The New Jersey State Council on the Arts sets high standards for every group applying for a grant.

The council insists on excellence and demands applicants meet professional standards in programs, staffing, board governance and finances.

The arts council holds workshops across the state to assist applicants through the complicated grants process. Arts groups - especially the semi-professional, community- based groups in South Jersey - say they need all the help they can get.

The 24-page grants application demands detailed information. Groups are limited to asking for no more than 20 percent of their total budget.

The council asks each group to complete a chart listing all major arts programs and events. For each event, applicants must supply the date, name of the program, artists' fee, number of performances, percentage of capacity and total attendance.

The council also requests a board chart and information for artistic, technical and administrative staff. It also asks for detailed financial information, including income and fund raising.

Applicants must also supply information about the ethnic background of the general population, board, executive and program staff, support staff, volunteers, artists engaged and audiences.

Once the application is submitted, the council passes it on to a peer panel, drawn from a pool of more than 500 artists and administrators. The panelists rate each application from one to five. The votes are averaged and used as a ranking.

The panel then forwards the application to the council's grants committee, which considers the ranking and comments of the panelists. The committee then sends its recommendation to the full council, which awards grants at its annual meeting, held in July.

Any applicant rejected for funding can appeal. The appeal is based only on a demonstration that "material in the application as submitted was misinterpreted, misunderstood or overlooked in the panel evaluation process."