Beginning this year, Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) is engaging in a new partnership with the Rhode Island Cultural Data Project (Rhode Island CDP). The first management tool of its kind, the Rhode Island CDP is a powerful, online management tool designed to strengthen arts and cultural organizations. 

To provide the cultural community with consistent, reliable, comprehensive data on arts and culture in Rhode Island, this unique system collects and standardizes historical financial and programmatic data for arts and cultural organizations. Through the Rhode Island CDP participating organizations can track their own financial and programmatic performance over time and benchmark themselves against comparable organizations in specific disciplines, geographic regions and budget sizes. To learn more about the Rhode Island CDP, please visit riculturaldata.org.

Rhode Island State Council on the Arts Requirement

Participation in the Rhode Island CDP is a requirement for all General Operating Support (GOS) and Project Grants for Organizations (PGO) applicants. Applicants must submit CDP Data Profiles for the two most recently completed fiscal years prior to the program deadline. A Funder Report generated from your organization’s Data Profiles will be a required application attachment for these programs.

Benefits of Participation

You do not need to be an applicant to the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts to benefit from the Rhode Island CDP. Through a comprehensive, statewide effort to gather consistent and reliable information on the arts and cultural sector, the Rhode Island CDP will:

• Enable participating organizations to track trends and benchmark progress through powerful reporting tools, 
• Provide information with which to gauge the economic impact of arts and culture by area or statewide, and
• Equip the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and other funders with data to plan and evaluate grant-making activities more effectively.

Cost of Participation

There is no cost for arts and cultural organizations to participate in the Rhode Island CDP. The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, The Rhode Island Foundation and The Kresge Foundation have provided the leadership support for the Rhode Island CDP as a service to the field and to advance the arts in Rhode Island and nationally.

Registration

In order to use the site to enter your data, you must first create an organization login. You will need to select a unique Organization ID and password, which will be used to login to the site on future visits. You will enter the legal name of your organization and designate a primary contact.  View a flow chart of the CDP process here.  

User Support

Organizations participating in the Rhode Island CDP will receive technical and user support through a toll-free help desk, free access (by phone and email) to a team of nonprofit financial consultants, statewide on-location orientation sessions and online training provided throughout the year.

Please direct any question concerning the Rhode Island Cultural Data Project to:

• Toll Free: 1-855-70-RICDP  or  1-855-707-4237
• Email: help@riculturaldata.org
• Available Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Attend a Free Rhode Island CDP Orientation.

Register now for these important orientation sessions online or at a location near you.
Learn More on the Rhode Island CDP website. 

Instructions for RISCA Applicants

The Rhode Island CDP is an online system for collecting and standardizing historical financial and organizational data.  The first management tool of its kind, the Rhode Island CDP will enable organizations to view trends in their data, benchmark themselves against peer organizations, and enhance their financial management capacity.

The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts now requires all General Operating Support (GOS) and Project Grants for Organizations (PGO) applicants to complete Data Profiles  for the two most recently completed fiscal years and submit a Funder Report annually as part of the application process.

Instructions for use of the Rhode Island CDP:

• Go to www.riculturaldata.org and complete the New User Registration.
• Complete Data Profiles for the two most recently completed fiscal years.*
• Enter data using your board-approved financial audit/review or year-end financial statements. 
• If your organization is not audited/reviewed, enter data based on board-approved year-end financial statements. 
• If your organization is an arts program/department within larger institution, enter data based on internal financial statements of only the arts program/department, not that of the larger institution, and indicate that you have a parent organization in Section 1.
• DO NOT enter project budgets, budgets for future years, or data from incomplete or not-yet-approved audits/reviews/financial statements.
• Any questions regarding what data to enter into the CDP should be directed to the Rhode Island CDP Help Desk, not your program officer at RISCA.
• When finished entering data, click on Submit/Error Check; address any errors and call the Rhode Island CDP Help Desk if you have questions.
• Generate the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts’ appropriate Funder Report for the two most recently completed fiscal years*.  Save the Funder Report to your computer and label as follows: Your organization’s name_GOS.pdf.
• Review your Funder Report; if you need to make changes, call the Help Desk.
• Upload the Funder Report to your online RISCA grant application.

*The Funder Report for FY12 consists of data from your two most recently completed fiscal years.  The Data Profiles for these years must display either a "SUBMITTED" or "REVIEW COMPLETE"status.

The Rhode Island CDP Review Process

 

After your Data Profiles have been submitted into the CDP, the Rhode Island CDP Help Desk will review your organization’s information and contact you with suggested revisions to ensure the accuracy of your data. It is your responsibility to respond to the Help Desk and to make any necessary changes to the submitted Data Profiles. Once your organization has successfully completed the review in coordination with the Help Desk, your Data Profiles will be marked as “Review Complete.”

The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts strongly urges all organizations to complete the review process in coordination with the Rhode Island CDP Help Desk and achieve “Review Complete” CDP Data Profiles.  RISCA will receive regular updates on the status of its applicants’ data to ensure compliance.  Please note: In 2012, RISCA will require all historic Data Profiles submitted in 2011 be marked “Review Complete.”

Only after your Data Profiles have been reviewed by the Help Desk and marked “Review Complete” will your data be eligible for inclusion in research and advocacy on behalf of the cultural sector in Rhode Island.  Don’t miss out on this important opportunity to be counted!

More Information

 

The Cultural Data Project recommends participating in an in-person or online New User Orientation session before entering your data into the CDP.  This training will walk participants through the process of entering data, applying to participating funders and generating reports. 
Additionally, online tutorials and resources are available on the Rhode Island CDP website.
 

Rhode Island CDP Help Desk:

Please direct any question concerning the Rhode Island Cultural Data Project to:

Toll Free: 1-855-70-RICDP (1-855-707-4237)
Email: help@riculturaldata.org
The Rhode Island CDP Help Desk is available Monday – Friday from 9:00am – 5:00pm EST.

Rhode Island CDP website: http://www.riculturaldata.org