Blanket Justification for
National Endowment for the Arts Funding Application Guidelines and
Requirements
Revision of a currently approved collection
No
Regular
08/29/2025
Requested
Previously Approved
36 Months From Approved
10/31/2025
4,702
6,713
104,096
131,032
3,018,784
0
Application guidelines, forms, and
requirements elicit relevant information from individuals,
non-profit organizations, and governmental agencies that apply for
funding to the National Endowment for the Arts' grant categories.
This information is necessary for the accurate, fair, and thorough
consideration of competing proposals in the review
process.
US Code:
20
USC 954 Name of Law: National Foundation on the Arts and the
Humanities Act of 1965
With respect to the application
guidelines and requirements, the federal government’s burden for
these costs has decreased since 2022 from $2,698,626 to $2,228,748
due to the streamlining and consolidation of some funding programs,
resulting in fewer incoming applications. Similarly, the cost to
respondents for the same period of time has decreased from
$3,659,705 to $3,018,784 due the same factors. We have carefully
examined all of our grant funding opportunities to see where
streamlining and consolidation might be desirable. Our efforts led
us to simplify the application instructions and requirements,
improve the presentation of application materials on our website,
and refine our application webforms. NOFO word counts have been
reduced between 27%-52%, making our application materials
significantly easier for applicants to review. Application
requirements have also been reduced: nonprofit applicants now have
a 20% reduction in required application content. The estimated
overall burden to government applicants has been adjusted to
reflect a shift from collecting a full application from 1/3 of the
applicant pool every three years, to a full application from all
applicants annually. However, this has been offset by a reduction
in the application requirements. Previously, we estimated that a
full application would take approximately 32 hours to complete and
submit, we now estimate that a full application will take 28 hours
to complete and submit. Applicants in this program also have an
option to direct reviewers to information in their state or
regional plan, which further reduces the need to provide narrative
content. Government applicants have a reduction of between 50-75%
in required application content. Previous NEA ICR submissions did
not include a dollar estimate for cost to applicants – these
figures were found in our previous Supporting Statements. This
year, we have also included the dollar estimate in the ICR, which
makes it appear that the cost has risen, when in fact it has fallen
from $3,659,705 in 2022 to $3,018,094 in 2025.
$2,228,748
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Daniel Beattie 202 682-5688
beattied@arts.gov
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Form 3135-0112 Blanket Justification for Arts Endowment Funding Application Guidelines and Requirements for Individuals
National Endowment for the Arts Supporting Statement 2025 Final.pdf
Blanket Justification for Arts Endowment Funding Application Guidelines and Requirements for Individuals