NYC Women’s Fund FAQ
GENERAL FAQ
We expect to notify all applicants about the outcome of their application, via email, by March 2024.
Yes. We understand that projects are at different stages of post production and may finish before March 31, 2025. Please be aware that applicants will be notified of their application outcome by March 2024 and funds cannot be applied retroactively. All projects need to be completed by March 31, 2025.
No. Applicants do not need to have a Fiscal Sponsor for their project. If your project already has a Fiscal Sponsor and you wish to include this organization in the funding process, you may.
No. Applicants can apply in only one category, with one project.
We understand that there are times when artists work together on projects and that can be explained in the project narrative, but there may only be one lead applicant for the proposal. Only one application may be submitted per project, and only one application may be submitted by any production company, theatre company, or collective.
You have the option of including notes and comments about your Work Samples in the metadata fields for each uploaded file. Once you have selected and uploaded your file, an additional metadata field will appear in the application form. Please include additional information about the Work Samples there.
All funded projects will receive 50% of the award distribution at the beginning of their contract.
- Media projects will be eligible to receive the next 40% of the award when the project has reached picture lock. Media projects will be eligible to receive the last 10% of funds when the project is completed and they have scheduled a public access date and method. Media projects include the following application categories:
-Documentary Webisode/Webseries
-Documentary Feature
-Documentary Short
-Fiction Webisode/Webseries
-Fiction Feature
-Fiction Short - Music projects will be eligible to receive the next 40% of the award when their project has finished recording, or their music video has reached picture lock. Music projects will be eligible to receive the last 10% of funds when the project is completed and they have scheduled a public access date and method.
- Theatre projects staging live, in-person performances will be eligible to receive the last 50% of the award once they’ve contracted a third-party venue and supplied rehearsal dates and a full list of their creative team.
- Theatre projects staging online-only performances will be eligible to receive the next 40% of the award once they’ve supplied rehearsal dates and contracts for all artists involved. Online theatre projects will be eligible for the last 10% of funds at premiere.
Yes. Funded projects must complete an Interim Report and Final Report, both via Submittable, clearly outlining how the NYC Women’s Fund was used to complete the project along with sharing information on attendance numbers and public access plans or outcomes.
No. All projects must still be in process.
I have been funded through the NYC Women’s Fund in the past, am I eligible to apply again?
Yes. Past recipients of the NYC Women’s Fund are eligible to apply again in Cycle 5. However, in addition to the category guidelines, the previously funded project must be completed and all NYFA reports must have been successfully submitted prior to the application deadline of November 1, 2023. This applies to theatre companies, even if the Lead Artist is different.
All NYC Women’s Fund applications are reviewed by external Selection Panelists through 3 rounds of review, voting, and elimination, producing a smaller pool for each round. In the first two rounds, panelists review all applications remotely and vote online. A third round of panel discussion is then convened by NYFA, in which panelists meet to discuss applications and collectively select the award recipients.
Applicants can request the funding needed, up to the maximum dollar amount noted for that category. If awarded, the final grant amount is determined by the review panel. An overall project budget must be submitted, as well as a short budget narrative for the requested fund allocation. NYFA does not influence the review panel’s decision for grant fund allocations, except to discourage funding at less than 50% of the applicant’s requested amount on account of the need to adequately finish their project.
BUDGET FAQs:
No. First and foremost, the NYC Women’s Fund is meant to support artist and production fees. It is not a permissible use of funds to purchase equipment or capital goods. Equipment rentals are acceptable.
Yes, however only 20% of the NYC Women’s Fund award amount may be allocated to marketing, promotion, and distribution.
Describe how the total grant request will be spent during the grant period.
FILM-SPECIFIC FAQs:
The NYC Women’s Fund is a finishing grant for film and media projects. Principal photography must be completed at the time of application.
support?
No. Principal photography should be completed by the time you apply. All Work Samples must be from the project you plan to use the NYC Women’s Fund to complete. We understand that this may be unfinished footage.
No. Work Samples don’t have to be one continuous sequence, but can be made of several shorter scenes. Each Work Sample should clearly communicate important moments and be representative of the scope and overall arc of the project. If you include multiple scenes in a Work Sample, we suggest having a black screen or some other way to indicate that a new scene is starting.
No. Please only choose one format, either upload your long format Work Samples directly to your application form, OR supply a link (included access information) in the available field(s) in the application form. As noted, recipients will be notified about the award in March 2024, if your Work Sample is password protected, please do not change the password before then.
No. We ask that short work samples be uploaded directly into the application.
No. Please only choose one format. Either upload your long format Work Samples directly to your application form OR supply a link (including access information for viewing) in the available field(s) in the application form. As noted, recipients will be notified about the award in March 2024. If your Work Sample is password protected, please do not change the password before then.
Yes, but please note that principal photography must be completed on all in-progress episodes. Please also explain the synopsis and direction for any new episodes and how they build on or differ from those submitted.
Yes, but no more than 20% of the NYC Women’s Fund grant may be used for these expenses.
Either (i) 75% of its total shooting days take place in New York City, OR (ii) 75% of its production costs are “qualified production costs.” “Qualified production costs” means the below-the-line production costs only to the extent such costs are incurred directly in New York City and are attributable to the use of tangible property or the performance of services within New York City directly and predominantly in the production (including pre-production and post-production) of a qualified film.
No, the project can be about any subject, set anywhere, but it needs to be the budgetary restrictions outlined above.
Yes.
- Closing Credits should include the following: “With support from: The NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre by the City of New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment in association with The New York Foundation for the Arts.”
- Social Media: Within the 2-week period following the grant award and the 2-week period following the release of the project, grantees must post a minimum of five (5) social media posts acknowledging the support from The NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre by the City of New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment in association with The New York Foundation for the Arts. Please note, this is a minimum of five (5) across various channels, not per channel.
