Creative Communities San Diego (CCSD)
Funding FY28 Guidelines

The City of San Diego Division of Cultural Affairs (Cultural Affairs) advances an equitable and inclusive creative economy and cultural ecosystem by investing in artists, creatives, organizations, and the systems that support creative work; expanding participation and access; and advancing San Diego as a global creative destination.

Beginning with the FY28 funding cycle, Cultural Affairs is modernizing the City’s arts and culture funding programs to create a clearer, more predictable, responsive, and transparent system. OSP and CCSD will continue, with each program organized into three funding pathways.

These updates put the Creative City Cultural Plan into practice through one of the City’s primary recurring investments in arts and culture.

Applicants should tell us clearly about the project the people or creative-sector need connected to it how the work is designed, who will carry it out and what City investment makes possible. Peer panelists evaluate applications using the published criteria and the context applicants provide.

CCSD is supported by Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), governed by Council Policy 100-03. The policy allows TOT funding to strengthen the creative sector and economy; contribute to San Diego’s reputation as a cultural destination; expand access to arts and culture for residents and visitors; enrich the lives of San Diegans; and help build healthy, vital neighborhoods.

Apply Here: https://sandiegoarts.fluxx.io/

About Creative Communities San Diego

Creative Communities San Diego (CCSD) provides project support for eligible arts, cultural, and creative projects that take place in, serve, or create direct benefit for the City of San Diego.

Get to Know the CCSD Pathways

Beginning in FY28, CCSD is organized into three pathways based on the project’s primary purpose, who or what it is intended to serve, and the type of public or creative-sector benefit it creates:

These pathways are not a ranking of artistic quality, community importance, project scale, or public benefit. A project may overlap more than one pathway; applicants should choose the pathway that best reflects the primary purpose and intended outcome of the work they are asking the City to support.

Find Your CCSD Pathway

Applicants select the pathway they believe fits best. Cultural Affairs may adjust pathway placement before panel review  if another CCSD pathway is a stronger fit. Applicants will be notified and will not be penalized for a good-faith selection.

Eligibility Guidelines

An applicant is eligible to apply for CCSD funding if:

• ELIGIBLE NONPROFIT STATUS: The applicant holds eligible federal tax-exempt status under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6), or applies through an eligible fiscal sponsor; AND
• LEGAL ENTITY AND CALIFORNIA REGISTRATION: The applicant and, when applicable, fiscal sponsor meet applicable legal-entity and California registration requirements; AND
• PROJECT PURPOSE: Arts, culture, creativity, cultural heritage, cultural practice, or creative-sector support is the primary purpose of the City-supported project; AND
• CITY CONNECTION: The funded project takes place in the City of San Diego and/or creates the direct City benefit required by the applicable pathway. City funds may support only eligible City-connected activity; AND
• PUBLIC BENEFIT: The project creates meaningful benefit for San Diego residents, participants, artists, cultural workers, creative organizations, and/or visitors; AND
• PUBLIC PURPOSE ALIGNMENT: The project aligns with one or more purposes of TOT funding under Council Policy 100-03.

There is no two-year operating-history requirement or two-year independent-governing-board requirement. CCSD does not require a principal office in the City or County when the project otherwise meets the applicable City-connection requirement.

An applicant is NOT eligible for CCSD funding if:

• the applicant is an individual applying in a personal capacity;
• the project’s primary purpose is not arts, culture, creativity, cultural heritage, cultural practice, or creative-sector support;
• the project does not meet the applicable City-location or direct-benefit requirement;
• the applicant has an unresolved legal, financial, registration, debarment, or City-debt condition that makes it ineligible;
• the applicant or activity discriminates in a manner prohibited by applicable law, Council Policy, or the funding agreement;
• the request is primarily for ongoing organizational operations rather than a defined project. Review Organization Support Program for general operating support.

Arts, Culture + Creativity Must Be Central

CCSD funds arts, cultural, and creative projects, not unrelated projects that happen to include an artist or creative element.

A project is not eligible merely because it includes a musician, mural, performance, artist vendor, or other creative element. The primary purpose, design, and intended outcome of the City-supported work must be arts, cultural, creative, heritage-based, or focused on strengthening the creative sector.

Fiscal Sponsorship

An organization or project producer that does not hold eligible federal tax-exempt status may apply through an eligible fiscal sponsor when permitted by the final Council Policy and these guidelines.

The project producer remains the CCSD applicant and is responsible for carrying out the approved project and complying with the funding agreement. The fiscal sponsor is identified separately as the approved sponsor/payee, and the City issues payment to the sponsor on the recipient’s behalf.

Fiscal-sponsored applicants submit the required sponsor agreement, tax-exempt and registration documentation, SAM verification, W-9, and other payment or contracting documents with the application. The fiscal sponsor relationship must remain in good standing through the funding period.

