Guiding Questions

As you work on the Goals section of your application, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Have I clearly defined what would constitute a successful project?
2. Will this project encourage public thought and discussion?
3. Have I designed this project to have a lasting impact?
4. Is the format carefully designed and appropriate for the information being presented and the project’s intellectual goals?  Is it creative?
5. Will the materials and resources developed usefully support the project’s interpretive themes and ideas?

Think Like a Reviewer

It’s very important that reviewers have a clear understanding of what you’re trying to do, particularly in terms of the project’s public impact, and how you plan to get there.  Your stated goal should not simply be to host an event or attract an audience, but to impart something specific to participants.  Your project should be carefully designed to serve that larger purpose.  You should be able to explain why your goal is important and unique, especially to your community and in relationship to the Council’s mission and values.  Reviewers also need to believe that the goals you propose can be achieved.

Consider This

Compare and contrast the following examples. Why do you think the first applicant was successful and the second applicant was not?

Example 1: From a Successful Applicant

The purpose of these programs, including the film series, panel discussion/lecture–all open to the public, are designed to foster reflection about the complex historical relationship among Jews and Catholics in Italy during Holocaust and to promote dialogue among the Catholic and Jewish communities of the Greater Newark Metropolitan Area about the common challenges we face today. Given the presence of a large Italian and Jewish demographic in Northern New Jersey, the exhibit and programming provides an unprecedented opportunity to promote an inter-ethnic, inter-faith conversation on our past and present goals. Together with the exhibit on Assisi and the Jews, we hope that the film screenings and panel discussion/lecture will engender conversations among audience members regarding the personal sacrifices that people made during the Holocaust to ensure the mutual survival of the Jewish and Italian people under Nazi occupation. We hope that by attending these events and seeing the exhibition on Assisi and the Jews, that audience members will be able to talk openly and honestly about the historical relationship among Catholics and Jews in Italy and by doing so develop greater respect and tolerance for people of their respective faiths. Audience members at the lecture/panel discussion with be provided with ample time to ask questions and answers of the keynote speaker and panelists. Film screenings will be followed by discussions facilitated by humanities scholars who will provide context and field questions from the audience about the themes presented in the films. The central theme of the exhibit and the programs surrounding it pertains to issues of faith as a motivating force in resistance to injustice. This exhibit, focused on personal and institutional sacrifice in the pursuit of justice should resonate strongly with the the values of the NJCH to promote tolerance, embrace diversity, and spur reflection on matters of social justice.

Example 2: From an Unsuccessful Applicant

Our program will include panel-discussions and lectures from invited speakers, in order to educate our audiences about the importance of art in unifying our diverse community. These discussions will be initiated by three exhibitions throughout the year that will showcase the talented artists throughout our communities. This project is essential to the city because it is a very diverse community and the arts play an important role in ensuring that this will continue.

Because of their creative and detail-oriented nature, artists have a greater understanding of their communities and a more fine-tuned awareness of the cultural aspects embedded within them. With our events, we hope to give our audience the opportunity to discover the artistic details within their own lives. The gallery hopes to accomplish this by discussing the simultaneous diversity and unity that occurs within communities, as well as the culture and tradition that are involved in an artist’s processes. By having these programs, we will elicit international, national, and local talented artists, both professional and emerging in the field, to exhibit works as a means of art education for the public. These events will show the community that art is part of a cultural signature and is strongly part of our cultural traditions, which artists use to convey a greater meaning in their art. Additionally, Alfa hopes to educate people on how those from different ways of life interpret art in different ways. Another one of our goals is to put emphasis on our lectures, which will draw attention to the importance of art to establishing traditions and cultures.

Our gallery is an artistic hub of expression that is interested in creating longevity for the humanities aspects within our society. Having these events will foster our audience to, not only take the time to look at art, but to interpret the art that they see before them. Thus, when the public comes to our events, they will gain a greater understanding of the artist’s thought processes and knowledge base about the cultural traditions in their communities. With the help of our lectures and panel discussions, they will be able to learn how art is the basis of the things. This theme is further essential to our community, because our city is a community that is in transition. Once people start having intellectual discussions about the culture of our city, it will continue the conversation in this direction. Therefore, with these Art Salons, we can initiate a radical change throughout the city that leads us to be a more knowledgable and involved culture. Further with these panels, we will be able to create a new awareness for our audiences.

