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How to Apply
Budget Summary and Line-Item Budget Template >>
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LINCS 2009 is closed.

All application materials must be received at the ITVS office by 5:00 PM Pacific Standard Time on Friday June 26, 2009. This is not a postmark deadline. We strongly recommend that applicants use a courier with a tracking service such as UPS or FedEx. Please do not call the office to inquire about your application. You will be notified of the status of your application within 6-8 weeks.

You are required to submit 7 sets of all written materials, collated and stapled, or clipped. Please do not use binders or folders. We encourage double-sided copies. A materials checklist is included at the end of this document to assist you in completing your application. Please carefully read the LINCS Guidelines before submitting your online application.

Part I: Application Form
Fill out and submit the online application form. Print it and use it as the cover page for each set of materials. Remember to save a copy for your files.

Part II: Program Description
(3-4 pages total, 12-point font)
Please include the following information:

• A synopsis of the program
• A treatment for the program that includes the structure, theme, style, format, voice and point of view. (For help, see Writing a Better ITVS Treatment.)
• Describe the target audience for your program. What is its importance to a local or regional audience and why would it be compelling to a broad national audience?
• What is the current production status of the project?
• Why is your station a good partner for your project? Describe the station’s commitment to production and presentation support and your plans for access to the station and station staff.

Part III: Budget Summary Form
Download and complete the Budget Summary form. Print it and submit it with your collated materials.

Part IV: Line-Item Budget and Funding Plan
Attach a Line-Item Budget. For your convenience, you may download and complete the LINCS Line-Item Budget Form. The LINCS Line-Item Budget consists of both production expenses and presentation expenses as described below.

LINE-ITEM BUDGET

Filling in the Line Item Budget
Please read the following guidelines carefully before using the LINCS Line-Item Budget Form. Enter both production (pre-production, production and post-production expenses) cash expenses and all station in-kind contributions. Non-station in-kind must not be included. Enter a category for station in-kind presentation values such as promotion, station relations and outreach. Cash presentation expenses should not be included in this budget, except for cash fees to the station for presentation activities. These may not be paid by ITVS, but can be budgeted against other funding, and should be included in the budget. Pending cash for presentation activities not performed by the station should not be included in this budget.

Begin by filling in Account Numbers, Budgeted Category Names and Line-Items to match the system you have been using to organize your accounts. (The sample categories listed in the budget template are meant only as an example.) Fill in columns C & E, “# of UNITS” and “UNIT COST”. These will calculate column I, “BUDGET TOTAL”. Then fill in how much of each line has been “SPENT TO DATE” in column F, and how much you “ESTIMATE TO COMPLETE” in column G. These lines will calculate in the “ESTIMATED TOTAL”, column H. This technique helps you to account for all cash spent to date, and to budget how much items are going to cost going forward. The VARIANCE calculated in column J should be at zero when these lines are entered correctly. Once all the expenses are filled-in, look to the right side of the budget. This “BREAKDOWN OF EXPENSES” shows how those expenses have been, or will be, applied to the funding sources. Fill in how much of each line total is “Station In-kind”, and how much will be paid out of “Other Funding”. Use the “LINCS” column to show in detail how the LINCS request might be spent out. Use the “Pending Cash” column only to show how funds that are not yet committed (still being fundraised) will fill out the total budget. If you have no pending funds, this column will remain empty. The “Variance” in Column O will show any entry errors, and will fill in as zeros when the entries are correct.

Matching Funds
LINCS will match funds against all Station in-kind support and Secured Cash contributions. No other in-kind, such as key production personnel in-kind, may be counted as part of the match, nor be included in the budget.

LINCS will match funds against all secured cash. To count secured funds towards the match, at the time of application the producer must have either secured the funds or received notification that funds are secured. For cash spent to date, the producer must be able to produce receipts for their expenditures when requested. Any cash the producer has spent (Producer’s Cash) up to the time of the application may be included in the budget and be matched. The producer must be able to producer receipts for these expenditures as well.

