Networking II

Abrien Nelson

Throughout my time here at Jacksonville University, I have gone to two art shows to “Network”. I have realized that networking is not something that you do at one event and forget about. Networking is about meeting people and finding ways that they could help you leverage your own career and you can help there’s. I can have all the talent in the world but if there is no way to get me in front of a mass audience, then I would not make any profit. Over the course of the semester, I had several networking opportunities. One would be at a sorority formal event. Where I met girls and guys who go to my school who helped me get connected resulting me being a part of a project for a gender studies class. The Second Networking opportunity I had would be through U singers where I met two of the funders for the new welcome center.

Derisa’s Internal Funding Request

https://smallbusinessgrant.fedex.com/#/rules

For my Internal Funding Request, I am applying for the FedEx Small Business Grant. Ten winners will receive grants for their businesses and free FedEx printing and business services. First prize winners will receive $50,000 dollars and $7,500 in business services from FedEx. Receiving this grant will fund any start up cost that are related to my entertainment company including but not limited to merchandise, studio/office construction, promotion and production. the grant requires applicants to give an elevator pitch (tell us what you do, what you sell or the service you offer, in 140 characters or less including spaces (2) Tell them about your business, what inspired you to get into it, what makes your business stand out and what difference it makes on you, your community or the environment, in 500 characters or less including spaces and (3) How you would use the FedEx Small Business Grant money to make a significant impact on your business, in 500 characters or less including spaces.

Grant Writing Group Project

Abrien Nelson

Chris Mandel

Tay Covington

Andrew Mowatt

Aaron Copland Fund For Music Recording Program

The goals of the American Music Center’s Program is to document and provide wider exposure for the music of contemporary American composers; to develop audiences for contemporary American music through record distribution and other retail markets; and to support the release and dissemination of recordings of previously unreleased contemporary American music. The Fund also supports the reissuance of recordings that are no longer available. Proposals may be submitted by nonprofit professional performance ensembles, presenting institutions, and nonprofit or commercial recording companies. Performance ensembles and presenting institutions must include a letter of intent from a recording company.

The Program’s Objectives

  • To document and provide wider exposure for the music of contemporary American composers
  • To develop audiences for contemporary American music through distribution of recorded performances in physical and online media
  • To support the production of new recordings of contemporary American music and the reissuance of significant recordings that are no longer available

Eligibility

Who is eligible

Proposals may be submitted by non-profit professional performance ensembles, presenting institutions and non-profit or commercial recording companies. Non-professionals and students are not eligible. 

Projects sponsored by universities and similar educational institutions are not eligible. For instances in which a proposal is made in support of an independent professional ensemble in residence at a university, but the ensemble does not have separate 501(c)(3) status, the university may serve as the fiscal sponsor, but the ensemble shall be the applicant. 

Any applicant who, as of the deadline date, has one or more Recording Program grants that have been paid but that have not been released within two years after receiving funds will not be eligible to apply for a Recording Program grant, unless the applicant has received a written waiver from the Fund.  Please address inquiries to the Grants Manager.

Because this program is extremely competitive, the Fund will not accept multiple proposals in the same round from organizations other than recording companies.

What is eligible

The Fund favors first recordings. However, reissues of significant recordings are eligible only if the music is not available from any other sources, such as ArkivMusic, Amazon, or other internet services at the time of application. Grants will not be made solely for the pressing or reprinting of additional CDs by the same label. In general, the Copland Fund does not support the reissuance of projects initially supported by the Fund.

Compositions for the proposed recording must be completed by the application deadline.

Grants will not be made for the purpose of commissions to composers.

Funding Provisions

In general, grants will not exceed $20,000. Grants will generally not exceed 50% of the total project costs.

Once awarded, all grants are subject to the following conditions and timetable:

  1. Funds will be disbursed upon receipt of written certification from the grantee that all other funding for a project has been secured, along with a list of the sources and amounts of funding
  2. A grantee may request an advance disbursement upon submission of confirmation of studio dates and estimates and/or invoices detailing the cost of the following items, provided that those items were part of the original grant request and itemized in the project budget, even if all the funding for the project has not yet been secured:
    1. studio time
    2. producer and engineer fees
    3. editing
  3. The amount disbursed in advance will be at the discretion of the Fund’s staff based upon submitted documentation, but will generally not exceed 50% of the total grant award
  4. A grantee receiving advance disbursement may request the balance of the award upon presenting certification that the funds needed to complete the project have been secured from other sources
  5. The recording must be released within two years after the date of the first (or only) payment

During this time, annual IRS expenditure responsibility forms may be required.
 
