APPLICATION DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 2, 2010
PROGRAMMING DATES: SEPTEMBER 2010—JUNE 2011
APPROXIMATELY 75 ORGANIZATIONS WILL BE SELECTED
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The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and to encourage citizens to read for pleasure and enlightenment. The Big Read provides U.S. communities with grants and comprehensive resources that support their efforts to read and discuss a single book or the work of a poet.
To learn more about The Big Read, including current programming, visit www.NEABigRead.org.
The purpose of The Big Read is to encourage literary reading. The following information outlines the expectations and requirements for Big Read organizations.
Organizations applying to The Big Read must select from the reading choices listed below. Organizations selected to participate will receive a grant, access to online training resources and opportunities, educational and promotional materials to support widespread community involvement and participation, an Organizer’s Guide for developing and managing Big Read activities, inclusion of the organization and its activities on The Big Read Web site, and the prestige of participating in a highly visible national program.
Grant size
Organizations may apply for grants ranging from $2,500 to $20,000. Grant size will be determined based on:
Grants must be matched at least 1 to 1 with nonfederal funds. Grant funds may be used for such expenses as book purchases, speaker fees and travel, salaries, advertising, and venue rental. Please see the program budget instructions for more information.
Reading choices
Applicants must choose one of the following selections. Previous grantees must select a different reading choice from their previous programming.
Book titles
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) Programming may focus on Poe’s poems, short stories, or essays. Works to consider for programming are included in the Edgar Allan Poe Reader’s and Teacher’s Guides available on The Big Read Web site: http://neabigread.org/books/edgarallanpoe/. The Poetry of Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) The Poetry of Robinson Jeffers (1887–1962) The Poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) |
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
My Ántonia by Willa Cather
Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Sun, Stone, and Shadows: 20 Great Mexican Short Stories edited by Jorge F. Hernández
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Washington Square by Henry James
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
The Thief and the Dogs by Naguib Mahfouz
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
The Shawl by Cynthia Ozick
The Stories and Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
The Bridge of San Luis Rey and Our Town by Thornton Wilder*
Old School by Tobias Wolff
* Applicants choosing Thornton Wilder’s The Bridge of San Luis Rey must include in the application plans for a live, full-length production of Our Town performed by a local school drama department, community theater, or professional theater company. The Big Read educational materials address both the novel and the play.
Poets
Emily Dickinson
Robinson Jeffers
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Educational and promotional materials
One of the major benefits of The Big Read is the availability of high-quality educational and promotional materials provided at no cost to participating community organizations. The Big Read educational materials are accessible on www.NEABigRead.org, as well as provided in limited print quantities to grantees. The broad use and wide distribution of the educational and promotional materials throughout the community is essential and a key component of The Big Read.
The following educational and promotional materials are provided and available online:
Community organizations participating in The Big Read shall develop and produce a well-planned, well-attended, community-wide read with widespread involvement and participation. Your literary programming should feature innovative, diverse activities, and plans to connect to the chosen book or poet. The ideal Big Read program lasts approximately one month and must occur between September 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011. A successful Big Read will reach lapsed and/or reluctant readers, especially middle and high school students and young adults (ages 18-24), and have a wide range of imaginative activities. Successful applicants’ programming will occur in various venues to encourage participation by diverse audiences and reluctant readers.
If your organization has previously received a Big Read grant, your 2010-2011 application must include program plans that build on past Big Read programming.
Event plans
Activities should include:
The number of activities planned should correlate with your community population.
Organizations are responsible for seeking legal permissions for certain activities and promotional materials.
Community partnerships
Successful programs involve a variety of partnerships with diverse community organizations to broaden audience outreach and deepen participation, especially reaching lapsed and/or reluctant readers.
Applicant organizations must partner with a library (if the applicant itself is not a library). Other collaborating organizations might include bookstores, museums, arts organizations, local businesses, chambers of commerce, community service organizations, community centers, youth groups, senior centers, correctional institutions, neighborhood associations, community colleges, universities, social service organizations, and military installations.
Middle and high school partnerships
Involvement of middle and/or high schools is essential to meeting the goals of The Big Read.
Applicant organizations should partner with local middle and/or high schools, working with school leaders, such as teachers, school librarians, English department chairs, principals, superintendents, or curriculum specialists. Partner schools should be capable of integrating The Big Read materials in classrooms and/or involving students in school-based Big Read activities. Applicant organizations should also develop program plans to involve students in community-based programming.
