Twenty-Five Frequently Asked Questions

Any members of the Grossmont College community may request a WACC grant, including Grossmont College faculty, administrators, classified staff, committees, and clubs. Grossmont College students may not request a grant. However, if registered and enrolled, students can enlist the aid a faculty member who can request the grant for them as long as he or she is willing to assume responsibility as project organizer and advisor.

WACC'S mission states, "If your project honors the values of diversity and respect outlined in our WACC mission statement, and you intend for your event to take place on the Grossmont College campus, then it's probably suitable for a WACC grant." There are, however, a few important stipulations. WACC does not award grants for fundraisers, scholarships, and sponsorship of other organizations. Furthermore, WACC funds may not be used for personal use items, salaries and benefits, and any off-campus activities. Also, unless food is an integral part of the project and specifically enhances the cultural experience of the event, WACC forbids the use of its grant for food.

Yes! Most of our grant recipients are first-time applicants, so we've dedicated an entire section of our website, "Grants," to the process of writing, submitting, and, if necessary, revising your grant application so that it succeeds. Here, in addition to the application form, itself, you'll find other important forms like artist contracts and W-9s, important checklists for completing the application, sample applications annotated with helpful tips, and many useful resources to help you plan your WACC-sponsored event successfully. We encourage you to explore our website using the menu at left, and to get to know the resources available to you before you start writing your grant request. In the event a grant application does not succeed the first time, WACC advises and works with the requestor to improve its eligibility. In the majority of cases, requests at first denied succeed the next time.

WACC-sponsored events scheduled for our current giving season will be listed on the homepage of the WACC website. Elsewhere, though, under "Events," you'll find and archive of past projects and events that received WACC support, including links and photo galleries for some. You may also wish to consult Grossmont's "College Events Calendar" for upcoming WACC-sponsored events: grant recipients are required to include mention of WACC in the promotion of their events, so you'll see our committee's name mentioned somewhere on the calendar.

WACC's money is from the general operating budget (i.e., "general fund"). Each year, we are given approximately the same budget, $20,000.00, to fund grant requests. Typically we award twelve grants per year, and the average grant awarded is approximately $1,100. Any portion of the budget not awarded by the end of the fiscal year goes back into the general college fund and is not rolled over into the next year.

The WACC committee meets monthly throughout the fall and spring semesters to review grant requests. A schedule of our meetings is posted on our website. WACC's first meeting is typically in September. (The committee does not convene during the summer session or winter recess.) Any grant proposal received in a timely fashion before our meeting date will likely be considered at that meeting; consideration of proposals received on or after the date of our meeting, however, will be deferred until the next scheduled meeting.

You should always anticipate an added window of time for revision and resubmission. For that reason, WACC recommends you submit your grant application one semester in advance of the event, but no less than two months beforehand.

If your event is scheduled for early in the fall semester, we strongly recommend getting your application to us as early as the spring semester. If you submit your grant request to us in the spring, please keep in mind that our funding season begins in the fall, and no decision can be made prior to then. Because WACC is subject to the vagaries of the general operating budget, it isn't guaranteed funding from one year to the next. WACC learns its fate and its budget at the start of every academic year. Because of this, if your event is planned for early in the fall semester, WACC can't guarantee funds will be available for it, even if you submitted your application to us in the previous spring semester.

Because most everything is available to download from our website, WACC does envision in the near future being able to complete the grant applications process on-line, but, for now, you'll need to complete all the paperwork off-line and submit it by e-mail to Grossmont.WACC@gcccd.edu. If you have any questions, please contact Student Affairs at 619-644-7600.

WACC requires all grant applications be typed and submitted by e-mail-nothing handwritten. Sorry. In the meantime, we recommend taking a little pity on your colleagues who are either Luddites or technology-challenged, and offer your help to transcribe their responses into an electronic document. We consider such a kindness to be compatible with the values of diversity and respect outlined in our mission statement. ;)

The World Arts and Culture Committee is a quango (quasi non-governmental organization) and has no hidden political agendas or motives ulterior to the goals openly outlined in our mission statement: we aim "to foster and enhance a climate of appreciation and respect for the diversity of cultural values, ideas and expressions represented by our students, staff, faculty and the world in which we live. We will strive to accomplish our mission by bringing diverse events on campus, reflecting the college's position in today's global society. " We're just nice people who carry the spirit of generosity and a respect for diversity, tolerance, and cultural appreciation.

The original charter of Grossmont College's first diversity initiative began in 1998 with Biology instructor Michael L. Golden, who organized a small committee dedicated to celebrating diversity during a campus climate, not only noticeably lacking in it, but at times resistant and critical of it. In fact, accused of being "wacko" for his advocacy of change and diversity, Golden adopted the acronym "W.A.C.O." (World Arts and Culture Organizing Committee) as a reminder of the committee's inspiration.