Guiding Questions

As you work on the Humanities Content section of your application, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is this project likely to contribute to public understanding and/or use of the humanities?
2. Will a public audience understand the humanities ideas being presented?
3. Is the humanities scholarship informing the project sound and relevant?

Think Like a Reviewer

Reviewers are not looking for a simple listing of humanities disciplines or a general explanation of benefits that can be derived from humanistic study.  They are looking to understand how, specifically, you plan to make use of the humanities.  You should clearly explain the analytical or interpretive approach that you will be using to explore your project topic and identify the context in which information will be placed.  The most competitive projects are those that employ humanities scholars (credentialed individuals who professionally engage in humanities-based research) with experience in the chosen topic area.  Reviewers must also be convinced that the information, as presented, will be both accessible and meaningful to a public audience.

Consider This

Compare and contrast the following examples. Why do you think the first applicant was successful and the second applicant was not?

Example 1: From a Successful Applicant

Place — the place of one’s birth and/or early upbringing is fundamentally important in the human experience, and, therefore, concomitantly central to the humanities which seek to understand and articulate that experience.

As the context of our earliest development, a place — village, town, state, or country — shapes our character, in the broadest sense of the word, in its most formative stages. In our afterlives this place of birth and/or upbringing — where we “come from” — is crucial in defining our own and others’ concept of our identity, of who we are.

In the modern age, specifically, place is both less important and, at the same time, more important than ever before. The rapid and easy means of communication and transportation afforded by modern technology make where one lives and works in many ways immaterial, and yet for that same reason, make it all the more significant: since the nineteenth century, when for the first time in history it became possible for the average person to choose where he or she might live, there has been a concomitantly more acute craving for the belongingness, identity, and even inspiration, that a particular locale can provide.

The proposed series (organized under the rubrics of “Dramatizing Jersey,” “Writing Jersey,” “Singing Jersey,” “Living Jersey,” and “Painting Jersey”) will explore the contextual and inspirational role of “Jersey” — understood both as a cluster of geographical locations as well as a cluster of emotional significances — in the interdisciplinary humanities (painting, poetry, fiction, music, tv drama) as well as in experiments in living (utopian communities). The painting of George Inness (1825-94), the writing of poet William Carlos Williams (1883-1963) and novelist Philip Roth (1933-), the music of pop idol Bruce Springsteen (1949-), and the currently popular TV reality show Jersey Shore, will serve as examples of some of the arts and humanities (past and present, “high” and “low”) that have been inspired, in some sense, by New Jersey, while a sample of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century utopian communities formerly located in various places in the state will serve as examples of experiments in living.

In addition to the established academic fields of the fine arts, literature, music, drama, history, anthropology, cultural studies, communication studies, and American studies embraced by the present proposal, the new and emerging field of “Geo-Humanities.”

Example 2: From an Unsuccessful Applicant

The theme of this project is to use the arts and lectures to further educate the community with the idea that art will unify their diverse community. Our panel will consist of an art museum curator and library director. The curator will be translating the specific art works through a lens of a diverse cultural standpoint. He will show these works in a timeline of the American spirit by educating our visitors with an understanding that cultural messages come through art. The library director will be giving further insight in his speech “The Importance of Art for the History of our Community,” in which he will discuss the relationship between art as a general medium and the city. These Art Salons will provide our community with experiences and learning opportunities to help them foster their creativity and allow them to become more educated. By having works of art from various nations and cultures on display, we are able to transcend modernity and expose the community to the very diversity that will lead to their unity. Through the lectures that will be presented at these exhibitions, the public will have the opportunity to, not only be educated by art, but to collaborate with the artists in order to learn from their experiences and artist processes.

