Montana: New GOS Guidelines Encourage Accessibility and Outreach to Legislators

By revising the guidelines of its general operating support program, the Montana Arts Council (MAC) is leveraging the value of its grant making to foster legislative support for the arts in Montana and to maximize the accessibility of creative activities and experiences for all Montanans. For the FY2016-2019 cycle of its Public Value Partnerships (PVP) grant, MAC not only is encouraging grantees to hold annual face-to-face meetings with state legislators, but also is evaluating grantees’ efforts to express appreciation for state support and to demonstrate the public value of the arts. In the program’s new adjudication criteria for returning grantees, MAC is assigning 25% of the total score to legislative outreach efforts, which all grantees are to describe in their annual and final reports. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, meanwhile, now also factors in the review matrix, counting for 10% of the score. The accessibility quotient is based on annual grantee reports and MAC’s review of grantee websites vis-à-vis a checklist developed with the help of the NEA Office of Accessibility. With the new requirement, MAC reports that 90% of PVP applicants now have websites prominently featuring ADA resources. For more information, contact MAC Executive Director Arni Fishbaugh.