Former President Dr. Ted Martinez, along with then Vice President of Student Services, Peter White, strongly supported the idea of a diversity committee. Golden later approached likeminded colleagues Edda Temoche-Weldele (World Languages) and Carlos Contreras (History), who, along with Articulation Officer Janice Johnson (Counseling), became the charter members of the new diversity committee under Michael Golden's chairmanship. By the end of 2000, Michael Golden passed the torch of leadership to Child Development instructor Sonia Gaiane, and Humanities instructor Gwenyth Mapes soon after joined the WACO team.

To learn more, see "Membership and History."

Plan ahead, review the sample grants, complete all the questions, and consider in advance all relevant learning outcomes (i.e., SLO's, ISLO's, etc.) Applications must demonstrate how the funds will meet the values of our WACC mission statement and impact the educational and cultural experience of our students. Additionally, proposals should demonstrate consideration for cost/value ratio, including such factors as the number of students who will benefit and the cumulative impact of the event. Keep in mind, though, if your grant does not succeed the first time, we will help you succeed the next time by recommending improvements.

Yes to both. WACC understands that sources of funding for your event may come from a variety of agencies, and that each agency may have different interests in your project. Consequently, we allow applicants to request funds for all or part of the expenses for an event, depending on whether those expenses are covered wholly or in part by WACC's stipulations. (See Question 2.) For this purpose, the WACC grant application asks for disclosure of other possible funding sources and requires a detailed itemized summary of expenses for your event or activity. The more detailed and forthcoming your responses are, the more persuasive your request is.

The World Arts and Cultures Committee meets the third week of every month (except winter and summer break). At those meetings, the committee reviews submitted proposals as a group and then votes on which proposals should be funded. We take into consideration a variety of factors, such as the learning outcomes supported by the proposed event and whether the event supports WACC's mission statement. If WACC decides a proposal doesn't match these objectives, the applicant will receive a letter with a list of suggested revisions within one week after the grant has been reviewed.

Please see Question 2.

Your event may qualify for other types of funding. We recommend researching the application process for district funds, college funds, and departmental funds. The GCCCD Foundation, the Associated Students of Grossmont College (ASGC), and the Inter-Club Council also fund on-campus events.

The committee is made up of about 10 volunteer faculty, staff, administrators, community members, and student representatives. WACC members are eligible for grants; however, they cannot participate in the evaluation and voting process of their own proposal. If you are interested in joining WACC, please email Sara Varghese, Chair, at sara.varghese@gcccd.edu.

See Questions 6 and 7.

WACC requires proof that presenters (artists, speakers, authors, etc.) have been contracted to participate in your event for an agreed-upon stipend and, per the artist contract, will compensate the presenter after the event. The salient term is "contract," not "receipt." Legitimate contractual business arrangements should stipulate the contractual promise of payment for goods and services, not the promise of goods and services for in receipt of payment.

Your chances of getting approved the second time around are actually very high if you make all of the suggested revisions to your proposal. To increase your chances of being funded the first time around, please read the directions thoroughly on the grant application and Checklist A. Also, plan ahead and start working on your proposal at least two months in advance of your event date.

WACC's charge allows for community members to serve on the committee, but, because funds come from institutional sources, community committee members are not given the privilege of voting. Similarly, WACC's meetings are open to the public, but input and votes are limited to committee members only. If you are a grant requestor attending an open meeting, and the committee makes a determination on your grant, an official announcement with recommendations (if relevant) will be independently sent to you after the meeting has concluded. Regardless, committee members typically will not engage a conversation with you about your own grant application.

WACC cannot accept money from outside sources; however, we appreciate your interest! If you'd like to make a general or specific contribution to a variety of grants and scholarships, like WACC, that help to enrich our students, our campus, and our community, please click "Foundation Giving" in the menu, or use the "Donate Now" button below.

All grant recipients are required to ask participating event organizers, audiences, and attendees to complete a brief survey about the value of your WACC-sponsored event. In addition to testimonials and feedback, the data gathered from these surveys helps WACC to secure future grant-giving seasons so that more projects like yours can be sponsored. WACC Surveys must be completed and submitted to WACC's offices at the Student Affairs Office (ext. 7600, 60-204) within one week of the event's completion. (You may also conduct the survey immediately following the event.) A PDF of the "WACC Event Survey" is available to download in "Step 3: Submit Other Forms."

WACC is a diversity initiative under the directorate of Student Affairs. You may direct questions and ideas to Sara Varghese, World Arts and Cultures Committee Chair, at sara.varghese@gcccd.edu.