Guiding Questions

As you work on the Audience Description and Publicity Plan sections of your application, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Have I thoughtfully and imaginatively identified interested audiences and project partners?
2. Were target audiences considered and engaged during the project planning process?
3. Will the target audiences likely attend at the chosen venue?
4. Will the planned publicity reach a broad public audience, as well as specific target audiences?

Think Like a Reviewer

Your programs must be free and open to all, but you should be able to clearly identify and describe your target audience.  Reviewers will want to know how your project design and marketing efforts have been tailored to specific audience needs and interests.  A FREE marketing handbook can be found on the Resources page listed in the sidebar menu of this webpage and may be helpful as you craft a publicity plan for your project.  The most competitive projects are those that engage appropriate partners early in the planning process.  Reviewers like to see projects that have buy-in from the larger community and will be looking for projects that are designed to achieve maximum public impact.

Consider This

Compare and contrast the following examples. Why do you think the first applicant was successful and the second applicant was not?

Example 1: From a Successful Applicant

Audience Description: Teachers: N.J. public and private school educators will be invited to the lecture series & a tuition-free course on Egyptian history to enhance their knowledge of the subject and to expose them to analytical methods, historical research techniques & resources that will enable them to accurately inform and engage students. They may earn professional development hours for attending both the lectures & the class meetings. We expect 30 teachers to register for the history course (it includes the lecture series), & 50 teachers for the lecture series only.

Public: The College will use its extensive mailing lists to contact cultural, religious & social groups representing the population of southern N.J. The programs also will be offered to out-of-school adults. Attendance at individual lectures is likely to be 300. If the facility’s capacity is exceeded, we will broadcast the talks in adjoining space. The lectures will be broadcast on the College’s site at iTunes University; to date there have been 245 downloads of the fall 2011 Civil War series talks. The fall 2010 Cleopatra’s World series attracted 450-600 per lecture with 2082 downloads of the lectures through iTunes.

Publicity Plan: Outreach: The outreach program will consist of brochures, mailings, radio & television announcements, & print articles. The lectures will be available in audio format through the College’s iTunes University site.

The College will distribute 6,000 hard copy brochures, using its extensive mailing list, to the community, teachers, schools, libraries and other groups in the region. Included in the community groups are the Camden County NAACP, Jewish Community Center, Muslim American Community Association, Hispanic Family Center of S. NJ, plus churches and synagogues. An electronic version (PDF) of the brochure will be disseminated to a mailing list of approximately 10,000 email addresses, including teachers and the community. Information also will be disseminated to newspapers such as the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Courier Post, the Gloucester County Times, the Press of Atlantic City and community newspapers, professional journals including the NJEA Review, which reaches approximately 200,000 households, as well as radio and cable television. Finally, the College magazine, which devotes the entire back page to the program, will be mailed to approximately 300,000 households. In all instances, the publicity material will prominently display the name of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Example 2: From an Unsuccessful Applicant

Audience Description: The population served by our program will primarily be those who reside in the Middlesex County. However, the gallery does not limit its outreach to the county listed above. Our program encourages international, national and local artists to participate as a means to expose new perspectives to the community. According to records from 2010-2012, the ethnic and age categories of our program is roughly as follows: 42.4% non-Caucasian (18.3% African-American, 14.7% Asian and/or Pacific Islander, 4.7% Native American, 4.7% Latino/Hispanic), 57.6% Caucasian, 85.2% adults (15.2% senior citizens) and 14.8% below the age of eighteen. We also hope that our audience will include students, library members, other students of surrounding areas’ school districts, and other young people. After sending our newsletter, we will request confirmation for all audience members attending the event. Based on the interest of these audiences, we may do this multiple times.

Publicity Plan: Our publicity will mainly include online newsletters and printed materials that will be distributed throughout the community. These online newsletters have found to be quite successful in the past; we are also reaching out to Rutgers Campus and Community E-Newsletter, which is distributed to over 10,000 Rutgers staff/students/alumni. Also, we plan to make copies of catalogs from previous years to be used as examples of the success of our program. We will then advertise the exhibitions through flyers, brochures, and postcards that will give details about the individual shows. Press releases will be distributed to the following: Cultural Heritage Commission mailing list, City Market mailing list, and our contacts. A short press release will also be sent to our contacts that will include excerpts from our individual lectures, so as to publicize them as well. Advertisements will be printed in local newspapers. Furthermore, we will plan to reach out to the various cultural groups around the city and have them agree to hand out flyers advertising our various events. All materials that we distribute will be translated to Spanish to reach our large Hispanic and Latino demographics.