Public Benefit

City arts and culture funding is a public investment. Funded projects are expected to create meaningful benefit for San Diego.

Public benefit is the public’s ability to access, experience, engage with, or benefit from the cultural and creative resources a project provides. It may look different depending on the project and pathway.

Examples of public benefit include:

• free or reduced-cost arts and cultural experiences;
• opportunities to make, learn, gather, practice, or participate;
• culturally specific or heritage-based activity;
• strategies that reduce financial, geographic, physical, language, communication, or other barriers;
• paid opportunities for artists and cultural workers;
• neighborhood creative activity and belonging;
• youth, family, intergenerational, or educational opportunities;
• training, resources, infrastructure, or support that strengthens artists and creative organizations;
• partnerships that expand access, connection, or creative opportunity;
• another credible benefit appropriate to the project.
• For Creative Ecosystem Builder projects, public benefit may be downstream: stronger artists, cultural workers, and organizations can create broader cultural and community benefit over time.

Application Process

FY28 uses one complete CCSD application. There is no separate Part 1 or Part 2. Administrative verification is separate from panel evaluation.

1. Submit one complete CCSD application through Fluxx by the deadline.
2. Cultural Affairs reviews eligibility, required documents, fiscal sponsorship if applicable, project budget completeness, and pathway placement.
3. Applicants with eligible correctable issues receive cure instructions and a deadline.
4. Pathway placement is confirmed before panel review.
5. Eligible applications are assigned to trained peer panels.
6. Panelists independently review and score applications using the published 100-point criteria and provide comments.
7. Panelists deliberate and finalize scores through the published review process.
8. Cultural Affairs oversees the process for consistency, fairness, conflicts of interest, and compliance.
9. Final panel scores are used in the published award-calculation model.
10. Recommendations proceed through applicable Commission and City authorization processes.
11. Applicants are notified, and selected recipients proceed to agreement execution.

After You Apply

Cure Period

The cure period allows an otherwise eligible applicant to correct certain missing, outdated, illegible, or inaccurate administrative or eligibility information.

Potentially curable issues may include missing or outdated registrations; an illegible upload; incorrect W-9 or administrative information; fiscal sponsor documentation; information needed to verify City connection; or another correctable administrative issue identified by Cultural Affairs.

The cure period does not allow applicants to rewrite scored responses, replace work samples solely to improve competitiveness, materially redesign the project, or add substantive competitive information after the deadline.

Cultural Affairs will identify what must be corrected and the deadline.

Appeals

Applicants who are not recommended for a funding award may submit a written appeal to the staff by 5:00 p.m. on the tenth calendar day following their notification. Staff will review these appeals and present them to the Commission for Arts and Culture (Commission) advisory board for recommendation to the City.

The City makes final funding decisions. Panel scores and comments will be made available to applicants in a consistent format after decisions are final, subject to applicable requirements.

Evaluation and Allocation  

FY28 CCSD awards are calculated using:

1. the project’s 100-point panel score;
2. a project scale/budget factor derived from the project budget;
3. the total amount of CCSD funding available for distribution; and
4. applicable pathway-specific award parameters, including any approved minimums, maximums, ranges, or controls.

A larger project budget does not produce a higher application score. The project scale/budget factor affects allocation only; it is not a measure of merit, feasibility, cultural value, or public benefit.

Awards, Agreements + 100% Upfront Payment

Award recommendations are not final until required City authorization and budget processes are complete.

Selected recipients must execute a funding agreement before funds are released.

After the agreement is fully executed and required payment documents are complete, Cultural Affairs will issue one advance payment equal to 100% of the project award.

Recipients remain responsible for eligible use of funds, project delivery, reporting, reconciliation, records, audit requirements, repayment obligations, material-change notification, and all other agreement terms.

CCSD uses a single-year project agreement for the FY28 funding period. It does not use OSP’s multi-year renewal structure.

Application Overview

What You Will Submit

Required Compliance Materials in the Application

These materials are required with the application so Cultural Affairs can verify eligibility and correct eligible administrative issues before panel review.

Compliance materials are not scored or shared with peer panelists.

• IRS tax-exempt documentation for the direct applicant or fiscal sponsor;
• California Department of Justice / Registrar of Charitable Trusts registration, if submitting with a fiscal sponsor, use the fiscal sponsor’s DOJ;
• California Secretary of State active registration, if submitting with a fiscal sponsor, use the fiscal sponsor’s SOS;
• System for Award Management (SAM) non-debarment verification, if submitting with a fiscal sponsor, use the fiscal sponsor’s SAMs;
• Current W-9;
• Workforce Report required by applicable City requirements;
• Fiscal sponsorship documentation, where applicable;
• Documentation needed to verify project location or direct City benefit;

Project Budget

FY28 CCSD does not require a dollar-for-dollar match. Applicants still provide an accurate project budget to establish project scale, demonstrate feasibility, support award calculation, and steward public funds.

