Call for Review Panelists
Nevada County Arts & Culture seeks arts and culture practitioners from diverse communities statewide to volunteer for our upcoming grant review panel for the Upstate Individual Artists Fellowship program. Panelists play a critical role in the grant application process as field representatives. They work independently to evaluate grant applications, with guidance on process from program staff, ensuring an equitable, honest, and thorough review and ranking process.
The panel experience provides great insight into the grant-making process and can serve as a professional development practice for your career goals. In addition to experienced arts practitioners, this is a great opportunity for new and emerging members of the arts and culture community.
In appreciation for our panelists, individuals who complete their panel service will receive a $400 honorarium to attend a minimum of one, and up to two, virtual meetings, and rank submissions. Panelists make a four to six week commitment to read and rank approximately 40 applications by the grant review deadline, though this number could be higher. An average of 30 minutes of time is needed to appropriately review and rank each panel application.
2026 Grant Review Panel Process
Grant panelists will independently review and rank applications to the Upstate Individual Artists Fellowship program. Virtual meetings with Nevada County Arts & Culture staff will address and resolve any panel process, application, or adjudication questions. Orientation and mid-point check-in meetings will provide training and support space for panelists.
Please review the Panelist Criteria and Grant Review Process sections below.
Panelist Criteria
Panelists are chosen based on the following criteria:
They must be a California resident
They must be 18 years of age or older
Individual Artists Fellowship awardees from previous grant cycles are highly encouraged to apply
Applicants to the 2026 Upstate Individual Artists Fellowship are not eligible to apply to serve on the Grant Review Panel
They must be able to demonstrate subject matter expertise or relevant lived experience related to arts and cultural practices, community-based work, funding and grantmaking processes, or communities served by Upstate Individual Artists Fellowship
They must be able to independently assess 30 to 50 applications using the program’s published review criteria within a four week period
They must participate in 1 to 2 mandatory virtual meetings and submit online reviewer rankings by the designated deadline
Virtual meetings typically last 1 to 1.5 hours each
Additional details on meeting and ranking timelines will be provided to selected panelists.
Diversity of panel pools include:
Intersectional backgrounds – gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, socio-economic status, and disability, reflecting California’s overall demographics
Experience in a wide range of artistic, cultural, and social fields, including, but not limited to:
Artists and cultural practitioners of all disciplines
Cultural placekeeping/creative placemaking
Cultural development
Arts programming of, for, and by people with disabilities
Social service, justice, community building
About the Grant Review Process
Panelists are selected based on their experience and contacted by staff to discuss panel participation and commitment. Expectations will be established with staff, and through a panelist agreement.
Before panelists gain access to the grant applications, they will attend an online orientation meeting. The orientation meeting will cover panel overview and logistics, including an introduction of the applications to be reviewed, steps to evaluate and rank applications, instructions on using the electronic grants management system, and required payment documents.
Access to the grants management system website is provided after the orientation meeting to address any questions that may arise as panelists become familiar with the system.
Mandatory grant panel orientation and check-in meetings take place online using a selected video conferencing platform. Panelists are asked to notify staff in advance if they anticipate connectivity issues.
Computer access and a reliable internet connection are required for panelists to successfully review and rank applications.
Panelists are asked to commit time to thoroughly review and rank all assigned applications. An average of 30 minutes is needed to appropriately review and rank each application.
Panelists are required to submit a W9 and a Panelist Payment Invoice to process honorarium payment in a timely manner.
Panelist Timeline
Panelist applications will be open from April 6th through May 1st, 2026. Late application submissions are not accepted. Once submitted, applications cannot be changed.
Successful applicants to the panel review process will be contacted by Nevada County Arts & Culture staff between May 4th and May 18th. Panel service will run between mid May and late June. Dates are subject to change.
Questions? For General questions about the program, please review our FAQs here. If your question does not appear on the FAQs page, please reach out to info@upstateIAF.org.
Nevada County Arts & Culture is continuously striving to improve our review panel experience for all accessibility levels. If you are selected to participate on a panel, please inform staff of your requested accommodations before your orientation.