Production Expenses
Please be sure to include line items for expenses related to the completion of a public television program and the following ITVS required items: Closed Captioning, Publicity Stills, Bookkeeping services, Tape Cloning and storing, Errors and Omissions Insurance, General Liability Insurance, Title Search and Copyright Registration, We also encourage a contingency of up to 5% of the total cash production budget. ITVS funds may not pay for production or other costs associated with non-public television broadcast versions, such as version created for the homevideo market or festival fees, and these costs should not be included in the production budget.

Accounting for Station In-kind Support
All Station in-kind support should be accounted for in the Line-Item Budget. Non-station in-kind contributions may be indicated to show work being done but should not include dollar amount totals. Only Station in-kind support is allowed a dollar value. In order to assist partnerships in reaching the LINCS maximum match of $100,000, Stations are allowed to add in-kind indirect to the ITVS request. The in-kind value of Station indirect or overhead may not exceed 10% of the Station’s total support.

Station contributions of cash to the budget should be tracked in the Line-Item Budget as secured cash. Any payments of cash to the Station in the budget should be clearly noted.

SECURED FUNDING

Please use the secured funds tab in the LINCS Line-Item Budget template to list all currently secured sources of income and summarize any rights associated with these funding agreements.

FUNDING PLAN

On a separate tab in the LINCS Line-Item Budget template, please find a Funding Plan template to submit with your application materials. If funded, LINCS projects have one year to complete necessary fundraising. Only funding needed to complete the production need be listed here. A viable funding plan is key for projects with significant funds still pending. The Funding Plan should include fundraising efforts made by the producer and the station, if applicable. List all sources of funding currently under consideration. Include amounts requested and estimated notification dates. List all other potential sources of funding. Include amounts that will be requested and estimated notification dates. Additional information about potential resources will be made available to ITVS upon request.

Part V: Production Personnel
Include full résumés for the applicant, co-applicant and the Station Designated Contact. Résumés must include past production experience. Also submit a brief bio of key production personnel such as the editor, cinematographer/videographer and key project advisors, if applicable.

Part VI: Letter of Agreement
As part of the application, the independent producer and the station must prepare a Letter of Agreement that outlines the responsibilities and expectations of each party. Before composing your Letter of Agreement, please read Building a LINCS Partnership.

Part VII: Work-in-Progress & Previously Completed Work with Descriptions Sample materials must be submitted in their entirety. Demo reels will not be accepted. Works-in progress must be submitted on DVD-R. Previously completed work materials can be submitted on either VHS-NTSC or DVD-R.

• One (1) copy of a previously completed work on which applicant or co-applicant had a principal role (i.e., producer, co-producer, director or co-director)
• Four (4) copies of a work-in-progress sample at least 5 minutes in length. Your WIP may be a rough cut, trailer, clips, or selects

Include a description of your work-in-progress indicating its length, whether it is a rough cut, trailer, clips or selects, and the program’s production status. Also include a description of your previously completed work, its relevance to your proposed program and the applicant’s role. Label each sample with the applicant's name, the program title and, if applicable, a cue point in minutes from the start of the sample. For more on samples, see A Few Pointers on Submitting Tapes to ITVS.

REQUIRED MATERIALS CHECKLIST

1. Written materials
Seven (7) sets of all written materials. We encourage double-sided copies. Each set must be collated and stapled or clipped in the following order (please no folders or binders):

Part I: Completed Application form. Must be signed, as applicable, by both applicant, co-applicant and station partner. Use this as a cover sheet for each set of materials.
Part II: Program Description (3-4 pages)
Part III: Budget Summary Form
Part IV: Line-Item Budget and Funding Plan
Part V: Resumes for key production personnel (up to 3 pages each)
Part VI: Signed Letter of Agreement. Must be signed by both applicants (if applicable) and station partner.

2. Video Materials (in the required formats as noted above)
Part VII: Work-in-Progress & Previously Completed Work Sample with Descriptions

• One (1) copy of a Previously Completed Work
• Four (4) copies of a Work-In-Progress of the proposed project
• Description of previously completed work and work-in-progress tapes.

Please address questions to Jonathan_Archer@itvs.org or call Jonathan Archer at 415-356-8383 x284.