaded to Lendistry’s Portal by the deadline.

Other Important Deadlines:

  • Applications that are approved for funding must sign their Grantee Agreement by June 22, 2023. Applications with unsigned Grantee Agreements after this deadline will not be funded.
  • All funding opportunities for this Program will end on June 30, 2023.

Important Note: Funding for this Program is limited. Being selected to move forward in the review process and/or fully validated does not guarantee you will receive a grant award. It is possible that the number of applicants that meet the eligibility requirements will exceed the available funds remaining.

Program Overview

The purpose of the California Nonprofit Performing Arts Grant Program was created to provide grants to eligible nonprofit performing arts organizations (see Definitions) to encourage workforce development. The Program includes $49,500,000.00 to be allocated in one or more rounds to eligible nonprofit performing arts organizations that meet certain criteria.

The Program requires these grants to be awarded on a first-come-first-served basis in specified amounts depending on the applicant’s annual gross revenue in the 2019 taxable year.

Grant moneys awarded under
this Program shall only be
used for the following:

1. Employee expenses, including payroll costs, health care benefits, paid sick, medical, or family leave, and insurance premiums;

2. Contributions or payments to a centralized payroll service;

3. Recruitment, training, development, and other human resources related expenses; and/or

4. Other operating expenses or equipment for employees.

Definitions

Definitions that pertain to this Program are provided below.

1. “Eligible nonprofit performing arts organization” means a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity that satisfies the criteria for a qualified small business pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 12100.82, with no more than two million dollars ($2,000,000) in annual gross revenue. An eligible nonprofit may be in one of the following North American Industry Classification System codes, as reported on the entity’s tax return:

        • 711110 – Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters;
        • 711120 – Dance Companies;
        • 711130 – Musical Groups and Artists; or
        • 711190 – Other Performing Arts Companies.

Eligibility Requirements

Grantees: Nonprofit Performing Arts Organizations

A nonprofit performing arts organization must satisfy the following criteria, at minimum, to be eligible to receive a workforce development grant under the California Nonprofit Performing Arts Grant Program:

1. Applicant satisfies one of the following:

i. meets the definition of an “eligible nonprofit performing arts organization” pursuant to Program guidelines, meaning that Applicant is registered as a 501c(3) nonprofit entity that satisfies the criteria for a qualified small business pursuant to subdivision (g) of Cal. Gov’t Code § 12100.82, has no more than two million dollars (≤ 2,000,000) in annual gross revenue, and is in one of the following North American Industry Classification System codes, as reported on the entity’s tax return:

711110 – Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters.
711120 – Dance Companies.
711130 – Musical Groups and Artists.
711190 – Other Performing Arts Companies; or

ii. serves as a fiscal sponsor for entities that meet the requirements set forth in subsection 1(i) above; and

2. Applicant, or in the case of a fiscal sponsor, such Applicant’s eligible, fiscally-sponsored organization began operating in the state prior to June 1, 2019, as evidenced by the eligible nonprofit performing arts organization’s official filing with the California Secretary of State.

Ineligible Businesses or Organizations

The following types of businesses or organizations are ineligible to receive a Grant Award under the Program:

  • a nonprofit entity not registered as either a 501c(3); 
  • a government entity (other than an entity owned and/or operated by a Native American tribe) or elected official office;  
  • a business or organization primarily engaged in political or lobbying activities;  
  • a passive business or organization, investment company or investor who files a Schedule E on its tax returns; 
  • a church or other religious institution, other than a school, child care, or other educational organization affiliated with a church or other religious institution where (i) greater than 50% of the gross annual revenue (as reflected on the entity’s most recent federal tax filing (2019)) is derived from the school, child care facility or other educational business and (ii) the grant funds will be used only for eligible costs and expenses directly related to the school, child care, or other educational organization, and no portion of the Grant Award will be used for any normal profit or overhead of the church or other religious institution; 
  • a financial business or organization primarily engaged in the business of lending, such as a bank, finance company or factoring company; 
  • a business or organization engaged in any activity that is illegal under federal, state or local law; 
  • a business or organization of a prurient sexual nature, including a business or organization which presents live performances of a prurient sexual nature or a business or organization which derives directly or indirectly more than de minimis gross revenue through the sale of products or services, or the presentation of any depictions or displays, of a prurient sexual nature; 
  • a business or organization engaged in any socially undesirable activity or activity that may be considered predatory in nature such as rent-to-own businesses or check cashing businesses; 
  • a business or organization that restricts patronage for any reason other than capacity, specifically any business that illegally discriminates patronage; 
  • a speculative business or organization, meaning a business or organization for the sole purpose of purchasing and holding an item until the market price increases or other business or organization principally engaged in risky activity for the chance of an unusually large profit, including but not limited to, (i) oil wildcatting, (ii) dealing in stocks, bonds, commodity futures, and other financial instruments and (iii) mining gold or silver in other than established fields; 
  • an eligible nonprofit performing arts organization (as defined in Section 6(a)(i) above) that is affiliated (as such term is defined in 13 C.F.R. § 121.103) with another Applicant; 
  • a business, organization, franchise, or location of which any executive director or equivalent senior managing officer of Applicant, or in the case of a fiscal sponsor, such Applicant’s eligible, fiscally-sponsored organization, has already applied for and received a grant under the Program; 
  • a publicly traded corporation, or a business or organization majority owned and controlled by a publicly traded corporation; or 
  • a business or organization that does not have (1) multiple clients providing income to the business or organization as demonstrated by multiple W-9 forms, invoices, purchase orders or (2) a business plan clearly stating a pathway to obtaining multiple clients and/or creating two (2) or more jobs. 

Grant Awards

Grants amounts will be awarded based on the annual gross revenue of the eligible nonprofit performing arts organization, or in the case of a fiscal sponsor, such sponsor’s eligible, fiscally-sponsored qualified nonprofit performing arts organizations.

Eligible Grant Awards Annual Gross Revenue
in 2019 Taxable Year
$25,000 $1,001 – $100,000
$50,000 $100,001 – $1,000,000
$75,000 $1,000,001 – $2,000,000

Required Documents

For Lendistry to review an application, applicants must upload
all the following required documentation:

i

Application Certification

i

Government-Issued Identification

i

Proof of Tax-Exempt Status 501(c)(3)

i

Proof of Business Organization

(at least one of the following):

  • Articles of Incorporation;
  • Articles of Organization;
  • Business License;
  • Fictitious Business Name;
i

Proof of Revenues

(unaltered and filed 990 tax returns for 2019)

i

Fiscal Sponsor Agreement

In addition to the Fiscal Sponsor Agreement, the Fiscal Sponsor and Sponsee must download and sign an Affidavit attesting to the terms of the Sponsor/Sponsee relationship.

CLICK HERE to download the Affidavit.

This list is not exhaustive. Lendistry may contact you by email, phone, and/or text (if authorized) to request additional documentation to verify the information you submitted in your application.

Important Notes for Uploading
Documents in Lendistry’s Portal:

  • All documents must be submitted in PDF format.
  • File size must be under 15MB.
  • The file name cannot contain any special characters (!@#$%^&*()_+).
  • You can only upload one file for each requested document. If a document requires you to upload multiple files, you will need to upload the files as a single ZIP file.
  • Please download and save the Application Certification before you fill it out.

Program and Application Guide

The Program and Application Guide includes an overview of the program, tips for applying, and step-by-step instructions on how to complete and submit the application.

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