The City of Oakland is seeking panelists to serve on our Cultural Funding Program Public Review Panels.
The City of Oakland’s Cultural Funding Program (CFP) supports Oakland-based artistic programs, festivals, general operations of arts nonprofit profit organizations, projects by individual artists, and more. You can learn more about our core grant programs here. These programs reflect our annual grant programs, but do not include any special grant opportunities that may be offered in the future.
Public Review Panels are convened throughout the year to review applications for organizations and artists requesting City grant support. Panelists contribute their expertise to the Cultural Funding Program’s fair and open public review of grant applications, and assist in the continuing development of Oakland’s artistic and cultural communities.
The CFP works to recruit a diverse panel of individuals whose skills and expertise will provide the appropriate guidance for evaluating grant applications. Our panelists include representatives from the culturally-specific arts community, teaching artists, grant makers, arts administrators, dancers, singers, visual artists, actors, development/fundraising staff, social service professionals, community builders, etc.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Panelist Criteria:
Review Panels include people with diverse talents and perspectives. The City seeks panelists with experience in a wide range of artistic, cultural, and social fields, including, but not limited to:
Artists and cultural practitioners of all disciplines
Arts Education
Cultural place keeping
Marketing, organizational planning, accounting and/or development
Non-profit management
Special events or festival production
Social service, justice, community building
In addition having any of the above expertise, panelists should also have:
Personal sense of integrity and fairness
Commitment to promoting racial equity, inclusion and the full participation for all Oakland residents
Ability to provide clear, productive and and constructive feedback
Knowledge of Oakland and its arts community
Artists or organizations applying for a CFP grant cannot serve as a panelist for their grant category.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SERVICE
Panelists serve on only one Public Review Panel per year (evaluating one grant category)
Panelists are required to attend a panelist orientation to learn the Cultural Funding Program guidelines, review process, evaluation criteria, and to prepare for upcoming Review Panels
Panelists review and score grant applications in our online platform in the weeks prior to the Public Review Panel meeting according to the published review criteria
Panelists are required to attend the Public Review Panel meetings, which currently take place via Zoom. Each application will have a 10 minute review period, with approximately 7 minutes of panel discussion and 3 minutes for the applicant to address the panel.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
CFP will ask each panelist to thoroughly review the list of applicants prior to reviewing and scoring applications. Panelists with a conflict of interest will be asked to recuse themselves from evaluating and scoring those applications. During the Panel Review Day meeting, panelists will leave the discussion during the review of the application in conflict. Conflicts of interest can include, but are not limited to:
A member of your immediate family is or has been an employee, contractor, or board member of an applicant or organization within the past two years;
You have a relation to the head of the organization or have a familial relationship (includes romantic relationship) with the applicant or organization’s lead staff;
You have a past or pending dispute with an applicant or organization.
STIPEND
Panelists receive an honorarium of $500 for their time and service.
HOW TO BECOME A PANELIST
To be considered for panel service, please submit:
Completed CFP Panelist Application Form
Current Resume