If the funds are not requested within two years, or if the recording(s) is not released within two years of payment of the grant, the Fund reserves the right to cancel the grant.

How to Apply

Only applicants invited to apply after submitting an approved proposal to the Preliminary Round may submit a full application to the Recording Program

If your organization already has an account on our site:

Then click on the “Start Application” button at the top of this page to begin the online application process. You may work on your proposal and save it as you go along. It is not necessary to complete the application in one session.

All applicants must supply the following information:

Organization Information

  • Contact information
  • For non-profit applicants, a copy of the IRS determination letter confirming tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and that the applicant is not a private foundation. If the applicant organization is not based in the United States, submit a letter from a lawyer confirming its equivalence to a publicly funded 501(c)(3) organization.
  • Federal tax ID number (all American applicants, whether non-profit or commercial)
  • 3-year financial summary

Musical Materials

Scores: Please submit one complete score for each work on the proposed project, in PDF format.

When a score corresponds with an audio example (see below), clearly mark the page of the PDF at which the listening example begins.

Audio examples (All audio excerpts should be continuous, uncut excerpts): Please submit 3-to-5 minute audio excerpts, as follows:

  • For each composer, submit up to three contrasting samples of music to be recorded that you feel most fairly represent the works on the project
  • For a project of the works of three or more composers: Submit up to a maximum of five samples of which each sample should be music of a different composer. The samples should fairly represent the range of works on the project
  • Please note that for your proposal to be eligible, you must submit an audio sample of the performers who will record this project regardless of what other samples are submitted. For multiple performers, submit one sample per performer/ensemble to a maximum of three. If your repertoire samples are by one or more of the performers who will record the project, you need submit additional samples only for those performers on the project who do not appear on your repertoire samples, to a maximum of three performer samples (including those that are also repertoire samples)

For each proposed work, audio excerpts should be one of the following, in descending order of preference:

  1. the final master of the proposed work
  2. a recording of the proposed work other than the final master (such as a live performance or rough edit), performed by the same performers as proposed for the project
  3. recording of the proposed work performed by different performers than proposed for the project*
  4. a demo of the proposed work (such as a MIDI realization or a performance of the piano reduction)*
  5. a recording of another work by the composer composed around the same time as the proposed work and preferably in a genre similar to that of the proposed work (if this work is performed by performers other than those proposed for the project, see *)

*for options 3 through 5, an additional 3-to-5 minute example of the proposed performers must also be submitted (please submit separately)

The Fund does not require applicants to submit final masters to be eligible to apply to the Recording Program. However, if a final master is available, it should be submitted.

Video examples:
If the project incorporates video, submit a final master or rough cut of the video, if one exists. If video has not been created yet, submit an example that represents the production quality of the person or team primarily responsible for the video element (i.e., the videographer, producer, director, etc.).

Video examples are intended to demonstrate video production quality, not to demonstrate a musical work, and should be submitted in addition to audio examples, not in lieu of them (except in the case of a final master of the DVD, in which video alone will suffice).

Please save your work often.

Application Deadline

  • November 15, 2018: Preliminary Round deadline
  • December 15, 2018: Preliminary Round notification via e-mail; invitation to apply
  • February 15, 2019: Invitation Application Deadline

Applicants will be notified of funding decisions in or about June of that year. Please do not contact the Fund for information on funding decisions.

Learning Journal II Abrien Nelson

  1. What is your unique gift? – Do you believe in it enough to invest everything you have in it?

My unique gift would be the following, my singing, acting, dancing, looks, and intellectual creativity. I do believe in my gifts enough to invest all my money and time into becoming the best that I can be.

  • What difference are you trying to make in the world? – How passionate are you about doing this?

I want to be able to use my art to affect the everyday American. I want to give young black boy a positive role model to look up too. I also want to deliver a message that stereotypes don’t define who you are and who you can be.

  • How do you define success for yourself? – What challenges do you face in order to create success?

