While it is potentially a very needed project to have a Jewish cultural festival, this application does not make a good case.   

A book fair should come under the rubric of literature, not traditional arts--and $5000 is budgeted for speakers, more than any traditional arts.  Both the food and cultural festivals could potentially be funded, but there is almost no information on what the food festival would entail:  what kinds of food, and who would prepare them.  Would there be demonstrations? 

In terms of the cultural festival, the only budget item is the klezmer band--no other artists. And there is no information about potential bands so it is difficult to assess excellence. Moreover, the klezmer band only accounts for $2500 of the funds requested.  Among the other items listed on their flyer, none are traditional (Israeli dancing is a highly choreographed post-1948 phenomenon and is not considered traditional). 

What this project needs is the assistance of a folklorist specializing in Jewish traditions who could help them identify what to present and tradition bearers who would present them.  I would recommend that they contact Jewish folklorist and former Massachusetts state folklorist Eleanor Wachs, who lives in nearby Sarasota and could make local recommendations.  And I know from personal experience that they could be presenting much more, because I have presented many Jewish traditions at exhibits and festivals.

It could also use the assistance of a coordinator who is versed in grant writing and traditional arts so that she could delineate more clearly in the application what is traditional and not traditional.  There is only one support material--a flyer for the event with little information.

Another major problem is the budget: funds are going for everything except artists.  Most of the funds should be for artists. Compare $2500 for the only traditional performer with the $7500 for festival coordinators and $5000 for book authors.

I would love to see this project happen, but it needs a better application.

In the Excellence section, the Proposal Description instructions request fully measurable objectives, however I do not see any identification of success metrics.

I do not see an anticipated date for the Book Talk.

The economic impact of this proposal / Specific Cultural Project is unclear.

Is this possibly one project with three components? The narrative seems to focus most on the cultural festival, so I feel like I know significantly less about the two other events from the narrative.

It would be useful to know why your incoome goes up so considerably in the "Next Fiscal Year".

Please be sure to include the date the organization completed the self-evaluation for Accessibility.