Project Budget Context: Is there anything important panelists should understand about the project budget, pending revenue, unusual costs, contingency planning, or the role of City support? (200 words maximum)

Project Team

Identify up to five key people, organizations, cultural practitioners, or partners responsible for delivering the project. For each, provide the project role, key responsibilities, and a brief description of relevant experience or connection. Formal degrees are not required evidence of relevant capacity.

Work Samples

Submit 3–5 work samples that help panelists understand the artistic or cultural approach, community practice, public experience, creative-sector service, or project readiness relevant to the application.

For each sample provide the title/activity, date, format, applicant/team role, and brief context (75 words maximum).

Creative Impact Snapshot — Not Independently Scored

Cultural Affairs collects structured impact data to understand and communicate the reach, workforce, artist investment, community impact, and economic contribution of City-supported arts and culture. Bigger numbers do not automatically mean a stronger application.

• expected participants/audience/people served;
• free and reduced-cost participation, if applicable;
• paid artists/cultural workers;
• projected dollars paid directly to artists/cultural workers;
• project staff/contractors;
• primary City Council districts reached;
• number of project locations/sites;
• partner organizations;
• youth participants, if applicable.

What the Panel Sees

• brief applicant/project profile and pathway;
• project dates, locations, and relevant audience/beneficiary context;
• project team information relevant to feasibility;
• project budget summary and applicant-provided context;
• pathway-specific scored responses;
• work samples and annotations;
• relevant impact context specifically identified for review.

What the Panel Does Not See

• W-9;
• IRS, DOJ, Secretary of State, SAM, or other compliance records;
• sensitive fiscal sponsor payment documentation;
• Workforce Report unless required for panel review by final legal requirements;
• staff-only compliance notes;
• optional demographic data collected solely for program assessment.

Panel Scoring Guide

Conditions for Submission

The following conditions are a working FY28 draft and remain subject to City Attorney review before publication.

1. CITY DISCRETION. The City may revise, postpone, reissue, cancel, or decline to make awards through this funding process as allowed by law and City policy. Submission of an application does not guarantee funding.
2. ADDENDA. Official changes to the guidelines or application will be posted by written addendum on the Cultural Affairs funding webpage. Applicants are responsible for reviewing posted addenda through the deadline.
3. APPLICANT COSTS. The City is not responsible for costs incurred in preparing or submitting an application.
4. ACCURACY. Applicants are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of information submitted to the City and must promptly correct material errors or omissions.
5. ONE APPLICATION. Applicants must comply with the applicable one-application requirements established by Council Policy and these guidelines.
6. AGREEMENT REQUIRED. A selected recipient must receive a fully executed funding agreement before City funds are released.
7. PAYMENT. After the agreement is fully executed and required payment documents are complete, the City will issue one advance payment equal to 100% of the project award. Payment does not relieve the recipient of reporting, reconciliation, recordkeeping, audit, repayment, or other agreement obligations.
8. NO MATCH. FY28 CCSD does not require a matching contribution.
9. REGISTRATIONS AND COMPLIANCE. Applicants, recipients, and fiscal sponsors where applicable must maintain all state, federal, and City registrations and compliance requirements applicable to the award.
10. APPROVED PROJECT AND BUDGET. The recipient must use the award only for the approved project, eligible expenses, and funding purpose. Material changes require City approval.
11. REPORTING AND RECONCILIATION. Recipients must complete required reporting and account for the use of the full award in the format and by the deadlines established by the City.
12. RECOVERY OF FUNDS. Recipients must return unspent, ineligible, unsupported, materially inaccurate, or otherwise noncompliant funds when required under the agreement.
13. MATERIAL CHANGES. Recipients must notify Cultural Affairs of significant changes that may materially affect eligibility, project performance, financial condition, legal status, fiscal sponsorship, or compliance within the timeframe established by the agreement.
14. PUBLIC RECORDS. Information submitted to the City may be disclosed under the California Public Records Act unless protected by applicable law.
15. PROHIBITED USES. City funds may not be used for expenses prohibited by law, Council Policy, these guidelines, or the funding agreement.
16. NONDISCRIMINATION. City funds will not be provided to applicants or activities that discriminate in a manner prohibited by applicable law, Council Policy, or City requirements.
17. ACCOUNTABILITY. Material noncompliance may result in corrective action, recovery of funds, termination, and/or future funding ineligibility as authorized by the final agreement and accountability framework.