What is the organization’s “official” name? Arts Council Silicon Valley (ACSV)

What does Arts Council Silicon Valley do? Arts Council Silicon Valley enhances the community by providing funding, advocacy, support services, arts education opportunities, and marketing services to more than 600 local arts and cultural organizations and individual artists with a special focus on small and mid-sized organizations throughout Santa Clara County

What geographic area does the Arts Council serve? The Arts Council serves all Santa Clara County from Palo Alto to Gilroy to Milpitas and everything in between

Who directly benefits from the services provided by ACSV? ACSV serves the entire arts community with a special focus on small and mid-sized arts organizations and individual artists.

Who is the Executive Director? Bruce W. Davis

How many ACSV employees are there, including Artsopolis? 19 total: 12 full-time, five part-time and two work study interns

Does ACSV have a Board of Trustees? Yes, the Arts Council is governed by a 20-person Board of Trustees

Who does the Arts Council support? Through grants and support programs, ACSV supports small, mid-size and large budget arts and cultural organizations, schools, community groups, and individual artists

When was the Arts Council founded? The Arts Council was founded in 1982 and incorporated in 1983. We still maintain our status as a nonprofit, independent, regional arts agency and in 2007 we will celebrate our 25th anniversary

What is the “PARTNERS Grants Program”? This is the name given to the collection of grants programs that collectively support over 130 small and mid-size arts and cultural organizations and individual artists. The PARTNERS program is made up of core grants programs and sponsored grants programs

Which are ACSV’s CORE grants programs?

• Regional Arts Fund – provides grants for general operating support for arts organizations with annual budgets of $100,000 - $2,000,000
• Community Arts Fund – grants for support of arts activities to multicultural, community-based groups and arts organizations with annual budgets up to $100,000
• Artist Fellowships – Grants awarded annually in rotating categories to recognize professional working artists and to enable them to continue to pursue their creative work
• Director’s Discretionary Grants – Allows the Executive Director to award grants that do not fit within a specific program as he deems appropriate

Which are the sponsored grants programs?

• Leadership & Organizations Excellence (LOE), sponsored by Applied Materials – Supports administrative development and organizational infrastructure through technical assistance grants
• Artistic & Program Excellence (APE), sponsored by Applied Materials - Supports exceptional projects that demonstrate artistic and programmatic excellence for special projects
• Stabilization Grants Program, sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation – Provides multi-year support for the administrative development of professional and semi-professional arts organizations. This grant is by invitation only
• ArtsEnhance - Funded by Adobe Systems Incorporated, includes a day and a half-long conference and a funding program providing marketing tools, training and grants to empower arts organizations to heighten their visibility, promote their programming and strengthen their audience development activities

What are ACSV’s other programs and services?
Fundraising Support Programs:

• Music & Arts Campaign - Offers select arts and cultural organizations throughout Santa Clara County in-depth fundraising training which teaches them how to conduct fundraising campaigns and effectively reach out to their community for financial support as well as providing dedicated administrative services
• ArtsChoice™ (workplace giving program) - Offers employees a cost-effective and convenient method of contributing to the arts in their communities through payroll deductions. This innovative program is one of only two campaigns in California raising funds for the arts in this way

Youth Programs:

• ArtsConnect™ - The ArtsConnect program provides arts education opportunities for at-risk youth and special needs populations by engaging them in the creative process with on-site professional artists
• Arts Enrichment Grants Program - Provides artist residences designed specifically for children under the age of five at preschool sites throughout the county and provides grants to arts organizations for programs that involve young children and their parents in hands-on arts activities and the exploration of the arts

Marketing Program:

• Artsopolis Marketing Partnership (AMP) – A regional initiative to assist local arts organizations with marketing and audience development efforts

How does ACSV receive funding? The Arts Council receives funding from individuals, endowments, corporations, government contracts and grants, and foundation grants

What is ACSV’s annual budget? Arts Council Silicon Valley’s annual budget is roughly $2,000,000

Is the Arts Council affiliated with any other organizations? Yes, ACSV is the official state/local partner with the California Arts Council and the County of Santa Clara. We also collaborate with a number of other service and support organizations

Does the Arts Council produce any events? Yes, the Arts Council typically puts on two different events:

• The Silicon Valley Art & Business Awards (ABBYs) – This is a biennial luncheon event that honors financial contributions and countless hours of volunteer service donated by individuals and businesses to the local arts community. The anticipated next ABBYs event will be in March of 2007
• “Friendraisers” – A quarterly casual gathering of friends who want to make our community a thriving cultural center, and who share in our enthusiasm in making the arts accessible to all

What is Artsopolis? Artsopolis.com is the leading online resource for Arts and Cultural information in Silicon Valley and beyond which offers the largest database of Silicon Valley Arts and Cultural events, as well as additional listings of classes and workshops, jobs, auditions, organizations, schools, venues, and individual artists

How is Artsopolis affiliated with the Arts Council? Artsopolis.com is a project of the Artsopolis Marketing Partnership (AMP) which is a program of Arts Council Silicon Valley

Who are ACSV major funders? To view a list of our funders, visit: http://www.artscouncil.org/about/donors.asp