Media, public relations, and promotion partnerships
In order to ensure a large audience and strong participation in Big Read activities, local media must be involved to promote The Big Read. Participating community organizations should actively generate media involvement through partnerships with local TV, radio, and print media and through other public relations efforts.
Additional grant requirements
All Big Read organizations must:
Applicant organizations must:
1. Be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization; a division of state, local, or tribal government; or a tax-exempt public library. Eligible applicants include such organizations as literary centers, libraries, museums, colleges and universities, art centers, historical societies, arts councils, tribal governments, humanities councils, literary festivals, and arts organizations.
2. Partner with a library (if the applicant organization itself is not a library).
3. Select one of the 31 available reading choices.
Note: K–12 schools and school districts, whether public or private, may not be lead applicants but are strongly encouraged to partner with libraries, literary centers, museums, and other eligible applicants.
Approximately 75 organizations from across the country will be selected by a panel of experts to participate in The Big Read. Organizations will not be awarded more than one grant. Selections and grant awards will be based on the artistic excellence and merit of the program. Specifically, applications will be evaluated based on outlined programming plans including:
1. Overall strength of literary programming, number and types of diverse and imaginative events and their potential to reach lapsed and/or reluctant readers.
2. Partnerships with community organizations, such as libraries, bookstores, museums, arts organizations, military installations, local businesses, chambers of commerce, community service organizations, community centers, youth groups, senior centers, correctional institutions, neighborhood associations, community colleges, universities, social service organizations, and military installations.
3. Engagement with middle and/or high schools, school libraries, or school districts in integrating Big Read program activities and materials.
4. Active involvement of specific media outlets to promote events using TV, radio, print media, and other promotional and public relations efforts.
5. Capacity to manage The Big Read program, provide the required financial match, and effectively use grant funds.
| Application deadline | February 2, 2010 |
| Notification of selected communities | April 2010 |
| Program activity | September 1, 2010 - June 30, 2011 |
Application requirements submitted through eGRANT (Note: these application requirements have changed from previous application deadlines. Please read thoroughly.)
1. One-page organizational description: Describe your mission, principal activities, and the make-up of the community you serve. Describe any past programming that demonstrates your ability to develop and manage a successful Big Read program.
2. List of proposed community partners with whom you plan to collaborate.
3. List of proposed school partners (middle and high schools, school libraries, school districts, community colleges, or universities in your area).
4. List of potential media partners (TV, radio, print, or internet).
5. Two-page application narrative: Describe your literary programming plans, the number, locations, types of activities, and potential partner roles, including your partner library (if applicant itself is not a library). Describe your intended audience for these events, how your organization will engage audiences that are diverse within the context of your community, groups you have identified as lapsed and/or reluctant readers, and your specific plans to reach them with programming. Explain how you plan to staff this program. Explain how you will use and distribute the printed and online educational materials and, should you choose to purchase them, copies of the selected book. Previous grantees should focus on proposed September 2010 - June 2011 programming while incorporating how upcoming plans builds on previous Big Read experiences. In particular, previous grantees should explain how they will reach new audiences within their community not previously involved in Big Read activities.
6. One-page (total) biographical descriptions of the principal project leaders.
7. Two-page program budget.
Additional materials
1) Proof of your organization’s FEDERAL tax-exempt status, consisting of either:
a) Copy of your organization’s federal tax-exempt ruling under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; or
b) Documentation indicating that your organization is a division of state, local, or tribal government. State sales tax-exemption certificates and copies of ordinances or bylaws are not qualified documents. For assistance in identifying the correct documentation, please call Arts Midwest or check with your finance department.
2. Signed certification page downloaded from eGRANT.
3. A one-page letter of support for participation in this program from the partner library, if the applicant is not a library. If the applicant is a library, you should submit a letter from a key partner organization.
All eGRANT applications must be submitted electronically to Arts Midwest on or before 4:00 p.m. CST on February 2, 2010.
Additional materials, as listed above, must be received in the mail by Arts Midwest on or before 4:00 p.m. CST on February 2, 2010. This is not a postmark deadline. The additional materials may not be e-mailed or faxed.
Please send your additional materials to:
The Big Read
Arts Midwest
2908 Hennepin Avenue, Suite 200
Minneapolis, MN 55408
612.238.8010
Please call Arts Midwest at 612.238.8010 or e-mail TheBigRead@artsmidwest.org.