Guiding Question

As you work on the Evaluation section of your application, ask yourself the following question:

1. Do I have a means for measuring whether or not success was achieved?

Think Like a Reviewer

The Council requires that grantees report back on the value of their efforts, and for that reason, reviewers will be looking for projects that have a plan in place to measure what has been accomplished, particularly in terms of a project’s public impact.  You should think both qualitatively – what has the audience taken away – and quantitatively – how many people have been served.  When preparing the Evaluation section of your application narrative, you may wish to begin by referring back to your Goals and Audience Description sections.  Consider what you’re trying to measure, what type of information you’ll need, who should be supplying it, and when and how you might most appropriately gather it.  Your plan should be specific and tailored to your project.

Consider This

Compare and contrast the following examples. Why do you think the first applicant was successful and the second applicant was not?

Example 1: From a Successful Applicant

1. Educators drawn from the education subcommittee are reviewing a potential list of series topics this fall. Once funding for curriculum development is secured, a separate advisory panel of teachers will evaluate the draft scripts and curriculum materials.

2. In addition to the four humanities scholars who will be charged with the primary responsibility for the development of the content of the series and the accompanying curriculum materials, our own Program and Publications Committee will review the materials during the development phase. This committee is chaired by a professor of history and includes on its roster a noted authority on New Jersey history.

3. The project website will also provide an excellent tool for assessing the audience’s response to the materials. Staff will be able to monitor ongoing use of the materials, and can also access responses to a survey instrument to be completed by users. Curriculum materials can then continue to be monitored and edited in response to feedback from users. This online evaluation tool will be developed during website development. The website can be used to evaluate the experiences of both teachers and students.

Example 2: From an Unsuccessful Applicant

Our evaluation process exists on different levels. First, public awareness of our heritage and historic sites. In addition, visitor counts at historic sites will be evaluated.

Quantitative audience impressions will be evaluated by partnership campaigns.

Audience impressions will be tracked with the publication of press releases in weekly newspapers through distribution numbers.
Incorporation of lesson plans and trading cards to the curriculum will be tracked as to the success of the humanities content, teacher acceptance and hopefully student participation in the classroom.

Google news will be monitored for “hits” related to our weekly press releases and traffic to relevant pages on our website will be tracked.

Guiding Questions

As you work on the Timeline section of your application, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do I have access to all of the necessary skills and resources to complete my project?
2. Will I be able to achieve the project’s goals in a timely and efficient manner?

Think Like a Reviewer

The Council is most interested in supporting projects that are likely to achieve success, and for that reason, reviewers are looking for proposals that present a well conceived work plan.  You should consider all of the tasks that must be completed to accomplish your goals, from planning through execution, and set specific deadlines for their completion.  Reviewers will be most confident in those projects that have all of the major details (e.g., participation of project personnel, location of events, etc.) confirmed prior to application.

Consider This

Compare and contrast the following examples. Why do you think the first applicant was successful and the second applicant was not?

Example 1: From a Successful Applicant

Application Deadline: February 1, 2012

January 6, 2012 — Initial planning for symposium completed; campus center space reserved; speakers committed; NJCH mini-grant proposal submitted

February 2012 — Development of promotional materials: posters, flyers, postcards & public service announcements; save the date notices sent to historical societies and organizations

March 2012 — Notification of grant award; press releases issued; Stockton publicity venues employed; registration for symposium opens

April 2012 — Promotional materials sent to historical societies and organizations; follow up with local news organizations encouraging coverage of upcoming symposium

May 12, 2012 — Day of the symposium. Audience evaluation forms administered and collected at the end of symposium. Speaker evaluation forms given to speakers (with the request that they be returned within two weeks); evaluations solicited from external Board of SJCHC and internal faculty advisory group