I define success as being happy, impactful and free. Success for me is being able to create any art that I chose when I chose. I also want my art to make me enough money to sustain a healthy and happy lifestyle.

  • What is career vision and a mission?

My career vision and mission would be to make the world a better place and impact and influence the world on step at a time.

  • Can you innovate and creates value and successfully communicate that value to intended audiences?

Yes, I can innovate and create value and communicate it to an audience through platforms of social media like YouTube.

  • Do you have a positive attitude?

Yes.

  • Have you set your goals? What is your road map to success? Can you set inspiring and realistic goals?

My most immediate goal would be to graduate on time. Before I do so I would like to have an agent or an internship that could help start my career.

  • Do you have and/or acquire the necessary expertise to actualize your vision?

I do not. I don’t know all the ends and out of the entertainment industry. I don’t know how to get information on audition of any type, or how to get my name known.

  • What are your priorities? Can you set priorities?

My Priorities can be divided into three main point. One would be to obtain my degree. The second would but to get at least three song produced and recorded by the end of 2021 school year. The third would be to have a modeling portfolio and a paid shoot by the end of 2019.

  1. What opportunities are you looking for? What opportunities are you creating or intend to create?

The opportunities I’m looking for are the ones that showcase my creative abilities. I want opportunities that give me the experience needed to do other job. I want opportunities that allow me to make connections that could help me leverage my career.

  1. How comfortable are you with uncertainty? What risks are you willing to take?

I am moderately comfortable with uncertainty. It took me a while to understand that choosing a career in art or entertainment, there is a certain level of uncertainty no matter what job position you have. Realizing this fact make me rethink about my career and life choices. I had to evaluate why I am doing what I am doing. I sing because it feels natural to me it feels like home, and I act because I love to get into the heads and hearts of others. I dance because music is infectious, and I cannot help myself from moving when I hear a beat.

  1. When facing challenges, do you persevere or do you walk away?

When I am facing challenges or difficulty I do not walk away, I push through them and carry on until I come out on top. I fight with everything I have in me, because if I don’t fight for today, I don’t get tomorrow.

  1. What experience have you learned the most from?

Then most intellectually stimulating experience I have had would be having dyslexia and living in a military family. These two things have taught me that I have to work of everything I have in life. I learned that I will not take the same path as a peers. I have learned to be continent with that.

  1. What actions are you taking to realize your vision? Are you consistently taking action?  

I am always taking action to realize my vision. I invest 100% of my money, time and energy into be here a Jacksonville University perfecting my craft. I am always looking for more performance opportunities outside of the school community.

  1. How well do you put things in context? Are you able to easily respond to changes in your environment? What’s your best example?

I am not very witty, so I don’t but things in context right away. I know that change is a constant and in order to survive one have to adapt to their surroundings. This simple phrase can be applied to various facets of a person life. For myself I know that I am comfortable being in a new location or just not knowing. I am not afraid to ask questions.

  1. What is your plan to continually grow and evolve? How have you grown or evolved in there past year or three?

My plan to continually grow and evolve, is to always want more out of my life. I have evolved so much as a person in the past few years. I found myself, and I am comfortable in my own skin. I have made myself a stronger artist and have made more connections.

  1. How easy is it for you to reach out to others to ask for support and to offer help?

I think I struggle with asking for help. I like to think of myself as an independent person, and asking for help demises that fact. I have since learned that a smart person knows when they need help and support, and when they need be an independent thinker.

  1. How are you inspiring others to join and/or support your mission in order to create a financially sustainable enterprise that allows you to live your gift and contribute something valuable to society? – If you aren’t currently, how do you intend to?

I inspire other to work with me through my positive attitude. People want to work with because I want to always put forth my best possible product. My willingness to take risks also attracts people to work with me.

