Big Read, Shakespeare in American Communities, and Arts Midwest Touring Fund are Federally funded programs managed by Arts Midwest on behalf of the National Endowment for the Arts. Applicants and grantees of these programs must abide by the following requirements.

Organization must be a nonprofit 501c(3) organization, a unit of state or local government, or a federally recognized tribal community or tribe.

Organization must have a DUNS (Dun and Bradstreet) number, which is free to obtain. Look up your DUNS number.

Organization must have and maintain an “active” registration in SAM.gov (System for Award Management) until the application process is complete, and if selected, throughout the life of the award.

Registration is free but will take time to complete. Contact your local Procurement Technical Assistance Center for free specialized help with the SAM.gov registration process.

This may include renewing your registration annually or more frequently if there are changes to the information. You will need to opt-in to have it viewable in the public search.

Entities who create or update their registration in SAM.gov will no longer need to have an approved Entity Administrator notarized letter on file before their registration is activated. See here for more information.

Entities seeking Federal Assistance still must mail the original, signed copy of the notarized letter to the Federal Service Desk. Failure to do so within 30 days of activation may result in the registration no longer being active. Unfortunately, the National Endowment for the Arts and Arts Midwest have no control over the SAM requirements.

Click here for more helpful information about DUNS and SAM.gov.

Organization must compensate all professional performers, if applicable, and related or supporting professional personnel at no less than the prevailing minimum compensation. (This requirement is in accordance with the regulations issued by the Secretary of Labor in part 505 of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Part 505 does not provide information on specific compensation levels.)

Organization must adhere to the American Disabilities Act and have a Section 504 Self-Evaluation on file. More resources are available on the Accessibility Center.

Organization must be able to comply with the Federal policies and legal requirements, statutes, and regulations as stated in the Assurance of Compliance.