May 26, 2012 — All evaluations returned

June 2, 2012 — Evaluations reviewed and analyzed; final report written

Example 2: From an Unsuccessful Applicant

Application Deadline: August 1, 2012

February – July
Completed Tasks:
Planning Meeting;Recruited volunteers;Produced budget;Prepared entry form and call for submissions; Post call for submissions on NJISACF and other websites and in entertainment newspapers; Started and complted researching for films; Prepared film evaluation guidelines; Formed film selection and programming committee; Setup database to track submissions; started judging films as they keep coming; Film judging completes on July 31; Prepared sponsorship kit

Ongoing Tasks:
Update website; Negotiate venue(to be completed by 8/15/12);
look for partners and sponsors; Contact press; Write press releases and start promotional campaign;Organize Press Conferences and Promotional Events;Design and print flyers and distribute them; Sponsorship drive; Design,print and distribute postcards; Contact distributors and rental houses for film prints; Contact special guests, scholars and speakers and book them.

August
Announce festival Date; Contact advertisers and collect advertisements; Film selection committee completes judging film submissions; Start festival programming; Start email campaigning with periodic announcements about festival highlights; Event management committee meeting; Send out acceptance/rejection letters to filmmakers; Design and print poster; Design brochure.

September – October
Advertising campaign; Final film and guest list announced to public;Print brochure; Post segment footage on the website one week after the event.

Guiding Questions

As you work on the Budget section of your application, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Have I budgeted wisely and completely?
2. Do I have access to all of the skills and resources necessary to complete my project?
3. Do the listed expenses represent reasonable and customary charges?

Think Like a Reviewer

When completing the Budget section of your application, you need to detail more than your dollar request to the Council.  As a technical matter, at least $1 in matching funds (cash or in-kind) is required for every dollar that you are requesting, but reviewers will also be looking to see: (1) whether or not you have access to all of the resources necessary to complete your project and (2) if project funds are being spent wisely.

If you’ve mentioned a task in your proposal narrative (e.g., mailing a save-the-date), it should be accounted for in your budget (e.g., printing and postage).  In addition to a budget breakdown, the Council requests that you provide information on other sources of support for your project.  In general, reviewers like when you are able to secure other funding and donations for your project.  If a project is dependent on much uncommitted funding or a proposal is missing major budget line items, reviewers will question its feasibility.

It is very important that you provide a thoroughly detailed budget with a transparent basis/method of computation for each line item.  After reading your proposal narrative, reviewers should understand why you’ve included each budget item, and each should represent a reasonable cost.  A budget listing excessive or unexplained costs will make your project less attractive to reviewers.

Consider This

Compare and contrast the following examples. Why do you think the first applicant was successful and the second applicant was not?

Example 1: From a Successful Applicant

Do you anticipate funding from sources other than NJCH for this project? Yes 200

Do you anticipate any earned income? No

If yes, please explain the source of earned income.

Do in-kind services make up any of the cost share? Yes 1479.50

If yes, please explain the sources and uses for all in-kind services.

Part of our own agency budget will be dedicated to covering certain costs involved with this project, namely, salaries and benefits for all personnel, except the presenter, at 100%, as well as a percentage of services including telephone, postage and advertising and the rental of the room.

Is the project for which NJCH funding is requested part of a larger project? No

Indicate funding sources other than NJCH on the table below and whether funding is committed or potential.

Salaries & Benefits

Fees for Project Personnel

Travel & Subsistence

Supplies

Services

Other Costs

Budget Summary

Example 2: From an Unsuccessful Applicant

Do you anticipate funding from sources other than NJCH for this project? Yes

Do you anticipate any earned income? No

If yes, please explain the source of earned income.

Do in-kind services make up any of the cost share? No

If yes, please explain the sources and uses for all in-kind services.

Is the project for which NJCH funding is requested part of a larger project? No

Indicate funding sources other than NJCH on the table below and whether funding is committed or potential.

Salaries & Benefits

Fees for Project Personnel

Travel & Subsistence

Supplies

Services

Other Costs

Budget Summary