GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
DC COMMISSION ON THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES
September 30, 2024
The Honorable Phil Mendelson
Chairman
Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Chairman Mendelson:
Enclosed for consideration and approval by the Council of the District of Columbia is the proposed resolution
titled the “Large Capital Grants Program Approval Resolution of 2024.”
The proposed resolution would approve proposed final rulemaking that establishes a new Chapter 33 (Arts and
Humanities Large Capital Grants) of Title 1 (Mayor and Executive Agencies) of the District of Columbia
Municipal Regulation, setting forth eligibility and disbursement requirements for a Large Capital Grants
Program. The rulemaking is needed to ensure equity, transparency, and long-term sustainability of the program.
We urge the Council to take prompt and favorable action on the “Large Capital Grants Program Approval
Resolution of 2024.”
Sincerely,
Aaron Myers – Executive Director, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
Reggie Van Lee – Chair, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
cc: Committee of the Whole
200 I (Eye) Street, S.E., Suite 1400, Washington, DC 20003 Telephone: (202) 724-5613 TDD: (202) 727-3148 Fax: (202) 727-4135
http://dcarts.dc.gov
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at the Request of the
Commission on the Arts and Humanities
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7 A PROPOSED RESOLUTION
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10 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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14 To approve the proposed final rules to implement the provisions of the Arts and Humanities Large Capital
15 Grants Program established by the Commission on the Arts and Humanities Allotment
16 Adjustment and Large Capital Grants Emergency Amendment Act of 2023.
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18 RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
19 Resolution may be cited as the "Large Capital Grants Program Approval Resolution of 2024".
20 Sec. 2. Pursuant to section 6d( e)(2) of the Commission on the Arts and Humanities Act, effective
21 September 6, 2023 (D.C. Law 25-50; D.C. Official Code§ 39-205.04(e)(2)), the Council approves the
22 proposed final rulemaking adopted by the Commission on the Arts and Humanities, which was published
23 in the D. C. Register on Febrnary 16, 2024 at 71 DCR 001741 to establish the Large Capital Grants
24 Program eligibility and disbursement requirements .
25 Sec. 3. Transmittal.
26 The Council of the District of Columbia shall transmit a copy of this resolution, upon its
27 adoption, to the Chairperson of the Commission on the Arts and Humanities .
28 Sec. 4. Fiscal impact statement
29 The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal impact
30 statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved October 16,
31 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code§ l-301.47a) .
32 Sec. 5. Effective Date
33 This resolution shall take effect immediately.
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 COMMISSION ON THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES
NOTICE OF FINAL RULEMAKING
The Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH), pursuant to the authority set forth in the
Commission on the Arts and Humanities Act, effective October 21, 1975 (D.C. Law 1-22; D.C.
Official Code § 39-201 et seq.), hereby gives notice of the intent to adopt a new Chapter 33 (Arts
and Humanities Large Capital Grants) of Title 1 (Mayor and Executive Agencies) of the District
of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR).
CAH proposes these rules to implement the provisions of the Arts and Humanities Large Capital
Grants Program established by the Commission on the Arts and Humanities Allotment Adjustment
and Large Capital Grants Amendment Act of 2023 (Section 2162 of the Fiscal Year 2024 Budget
Support Act of 2023). These rules set forth eligibility and disbursement requirements in addition
to the requirements stated in the Act.
A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published in the District of Columbia Register on February
16, 2024, at 71 DCR 001741. CAH did not receive any public comments and no changes were
made by CAH to these rules.
In accordance with section 6d(e)(2) of the Commission on the Arts and Humanities Act, effective
September 6, 2023 (D.C. Law 25-50; D.C. Official Code § 39-205.04(e)(2)), these rules were
transmitted on November 1, 2023, to the Council for the Council’s review and approval.
These rules were adopted by the Executive Director as final on MONTH DATE, 2024 and will
take effect immediately upon publication of this notice in the District of Columbia Register.
Title 1, MAYOR AND EXECUTIVE AGENCIES, of the DCMR is amended as follows:
Chapter 33, ARTS AND HUMANITIES LARGE CAPITAL GRANTS, is added to read as
follows:
Chapter 33 ARTS AND HUMANITIES LARGE CAPITAL GRANTS
3300 AWARD AMOUNTS AND FUNDING
3300.1 The Large Capital Grants program is funded by the Commission on the Arts and
Humanities annual grants budget.
3300.2 Grants awarded under this program have a minimum award amount of $900,000
and a maximum award amount of $1,500,000 per grant.
