Mass Cultural Council Staff
Each month Mass Cultural Council shares a round-up of grants, trainings, technical assistance resources, and opportunities for creative and cultural organizations. This list is not meant to be exhaustive but a glimpse of what is on offer in the coming weeks. (We also publish a weekly Artist Opportunities listing.)
Funding
Mass Nonprofit News has a list of winter grant deadlines (and a list of funding opportunities with rolling deadlines).
Mass Humanities‘ 2024 Expanding Massachusetts Stories offers up to $20,000 for projects that collect, interpret and/or share narratives about the Commonwealth, with an emphasis on the voices and experiences that have gone unrecognized, or have been excluded from public conversation. Opens Feb. 5, 2024.
The City of Cambridge’s Small Business Operations Grant provides COVID-19 relief grants up to $15,000 for creative businesses. Deadline: Feb. 16, 2024 at 12pm. Apply now.
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation is expanding investments in two key grant programs focused on racial justice in health and community-based mental health:
- The Special Initiatives grant program provides organizations with a one-time grant of up to $50,000 to pilot or launch a new project over a one-year period. Learn more and attend virtual office hours. Deadline: Feb. 26, 2024 at 12pm.
- The Catalyst Fund provides one-time non-renewable grants up to $7,500 for a twelve-month period to help community-based organizations strengthen their capacity to expand access to health and health care in Massachusetts. The Catalyst Fund does not fund ongoing programmatic expenses, or general operating costs, such as salaries. Learn more and apply. Deadline: Rolling.
New England Foundation for the Arts’ New England States Touring program funds the presentation of regional, national, and international artists presented by New England-based nonprofit organizations. Deadline: Mar. 1, 2024 for projects starting on or after June 1, 2024.
The Arts Foundation has grants for arts-related projects in Barnstable County. All proposals must demonstrate a clear need as well as an impact within the community. Deadline: Mar. 8, 2024
EdVestors’ BPS Arts Expansion Fund – used to empower BPS schools to embrace, expand, and deepen arts instruction in schools – is offering:
- School Arts Index Grants to increase access to quality arts education as measured by the BPS School Arts Index
- Career-Connected Learning Grants to increase or enhance access to quality arts career learning opportunities in grades 9-12
Info session: Feb. 6, 2024. Deadline: Mar. 20, 2024.
Essex County Community Foundation’s Creative County Initiative provides project support from $2,000-$5,000 for a uniquely innovative programs in either advancement of cultural planning; diversity, equity, inclusion, and access; public art or creative placemaking;
arts leadership; creative space development; or organizational capacity building.
Things to Attend
The US Department of Agriculture is hosting a webinar on rural development placemaking, the featuring National Endowment for the Arts and Your Town Alabama on Feb. 6, 2024.
Register for the Massachusetts Thriving Communities Virtual Convening to learn how to navigate federal funding opportunities and how the Mass Office of Federal Funds & Infrastructure can support you and your municipality. Presented by ACE and Grassroots Fund. Feb. 12, 2024 from 9am-12pm.
Discover how arts on prescription can revolutionize health by integrating arts, culture, and nature into local health and social care systems. Register for the University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine’s webinar Arts on Prescription | A Field Guide for US Communities. This session is ideal for community-based arts organizations and artists, health and social care professionals, and those interested in leveraging arts and culture for well-being. No prior experience is required. Feb. 13, 2024 from 4-4:45pm.
TSNE is hosting a Nonprofit Decision-Making Framework for Complex Challenges that focuses on providing a decision-making framework to help nonprofit leaders improve their decision-making process. The webinar is on Feb. 13, 2024 from 1-3:30pm. Tickets: $45.
Nonprofit Net of Greater Boston is hosting From Concept to Implementation: Everyday Inclusive and Equitable Actions, a webinar to help provide actionable suggestions to implement equitable practices across the organization. Free, but registration is required. Feb. 13, 2024, from 1-2pm.
Join Grantmakers in the Arts for Move the Money Series: Guaranteed Income, a discussion about how funders can advocate and take action around safety nets and support for individual artists. Speakers include Sara Fenske Bahat (Yerba Buena Center for the Arts); Ricardo Beaird (Springboard for the Arts); Kevin Dublin, educator, advocate, and writer; and Kasey Wiedrich (City of Saint Paul). Feb. 13, 2024 at 2pm.
Philanthropy Massachusetts is hosting Funders that Fundraise, a virtual peer group discussion on how to amplify the impact that our organizations have in our communities by partnering with donors who have aligned goals. Feb. 14 at 10am.
YW Boston is hosting a virtual session Navigating DEI Challenges: Legal Insights for Moving Forward in the Face of Resistance. This practical and hopeful conversation will focus on navigating current challenges in building diverse, inclusive, and equitable organizations, and will address the impact of politicization and the reality of legal challenges to DEI work. Feb. 21, 2024 from 9-10:30am.
The City of Boston’s Mayor’s Youth Summit is a celebration of Boston’s youth that aims to engage and inspire the City’s young people. This event is for young people ages 14-19. Tickets should only be reserved by young people attending the event. Feb. 24, 2024 from 1-6pm at Artists For Humanity EpiCenter, Boston, MA.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy is hosting Seeking Support for General Operations: What to Know, a webinar that focuses on helping nonprofits structure a successful proposal for general operating support, explain common grant language, and provide real-world examples of successful proposals. Feb. 29 from 2-3:15pm. Cost: $69.
National Guild for Community Arts Education is hosting the virtual session Community Arts Activated Part II: Arts Education Policy Discussion on Feb. 29, 2024 from 1-2pm.
Other
Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism hosts a statewide calendar and invites cultural organizations to contribute their events.
Call for Workshop Proposals: Innovation, Culture, and Creativity (ICC) project will fund workshops across the U.S. that explore support for innovation at the intersection of culture, creativity, and technology. Workshops will be funded for up to $75,000 each and should support the project’s three goals:
- Examine the role of regional culture in strengthening innovation ecosystems.
- Support the continued competitiveness of U.S. industries involved in the creative sector.
- Develop novel strategies to expand and diversify the STEM workforce by engaging practical applications at the intersection of technology, innovation, and creativity.
Info Session: Feb. 5, 2024. Learn more. Deadline: Feb. 16, 2024.
The Kennedy Center Office of Accessibility and VSA is inviting U.S. arts, education, and cultural organizations to submit a proposal to become a VSA program site and provide accessible, arts-based education experiences to students with disabilities. The RFPs are not for grants. They are for contracts to execute the Kennedy Center’s VSA Programs listed on their website. Deadline: Mar. 13, 2024 for projects implemented Oct. 1, 2024 through Aug. 31, 2025.
Cultural organizations are invited to participate in Mass Cultural Council’s Card to Culture program which makes cultural programming accessible to low-income and working families for whom cost is a barrier to participation. Through Card to Culture, EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare cardholders get free or steeply discounted admission to a variety of arts, humanities, and science organizations across the Commonwealth. Deadline: Rolling.
Read Previous Months’ Listings
If you have an opportunity or resource for cultural organizations that you’d like to pitch for our monthly round-up, please email us. Efforts to submit the opportunity in a format similar to our standard (see listings above) are deeply appreciated. Because space is limited, the best submissions are 60 words or fewer and include links to web pages with more information.