About the Precipice FundThe Precipice Fund is administered by the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA) as part of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts’ Regional Regranting Program. We also receive significant support from Calligram Foundation.

Warhol Foundation established the first Regional Regranting site in 2007 with Alternative Exposure at San Francisco’s Southern Exposure. We are part of a select national network of similar Warhol-supported funds in Chicago (Propeller Fund), Houston (Idea Fund), and Kansas City (Rocket Grants).

Recognizing the barriers to funding faced by independent artist projects and collectives, the primary goal of the Precipice Fund is to support unincorporated, collaborative visual art based in Portland, Oregon—particularly those projects that serve as a source of support for local artists and audiences and enrich the city’s broader arts ecology.

Culture and CommunityWe view the Precipice Fund as a source of support for Portland’s artist community and the application process as part of an artist’s connection to that community.

While any city can benefit from the productivity, rigor, and excellence engendered by competitive funding, the Precipice Fund aspires to cultivate a culture of grantmaking that emphasizes community over competition and awards projects that are highly collaborative and connective.

The Precipice Fund also presents an opportunity for applicants to further skills in grant writing and budgeting, build relationships with local arts organizations, and network with other artists.

What do we mean? The Precipice Fund awards grants to unincorporated, collaborative visual art projects in Portland, Oregon.

What do we mean by unincorporated?The Precipice Fund only awards grants to independent, unincorporated projects or programs (NOT nonprofits). Federally registered 501(c)(3) nonprofits as well as LLC’s that are established for commercial enterprise are not eligible. *Oregon (state-level) registered nonprofits and LLC’s whose primary purpose is commercial or for-profit enterprise ARE eligible.

What do we mean by collaborative? Projects that are not the work of a single artist. A project must involve more than one person in its organization, production, and presentation.

What do we mean by visual art? Projects rooted in or strongly related to visual art. Works in performance or media are eligible if visual art is a core component project. We are open to innovation, experimentation, and risk-taking in the field and supportive of diverse approaches to visual art practice.

What do we mean by project? A lot. As long as it meets the criteria listed above, a “project” could take the form of a curated exhibition or program, artist project, publication, website, residency, or operations/programming of an independent art space.

Funding PrioritiesThe Precipice Fund prioritizes projects that:  • are innovative, experimental, and ambitious

• are artist-run, artist-driven, or artist-centric

• generate opportunities and platforms for local artists • challenge or break from established notions, models, and forms of

practice, presentation, and organization

• are presented in unconventional or non-traditional sites, spaces, and contexts

• seek to develop and diversify Portland’s art audiences

• are accessible to or engage the public via process, presentation, production, or publication

• contribute to Portland’s critical, intellectual, and creative depth

How Much $$??Right-Size Your Budget

Keeping in mind the values of community, collaboration, and mutual support, we ask that you consider how your proposed budget affects the larger applicant pool; if each applicant budgets for what is truly needed, we can ensure a broader distribution of funds.

Round Two (2014) Grant Award Amounts

• Between 15 and 20 grants • $500 to $5,000 each• Total of $75,000 in funding to local artists

Occasionally, applicants may receive less than what is requested. For example, a request for $5,000 might receive $3,5000 based on the panel’s perception of the project’s needs. Precipice is committed to the success of all grantees and will only award less than what is requested if reduced funding will not hamper the health of the project.

Distribution of Funds

Announcements of grantees and disbursement of funds will take place in December, 2014. Funds may be distributed in January, 2015 upon request.

Eligibility CriteriaProjects must be produced by unincorporated entities. Proposals from or in association with an incorporated, federally registered (501(c)(3) nonprofit organization or commercial LLC are ineligible. Oregon (state-level) registered nonprofits and non-commercial LLC’s ARE eligible. *Note: This does not mean that a project cannot generate any income. For example, publications or event tickets might be sold.

Projects must be collaborative. That is, they must be carried out by a collective or group of individuals. An individual artist’s project may be eligible if it is highly participatory, collaborative, and/or engages multiple people or publics in its production and presentation.

Lead applicant must reside in Portland, Oregon. The project may have outside collaborators, but the lead applicant must reside in Portland proper.

The finished project must be publicly accessible and take place in Portland.  The Precipice Fund is designed to support Portland artists and audiences, so projects must have a public component in Portland.

Round Two projects must be completed by December 1, 2015. We will evaluate exceptions to completion deadline on a case-by-case basis.

What We Don’t Fund• Work that is not visual art.

• Projects proposed, fiscally sponsored, or presented by a federally registered 501(c)(c)(3) nonprofit or commercial enterprise. While we understand that a project might be sited in a nonprofit’s space, eligible projects cannot be part of these organizations’ primary or annual programming, nor be promoted as such.

• The work of an individual artist that does not involve other artists or participants, or projects that are a continuation or completion of traditional, private studio practice

• Projects on which the lead applicant resides outside Portland • Projects that do not have a public component  

Lead ApplicantIf the project has more than one organizer or you are applying as a collective, one person must apply as the lead applicant.  • The lead applicant serves as the primary contact during the

application and granting process.

• Lead applicants must reside in Portland, Oregon.

• In addition to lead applicant, list all other collaborators. Collaborators are those who share organizing or coordinating responsibility for the project. Artists supported by the project but who do not have organizing responsibility need not be listed as collaborators (e.g., an artist whose work is part of an exhibition, but who is otherwise not involved in project planning). Unlike lead applicants, collaborators do NOT need to live in Portland or Oregon.

• An individual may only submit one application as lead applicant but may be listed as a collaborator on any number of them.