MUSIC-SPECIFIC FAQs:
Examples of projects may include, but are not limited to:
- An album produced by a woman-identified producer and/or engineer;
- A classical music album written by a living woman-identified composer;
- An album by a woman-identified singer/songwriter;
- A jazz album featuring a woman in a prominent musical role, such as vocals, guitar, or drums;
- A music video for an original recording by a woman-identified artist;
- A hip hop album by a woman-identified performer; or
- Any other type of recording that meets the objectives of the grant.
Among the expenses which can be covered are:
- Studio rental fees and related costs.
- Instrument and equipment rental fees.
- Production session fees for musicians, songwriters, composers, arrangers, music producers, programmers, engineers, and/or 3 technicians.
- Mixing and mastering services of qualifying music productions.
- Production of a music video.
- Marketing, promotion, and distribution of the recording (no more than 20% of the total grant award).
The grant funds projects in any musical genre, including, but not limited to: Alternative; Americana; Blues; Classical; Country; Dance; Electronic; Experimental; Folk; Gospel; Hip Hop; Jazz; Latin; New Music; Opera; Pop; Rap; R&B; Rock; and Soul.
General Music genres include, but are not limited to:
- Alternative; Metal; New Wave; Rock
- Americana; Bluegrass; Blues; Country; Folk
- Dance; Disco; Electronic
- Gospel
- Hip Hop; Rap
- Latin; Merengue; Salsa
- Musical Theatre; Opera
Classical/Experimental/Jazz/New Music genres include, but are not limited to:
- Classical; Contemporary Classical; New Music
- Experimental; Sound
- Jazz
Yes.
- Digital Distribution: For all projects distributed digitally, grantees will be required to post in their artist biography on all digital distribution sites from time of award until a minimum of a year after the release of the project, as well as in liner notes and credits on an appropriate page of their web sites that acknowledge grant funding as follows: “With support from: The NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre by the City of New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment in association with The New York Foundation for the Arts.” Grantees must also include the Made in NY logo, which will be provided by NYFA to all NYC Women’s Fund recipients.
- Physical Distribution: For all projects distributed in physical form, grantees will be required to include the following phrase in the project’s liner notes: “With support from: The NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre by the City of New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment in association with The New York Foundation for the Arts.” Grantees must also include the Made in NY logo.
- Social Media: Within the 2-week period following the grant award and the 2-week period following the release of the project, grantees must post a minimum of five (5) social media posts acknowledging the support from The NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre by the City of New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment in association with The New York Foundation for the Arts. Please note, this is a minimum of five (5) across various channels, not per channel.
No, your project must be original compositions.
No the funds are meant to support the creation of new, original music and compositions that have not been previously recorded.
THEATRE-SPECIFIC FAQs:
Applicants can be:
- A playwright with a completed script looking to self-produce;
- An independent producer;
- A theatre company;
- Any other entity, either commercial or non-profit, committed to producing the work by March 31, 2025.
Yes, but this cannot be a recital or concert version, all productions need to be fully-staged by March 31, 2025 and have a minimum of five performances in NYC.
created?
Yes. You can submit a work sample from the last created work and give a detailed description of your prompts, research, work methods or other materials which will give the panel a clear sense of the upcoming project.
Yes, please specify to what extent the work will be shown online.
Yes.
- Programs (whether physical, digital or both) must include the following: “With support from: The NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre by the City of New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment in association with The New York Foundation for the Arts.” Grantees must also include the Made in NY logo.
- Social Media: Within the 2-week period following the grant award and the 2-week period following the release of the project, grantees must post a minimum of five (5) social media posts acknowledging the support from The NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre by the City of New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment in association with The New York Foundation for the Arts. Please note, this is a minimum of five (5) across various channels, not per channel.
NAVIGATING SUBMITTABLE:
Step-by-step guidance for using the Submittable platform and setting up a free account is available here.
We highly suggest using a laptop or desktop computer to complete your application on the platform, rather than a mobile device or tablet. Free access to these types of computers are available at most public library branches throughout New York City. For a smoother performance, we recommend using either Firefox or Chrome as your browser. If you’re already using Chrome, please clear the browser cache and cookies. Additionally, please make sure you are using the most up to date version of your browser.
If you are still running into technical issues, you can reach out to Submittable’s Support team directly via the contact form, Submitter Support, or via the support email address [email protected] so that they can troubleshoot directly.
NYFA staff do not have access to your Submittable account.
We strongly encourage you to apply at least 2 days before the deadline in case technical difficulties come up to allow us time to assist your application. In the event you encounter technical difficulties on the last day and as a result cannot get your application in on time, NYFA cannot extend the deadline regardless of the cause of the problem you may have encountered.
No. All applications must be submitted online via the Submittable platform. To request an accommodation or assistance in applying, please email [email protected] by October 11, 2023. We ask that requests for accommodation be made as soon as possible, but at least two weeks prior to the deadline, to allow adequate time for staff to support you in submitting an application on time.
Instructions for scanning documents on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch are available here. Instructions for scanning documents on an Android device using Google Drive are available here.
This free online tool can help you convert to a wide variety of file types.
You have the option of including notes and comments about your work samples in the metadata field. Once you have selected and uploaded your file, an additional metadata field will appear in the application form. Please include additional information about the work samples there.
By completing this information you are helping NYFA secure future funding. Your responses will remain anonymous and will not be linked to your identifying information.
NYFA is committed to supporting individuals from all backgrounds and disciplines and will continue to work towards values of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility across all programs. Read NYFA’s DEIA statement on our website.