Chris Mandel Learning Journal 2

  • What is your unique gift? – Do you believe in it enough to invest everything you have in it?
    • I can sing dance and act. I believe that I have invested so much of my life into performing and training that I can make something come from it. It is my biggest skill and talent.
    • I believe that it is enough to invest in because I am passionate and dedicated to my craft.
  • How do you define success for yourself? – What challenges do you face in order to create success?
    • I define success as accomplishment. I find the challenges to create success in many different forms. Being sick, stressed, and under prepared are huge challenges that I face every day. But once I cross over those bridges, I can create the best success that I can.
    • I know that these little challenges that I face everyday are so small that they will not affect what the endgame is.
  • What is career vision and a mission?
    • I hope to create memories and bring joy to thousands of people every night is my career vision. My mission is to accomplish this in some way shape or form. Broadway is ideal, but I know that it is not the only way to accomplish my vision.
    • My current vision is to get work and continue to work in any production. I am young and have a long live to live before I cannot perform again.
  • Can you innovate and creates value and successfully communicate that value to intended audiences?
    • I can successfully communicate to all different types of audiences. I know how to fake it until I make it. This is a skill that I need every day as a performer.
    • I know to talk about what they want to hear. I can not waste people’s time. I must speak to them in a way that they understand in order to create a strong connection.
  • Do you have a positive attitude?
    • I usually have a positive attitude, but being a theatre major it is easy to get sucked down and into a negative attitude.
    • I can have a negative attitude. Sometimes it is hard to get out of that mindset, but I know now that this is my career and somethings that I do will follow me forever.
  • Have you set your goals? What is your road map to success? Can you set inspiring and realistic goals?
    • I have set general goals. I have a few plans and some back up plans. I know that I want to perform in some way shape or form. I will do it somehow. I have many different ideas and goals set up.
    • I have new goals now and cannot wait to accomplish them. I truly hope that I reach my goal soon and continue to create new goals from there.
  • Do you have and/or acquire the necessary expertise to actualize your vision?
    • Yes, I have to expertise to create my vision. I have been given the skills I need to successfully accomplish my goals, it is just if I apply myself to those things, I will be able to acquire my vision.
    • I have invested a lot of money into my career, I have worked with highly trained professionals who have invested time in me, and I know that they believe in me so I should believe in myself.
  • What are your priorities? Can you set priorities?
    • My priorities are to never stop learning and continue learning on how to grow as a performer. I must keep working on my craft because it is not just a job for me. It is a career.
    • My current priorities are to get a job and further my training in the real world. I hope to move on from education and get right into performing as a job.
  • What opportunities are you looking for? What opportunities are you creating or intend to create?
    • I am looking for a large opportunity to network. I am selling myself, so that is what they see. I need to be able to be prepared to talk to different people and market myself as a singer, dancer, actor, and person. First impressions are everything.
    • I am looking for performance opportunities, I want to perform on stage every night and have some many people to come watch the shows for them to just be happy and enjoy something that is so crazy and insane that it works.
  • How comfortable are you with uncertainty? What risks are you willing to take?
    • I do not really enjoy uncertainty, it is scary, and I like to have a whole plan and do not enjoy taking risks. I like to just have things be constant.
    • I still am not okay with uncertainty. It stresses me out, but now being out in the real world I have learned that once one plan fails you must figure out another way to accomplish your goal.
  • When facing challenges, do you persevere, or do you walk away?
    • I tend to get angry and walk away. I get very stressed under pressure and cave.
    • I still get angry, but I hope to calm down and just do what I am supposed to do and not worry about things that are beyond my control.
  • What experience have you learned the most from?
    • I learned from getting screamed at rehearsals when the entire group is not prepared. I learned that I must just take the time and do what I am supposed to, or I will get in trouble and suffer from my actions
  • What actions are you taking to realize your vision? Are you consistently acting?
    • I am consistently acting to realize my vision. I am always working on what the next step is. I am in college and that was a huge action I had to take to pursue my career as a performer.
    • I am auditioning every chance I get and keep until I get a steady job.
  • How well do you put things in context? Are you able to easily respond to changes in your environment? What’s your best example?
    • I do not deal with change well. It is something that I haven’t been able to deal with my whole life. I get in my routines and keep going, it is just what I always do and makes me feel safe and comfortable. When it changes, I get very upset.
    • I am now currently excited to see what comes next. Change of pace and environment can help me learn more about my art and myself.
  • What is your plan to continually grow and evolve? How have you grown or evolved in their past year or three?
    • I will continue to study and learn more with my skills. Since attending JU, I have grown so much. My voice part has changed, and I am learning songs that I love to sing and am preparing for my showcase which is a huge deal that I have always dreamed of.
    • I plan on always auditioning and always performing. I will learn from these experiences and can not wait until I get to experience new things in my life and career.
  • How easy is it for you to reach out to others to ask for support and to offer help?
    • It is very easy for me to reach out to others for help and support. I can find people who I know can help me and answer questions when and if I need help.
    • It is very easy for me to reach out to others for help.
  • How are you inspiring others to join and/or support your mission in order to create a financially sustainable enterprise that allows you to live your gift and contribute something valuable to society? – If you aren’t currently, how do you intend to?
    • I perform and carry myself on a higher level as a performer. I think when I perform, I always perform. I put on a show and always carry it completely as an entire performance.
    • I ask people to perform and collaborate with me. I also want to network with many different performers and companies to get out there in the industry.

