CNY Film Fund Theatrical Release

Key Terms

IGCNYA
Innovation Group of CNY Arts, is a non-profit Limited Liability Company that was founded in 2018 by CNY Arts, Inc., the regional arts council for Central New York.
NYS film tax credit program and IGCNYA Film Fund

Funding for the CNY Film Fund is made possible through a grant from Empire State Development (ESD). IGCNYA is responsible for administering the Film Fund, however IGCNYA is not a representative or agent of New York State. IGCNYA cannot disburse funding to program participants without final authorization from ESD.

The New York State Film Tax Credit program is a separate initiative operated directly by ESD. IGCNYA cross-checks Film Fund Applicants with the NYS Film Tax Credit program to ensure compliance and consistency with stave-level regulatory requirements.

It is important to emphasize that despite some coordination, the CNY Film Fund and NYS Film Tax Credit program are separate initiatives with different operational parameters. The Film Fund can only provide funding for Qualified Expenditures incurred within the five-county incentive jurisdiction.

Applicants to the IGCNYA Film Fund are encouraged to contact the state film tax credit office with any questions pertaining to the interaction between incentive funding and tax credit determination.

Central New York (CNY) Region
The operational jurisdiction of the IGCNYA Film Fund includes the following CNY counties: Onondaga, Oswego, Cortland, Cayuga and Madison. Qualifying Expenditures may only be claimed for labor hires or non-labor transactions from within these five counties.
NYS Film Tax Credit Certificate of Conditional Eligibility
The NYS Film Tax Credit CCE is a required document for applicants to the IGCNYA Film Fund. IGCNYA cross-checks Film Fund Applicants with the NYS Film Tax Credit program to ensure compliance and consistency with stave-level regulatory requirements.
IGCNYA Film Fund Award Letter of Eligibility
The Award Letter of Eligibility is a non-binding document provided to the applicant when a production has been preliminarily approved for support through the Film Fund. The Award Letter indicates the incentive percentage that an applicant can expect to receive when submitting for Qualifying Expenses. The Award Letter is followed by a contractual Funding Agreement.
CNY SMCOE
The Central New York Schedule of Minimum Commitment of Expenditure is a budget template required of applicants that indicates forecasted Qualifying Expenditures within the CNY Region. It is the basis by which an anticipated award amount is calculated and outlined within the Funding Agreement.
GURF (Grant Utilization Request Form)
The Grant Utilization Request Form is a custom expense template that a production must use in order to demonstrate Qualifying Expenditures. The GURF – along with underlying expense documentation such as an official payroll report, merchant invoices and tax-hiring forms – are sent to New York State for audit and final determination concerning award disbursement.
Diversity Enhancement Matrix
In order to promote diversity and representation in film media, the IGCNYA Film Fund invites applicants to apply for an additional incentive percentage bonus (up to 25% of QE) on the basis of diversity in terms of an applicant’s key creatives, cast and crew roster, and narrative themes.
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