3300.3 The period of performance for a grant made under this program may be for up to
three fiscal years at the Commission’s discretion and a grantee’s stated preference.
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3301 ELIGIBILITY
3301.1 Grants are awarded on a competitive basis for the purpose of supporting either:
(a) Improvements of a facility located in the District of Columbia with a tax
valuation of at least $1,000,000; or,
(b) The purchase of a facility located in the District of Columbia with a tax
valuation of at least $1,000,000 by an applicant with a thirty-year lease on
that facility.
3301.2 Applicants must either own the facility to be improved or possess at least a thirty-
year lease on the same facility. Applicants must have at least seven years remaining
on that lease. The thirty-year lease criteria include:
(a) Occupancy history and lease extensions; and,
(b) Other legally bound terms of occupation or possession such as residence by
Congressional mandate, by Federal/District government agreement, or by
similar mandates.
3301.3 The facility to be improved must be designed for and have as its primary function
the training, management, production, or presentation of performances or
exhibitions of the arts or humanities.
3301.4 Applicants must be incorporated as a nonprofit organization with a federally
designated tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) code for at least one year prior to the grant application
deadline, and be registered with, and authorized to do business in, the District of
Columbia with a principal business office address in the District of Columbia.
3301.5 Applicants must have a primary mission focus in at least one discipline of the arts
or humanities and have a history of actively providing arts and humanities programs
in the District of Columbia for at least one year prior to the grant application
deadline.
3301.6 Applicants must reflect a commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and access at
all levels of its organization. Applicants will be required to demonstrate how a large
capital grant will measurably improve inclusion, diversity, equity, and access for
the organization and its constituents, staff, and board.
3301.7 The grant funded project must increase access for historically marginalized
communities in the District and increase the availability of arts and humanities
residences or workspaces.
3302 RESTRICTIONS
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3302.1 Organizations awarded a grant under this program are ineligible for a grant under
any other capital project grant awarded by the Commission in the same fiscal year.
3302.2 Organizations awarded a grant under this program are ineligible for a large capital
grant for two subsequent fiscal years.
3302.3 Additional restrictions may be included in the Request for Applications for the
grant.
3399 DEFINITIONS
3399.1 “Access” is defined in the broadest definition of the term as a means of ensuring
individuals and/or groups are given physical, financial, geographic, demographic,
cultural, and developmental access to programming, services, and other
opportunities.
“Arts” means instrumental music, vocal music, dance, drama, folk art, creative
writing, architecture and allied fields, painting, sculpture, photography, graphic and
craft arts, industrial design, costume and fashion design, media and film, and sound
recording; disciplines related to the presentation, performance, execution,
exhibition of those major art forms; and the study and application of the arts to the
human environment.
“Capital Project” means a project to construct either new facilities or make
significant, long-term renewal improvements to existing facilities.
“Commission” means the District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and
Humanities established by the Commission on the Arts and Humanities Act,
effective October 21, 1975 (D.C. Law 1-22; D.C. Official Code § 39-201 et seq.).
“Diversity” refers to the various backgrounds and races that comprise a
community, nation, or other grouping. In many instances, the term diversity does
not only acknowledge the existence of diversity of background, race, gender,
religion, sexual orientation, etc., but applies a recognition of the value of these
differences. Diversity enriches policies and practices by bringing people of diverse
backgrounds and experiences together to inform, shape, and enrich these policies
and practices.
“Equity” means giving everyone what they need to be successful. Equity is
different from treating everyone the same. Equity operates from the understanding
that people and groups enter given situations from very different starting points.
These starting points are often determined by certain social hierarchies such as race,
class, gender, age, sexual identity, etc. An equitable framework centers awareness
of these hierarchies and creates systems that are actively anti-racist, anti-classist,
anti-sexist, and anti-homophobic.
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“Humanities” means the study of ancient or modern languages, literature,
philosophy, history, human geography, archeology, jurisprudence, religion, law,
ethics, the history, criticism, theory, and practice of the arts; those aspects of the
social sciences that have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and
the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with
particular attention to the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of
national life.
“Inclusion” means authentically welcoming and bringing traditionally excluded
individuals and/or groups into processes, activities, and decision/policymaking in a
way that shares power.
“Period of Performance” means the time during which the grantee is expected to
complete award activities, incur expenses, and expend approved grant funds.
“Request for Applications” means a document that describes the requirements
needed to obtain a particular grant. The RFA includes a description of the purpose
of the grant program, including a definition of the type and range of services or
activities that a grantee is expected to complete.
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