Internal Funding Request Abrien Nelson

For my Internal Funding Request, I am applying for the Jacksonville Art and Science grant. This foundation has few limitations and primarily does the funding for educational purposes. This grant is 1500 dollars per production. I would use this money to help fund Jacksonville University’s Alpha Phi Omega’s productions. This would help to purchase rights, practice tracks and, fund the set. This funding would show students and faculty that APO is a serious organization that is capable of producing professional quality work.

Chris Mandel Internal Funding

Internal Funding Request.

I will be applying for the Pensacola Foo-Foo Festival Grant.

I am asking for a grant in order to produce my senior showcase in Pensacola which is my hometown so I can perform my senior showcase as an entire production. The grant would cover expenses for designing lighting and set design. It would also cover payment for my accompanist. I am planning a fully produced show with music dancing and actors. It would be a show that can run for a weekend. I would need to pay for the space at the Pensacola Little Theatre. I am asking for $5,000 to cover travel expenses of performers as well as expenses for the actual production.

The production is one that I feel would benefit both myself and the Pensacola community. It will show people who were not able to travel all the way to Jacksonville and see my senior showcase the one day it happened. I would also hope to receive better visual recordings in order to use the footage to help further my career. I know that the show would be successful and would help spread what I learned when I left home, and to show Pensacola that a small-town boy can have a very large voice.

Networking II

Throughout my time here at Jacksonville University, I have gone to two art shows to “Network”. I have realized that networking is not something that you do at one event and forget about. Networking is about meeting people and finding ways that they could help you leverage your own career and you can help there’s. I can have all the talent in the world but if there is no way to get me in front of a mass audience, then I would not make any profit. Over the course of the semester, I had several networking opportunities. One would be at a sorority formal event. Where I met girls and guys who go to my school who helped me get connected resulting me being a part of a project for a gender studies class. The Second Networking opportunity I had would be through Usingers where I met two of the funders for the new welcome center.

Chris Mandel Networking 2

Networking 2

  1. How did you prepare?
    1. I had to audition for Florida Theatre conference and was passed on with the highest score in the state. So, I qualified to got to the South Eastern Theatre conference in March.
  2. What was your goal?
    1. My goal was to audition for professional jobs, as well as look into some master programs.
  3. What worked best?
    1. I was able to talk to a few schools and found out many different things that I had no ideas about getting a masters. I did my audition exactly how I did it before and only got a few callbacks sadly.
  4. What are some interesting things you learned from the people you met?
    1. I learned that there are some master programs that pay for your entire tuition as well as pay you a stipend because you will be helping so much under a professor’s wing. I learned about the few schools that offer a Master of Fine Arts in Musical theatre, even though there are only a few.
  5. What seemed to spark the most interest in people you spoke with about you?
    1. I enjoyed seeing what everyone else was doing at the conference and why they were there. It was interesting to see that some people were there for professional jobs, auditioning for master’s programs, or even for undergrad programs. There was so much important information to take in as well as many master classes with information that was very good to have since I am graduating this year.
  6. How will you improve the next time you do this?
    1. Next time I do this, or this type of event I will know exactly what I am looking for know and learn. I will have information about me ready for them to hand them so they can stay in contact with me.
  7. What kind of events do you feel are better suited for you to network at?
    1. I would say that this event was a great one for me to network at. It is filled with many valuable resources that is good for me to have in my hands. I met a lot of people as well as ran into old friends at the event. It is good to have these theatre conferences where people from all over can come together and learned more about what is around them and what there is others have to offer.
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