The Audio Genre Development Foundation
. . . designing for the "first organ". . .
Spring 2001 Request For Proposals
Deadline: (April 26, 2001).
Person or Organization Submitting Proposal ____________________________________
[ ]Grant Proposal
[ ]Loan Proposal
- Project Category (Check One):
- -----A.[ ] Audio Broadcast
- -----B.[ ] Portable Audio
- -----C.[ ] Audio Installation
- -----D.[ ] Other (Specify) ___________________________________
- Total Amount Requested $_______________
Reply To:
James S. Lee, DirectorThe Audio Genre Development Foundation
Communication Studies Department
CB# 3285, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-6235
PRINT ENTIRE DOCUMENT FOR REFERENCE.
SUBMIT THE PART ABOVE THIS LINE AS A PROPOSAL COVER SHEET
The Audio Genre Development Foundation
The Audio Genre Development Foundation (AGDF) is
a fictitious organization created to encourage the development of innovative
approaches to audio art and radio programming. The AGDF makes "grants"
of up to $500,000 in support of the development and delivery of audio productions
intended for both mass simultaneous distribution and localized presentation.
The Foundation encourages submissions that push the envelope of creativity
and provide unique or unusual experiences for the audience. Grants are
made for free public presentations or for innovative uses of existing media
to solve problems, promote democratization of cultural production, force
a rethinking of media roles, present audio material in unique ways, or
help define audio art.
The AGDF is not a lending institution and has little interest in offering start-up money for business ventures unless such ventures are so unique as to demand special consideration. Persons applying to the AGDF for a loan must be prepared to submit a detailed business plan and identify some compelling artistic or social reason the project should be financed. Please read the following guidelines carefully before preparing your proposal.
The award money and the AGDF are both fictional. All other elements of the proposal, however, must be real or realistic. That is to say they must be both technologically and economically feasible. They must use existing technologies that have been accurately priced. No fictional elements may be introduced into the proposals. That means no volunteer celebrities, no undeveloped technologies, no fictional expertise, no nonexistent companies, no nonexistent venues. In other words the proposal must be based on real world conditions and research.
Writing AGDF Proposals
AGDF proposals must follow the format guidelines
outlined below. All material is to be typed or machine printed on standard
size 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper (printed on one side only). No hand written
documents will be accepted. Incomplete and/or late submissions will
not be considered. Take some time to look over the Proposal
Writing Short Course presented by the Foundation
Center. Proposals to the Audio Genre Development Foundation should
include at least the following:
- A separate business letter from the applicant introducing h**self, briefly introducing the proposed project, and specifying the amount being requested. The letter must be signed, dated, and contain all relevant addresses.
- A completed cover sheet.
- A proposal narrative presenting the project in great detail. It should begin with an introductory paragraph. The introductory paragraph should contain the name of the project, the nature of the proposed work, a profile of the intended audience, a description of the work, and a brief budget summary. Think of it as an abstract of the entire narrative that follows it. The remainder of the narrative should contain a detailed description of the proposed work, a profile of its intended audience, and a justification for the project or some statement identifying what makes the proposed work unique. A discussion of the genesis of the idea and its artistic/historical roots is always a plus. Describe your work in detail. Relate the proposed work to existing works if appropriate. Use the narrative to sell the idea of your project to the AGDF. The narrative should also contain an explanation of some of the key elements of the budget.
- A separate budget section detailing all items required to complete the proposed project. The budget should include equipment costs for either purchase or rental, personnel costs, any expendable materials, rentals or leases for performance or presentation spaces, royalties, air time and any other costs anticipated by the proposing party. In-kind costs should be included as well. In addition, the budget section should contain a budget narrative in which you explain or justify major expenditures. This is also the place to explain a choice to buy rather than rent or lease expensive equipment.
- A project schedule or timetable. When will you get started? How long will it take? When will the project be completed? What is the development sequence?
- A plan for evaluating the success of the project. What would constitute a success for the proposed project? Is it measurable? How? This would be a good place to talk about ways you might get audience feedback either directly or indirectly. If feedback is built into the project through audience participation and/or performance, specify the mechanism.
- A business plan. This is required only for Loan Proposals. The business plan should spell out projected revenue flows and include a schedule for repayment of the requested loan. Projected income from the project must be justified by some reference to existing market research. Unfounded projections will provide grounds for rejection of the proposal and the award of a failing grade.
- A supporting appendix. Here you might include diagrams, excerpts, script treatments, or any other material that is evidence of planning and supportive of the project.
- A reference appendix. This proposal is, after all, an academic exercise. The reference section must be annotated. Identify all the sources you use in gathering information for your proposal and specify what information you got from those sources. If you use Internet resources, give the URL or FTP address. Bibliographic resources must be cited in standard MLA or APA format. Interviews and conversations with professionals in the field may be included but they should never be your sole source of information. Provide the date, time, and circumstances of any such conversations. Personal conversations may not used as the source of pricing information except when the interviewee is the actual vendor. Nothing else in the proposal should reflect the fact that this is a class exercise.
Project Categories
A. Audio Broadcasting.
Submissions in this category must be for audio programs
intended to reach a specified relatively large audience at a specified
frequency of presentation. The AGDF will support programs of any designated
length to be broadcast on any schedule and designed to reach any size of
mass audience. The scope of the project is at the discretion of the submitting
party. Applicants should identify the intended audience for the program
and describe the proposed program in detail. Any kind of program is supportable.
It may be helpful to think in terms of having access to a large audience
of your choosing and the resources to produce and deliver the audio production
of your choice. What would you do? Remember that submissions in this category
must be designed to reach some specified audience through a mass audio
medium. Normally this means radio and therefore simultaneous reception.
Nevertheless other avenues of distribution are possible and recognized
by the AGDF. Thus, things like cable radio or internet streaming audio
would be an acceptable means of distribution.
B. Portable Audio
The AGDF would also consider the production and mass distribution of audio material in some portable format such as CD's, Minidisks, Cassettes. This would include the development or adaptation of personal listening devices (or content for such devices) for unique purposes. The AGDF has very little interest in helping bands release CDs.C. Audio Installation.
Submissions in this category must be for localized
presentations to limited audiences. It is generally expected that the intended
audience be required to go to the presentation rather than have the presentation
go to the audience. Proposals in this category must have audio as the major
component. Nevertheless other media and artifacts can be built into the
presentation. In this category the artist is assumed to have greater (if
not complete) control over the acoustic environment of the audience. There
is no particular premium on scale. Smaller installations and huge public
presentations are equally valued by the AGDF.