Submission ProcessSubmissions Open: Friday, August 18, 2014Submissions Close: Monday, October 10, 2014

Online Submission System

Applications must be submitted via the Precipice Fund online submission platform, SUBMITTABLE (www.submittable.com), by 11:59 Pacific Time on October 10, 2014. The call will close promptly at this time. Detailed instructions will be provided throughout the online form, and the submission platform will provides tech support via phone or email for system- or software-related questions.

Who should complete the application?

While any and all project collaborators may help complete application questions and provide required media and materials, the lead applicant should be involved in every step of application completion, as this is who will need to be in contact with grant staff regarding application content and materials. The lead applicant will also be the one to provide contact information on the submission form.

Application ContentWhat written content and visual material will be required?

• Complete project description• Title and Summary• Concept and Goals• Proposed Venue • Project Timeline

• A few brief narrative responses explaining the project’s public component, intended audience, and support of local artists

• Visual Support Material – will require explanations• REQUIRED: Up to 6 high-quality, uploaded images• OPTIONAL: Video (max. 5 mins.) included as URL or embedded

video from Vimeo/YouTub. You will have also have the option to upload a raw file, but a URL or embedded video is preferred.

• Budget form uploaded to application on Submittable(available to download in early August from precipicefund.org.)

Selection CriteriaProjects must be submitted on time and meet minimum qualifications. Selection criteria includes but is not limited to:

Artistic Strength• Degree to which project exemplifies innovative or experimental

practices• Potential to generate support and opportunity for local artists• Broader vision of applicants

 Feasibility

• Capacity to carry out and complete the project • Ability to realize project within grant period and with

available resources

Public and Community Engagement• Public accessibility of the project’s final output • Commitment to serving a local constituency• Potential for impact on Portland’s broader arts ecology, which

could include artists or audiences

Review ProcessReview Panel Proposals will be reviewed by an external panel of three to four local, regional, and national artists and arts professionals from the visual art field.

PICA staff are not part of the review panel. While we are proud to support local artists through administration of the Precipice Fund, funded projects are independent of our own curatorial program. As such, PICA’s artistic staff do not take any part in selecting grantees.

NotificationApplicants will be notified of the panel’s decisions by the first week of December, 2014.

Re-Applying Applicants awarded funding must wait one year to apply again.

Budget OverviewYou will receive a sample budget worksheet today to familiarize yourself with categories and items to include in your budget. This sheet can also help you begin to think about and research costs associated with your project idea.

Once the Precipice submission process is open, you will be able to download a Microsoft Excel version of the budget form from PICA’s website to prepare for upload to your application on Submittable. This Excel version is auto-calculated and will “do the math for you.”

2014 Budget WorkshopThursday, August 7th, 7:30-8:30 PM at PICA

Led by PICA’s Finance Manager, this workshop will help demystify the budgeting process for a grant proposal, including how you can:

• plan for and assess the costs associated with your project• fill out a basic budget form using Microsoft Excel • ensure that your expenses match your income • manage the tax burden of the grant award

Workshops will include time to complete part of a budget worksheet, ask questions, and and look closely at real budget examples with facilitators.

Artist Responsibility If awarded funding, artists are responsible for: • Prompt and professional communication with Precipice Fund staff

• Financial accountability (spending of funds as outlined in budget)

• Submission of a brief project summary by end of grant period- 10% of funds will be distributed upon project completion.

• Periodic contribution of written summaries and images for Precipice Fund website, blog, and publicity outlets; periodic presentation and roundtable conversation participation

• Any tax burden incurred from grant income. To mitigate tax burden on any one applicant, Precipice Fund grant monies can be distributed as needed among any or all collaborators (e.g., if a project with five collaborators is awarded $5,000, each can receive$1,000).

Awarded artists will be held legally responsible for all events, materials, and outcomes associated with their funded projects.

An art gallery dedicated to exhibiting high-caliber contemporary art in North Portland, an alternative model for bringing quality art from the national landscape to Portland, exhibited in an unconventional setting that reflects the city’s cultural values of self-organizing and collectivity. Artists who show here are collaborators in the vision of a community-built, neighborhood-oriented “Modern Art Museum” we want to see in Portland.

• Collaborative (a collective operation) • Unincorporated (not a 501(c)(3) nonprofit or commercial enterprise)• Visual art (artist-run space that exhibits visual art) • Based within geographic boundaries (Portland) • Public component (free of charge, open to the public) • Innovative and experimental• Artist-run/artist-driven/artist-centric • Opportunity for local artists (exhibition, performance)• Contributes to vibrancy of local arts community • Unconventional/non-traditional site (record store basement in NoPo) • Contributes to local critical, intellectual, and creative depth

Grant award supports 2014 general operating and programming expenses.

2014 Dates & DeadlinesThursday, June 5th

Information Session, 6:00-7:30 PM at PICA

Saturday, July 12th

Information Session, 1:00-2:30 PM at PICA

Thursday, August 7th

Information Session, 6:00-7:30 PM at PICA**Budget Workshop, 7:30-8:30 PM at PICA

Monday, August 18th

Submissions open online

Friday, October 10th

Submissions close at 11:59 PM Pacific Time on Submittable.com

Notifications to applicants, public award announcements, funds distribution, and recipient reception will take place early December.

For More InformationPrecipice FundRoya Amirsoleymani, Program Coordinator precipice@pica.org precipicefund.org (from here, you can sign up for our e-newsletter, review last year’s grant recipient projects, and download application guidelines, budget forms, and the Information Session slideshow.)

If needed, please email us with questions or to set up a phone meeting.

Warhol Regional Regranting Programwarholfoundation.org (under “Grants and Programs”)

Sister Funds (take a look at successful past grantees!) Alternative Exposure (San Francisco): soex.org/alternativeexposure/Propeller Fund (Chicago): propellerfund.orgIdea Fund (Houston): theideafund.orgRocket Grants (Kansas City): rocketgrants.org