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 (a companion to our Useful Links page). 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 Cultural Council‘s Operating Grants for Organizations provides unrestricted general operating grants for Massachusetts-based, nonprofit cultural organizations offering public programming in the arts, humanities, or sciences. Grants start at $6,000. Deadline: June 13, 2024.
National Endowment for the Arts’ grant opportunities:
- Grants for Arts Projects provides expansive funding opportunities to strengthen the nation’s arts and culture ecosystem. Grants are available for arts projects in a wide variety of artistic disciplines. Deadline: July 11, 2024.
- Our Town grants support creative placemaking projects that respond to unique local conditions, develop meaningful and substantive engagement in communities, center equity, advance artful lives, and support long-term systems change. Deadline: Aug. 1, 2024.
Are you a state or local realtor association, looking to bridge relationships and spark economic growth? Apply for the National Association of Realtors’ Placemaking Grants which support projects aimed to utilize unused or underused sites to create innovative, outdoor public spaces. Rolling deadline until Oct. 15, 2024 or until commitment levels reach 100%.
New Commonwealth Fund’s FY24 Off-Cycle Investments are smaller scale dollars to address the immediate needs of nonprofit organizations. Investments are for time bound events, needs, and programming and will not exceed $10,000. Please note that requests will be evaluated based on urgency of the need. Applications accepted on a rolling basis with decisions made quarterly.
The Culture & Community Power Fund is a lab to broaden and deepen the understanding of how art and culture can contribute to community power building. They’re committed to sharing their learning with practitioners, investors, public officials, researchers, and others to help advance art and culture as a critical tool to support community power building.
Things to Attend
Register for New England Foundation for the Arts’ CreativeGround Network Leader Workshop, workshop for leaders in creative communities across New England to learn about using CreativeGround.org as a tool in their communities. June 5, 2024 from 3-4:30pm.
MassNonProfit Network is offering Federal Solar Benefits for Nonprofits, a detailed walk-through of how to access the new federal incentives. June 5, 2024 at 10am.
Longwood Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is hosting a symposium on Social Prescription at the Tanglewood Learning Institute featuring conversations with reflections and updates from Mass Cultural Council (Michael J. Bobbitt, Executive Director), Art Pharmacy (Chris Appleton, CEO), LSO musician Dr. Lisa Wong, and CultureRx organizations/providers as we look ahead to the future partnerships in enacting arts on prescription for patients statewide. June 9, 2024 from 11:30am-3:30pm.
Americans for the Arts is teaming up with field leaders in arts & mental health for their June Community Conversation. June 11, 2024 at 3pm.
Nonprofit Learning Lab’s free nonprofit webinar series continues with Ready, Set, Evaluate: Assess your Organization’s Readiness for Program Evaluation. During this workshop you’ll learn about five key areas to assess your organization’s readiness for program evaluation, plus cover the three main types of program evaluation. June 18, 2024 at 11am.
National Endowment for the Arts’ Our Town Creative Placemaking Technical Assistance Program invites you to Beautiful Communities: Our Visions for Creative Placemaking, a discussion celebrating how arts and culture have transformed our communities, and imagine the future of creative placemaking. For all who are interested in arts, culture, and community development from all backgrounds and experiences. June 18, 2024 from 2-3pm.
Join the New Jersey Performing Arts Center for Prescribing Creativity: Promoting Health Equity Through Arts-on-Prescription,an informative conversation on how the first Arts on Prescription pilot program in New Jersey uses the arts to build health equity. June 26, 2024 from 4-5pm.
The “State of Solidarity” series, hosted by Solidarity Is at the Building Movement Project offers:
- Virtual gatherings in September and November that will explore the evolving praxis, demands, and trajectories of solidarity within social justice movements. Through reflection, co-learning, dialogue, and resource sharing, we will explore the relevance, responsibilities, challenges and opportunities surrounding solidarity in movements in 2024 and beyond.
- A six-week training program on transformative solidarity principles and practices tailored towards emerging activists and organizers working towards a just and equitable world. This year’s cohort will take place over six Thursdays in September-October. Application opens in June.
Other
Request for Interest for Lease of 89 Dedham Street: Affordable Cultural Space – Boston’s Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture opened its public process in partnership with MEPT Harrison Block LLC and the Boston Planning & Development Agency for the lease of 1,300 SF of affordable cultural space in the South End. The Smith is a new multifamily development project consisting of two buildings, each containing 300 residential apartments, retail spaces, and parking for approximately 400 vehicles in a below-grade parking garage. (The floor plan is online.) The Smith No. 89 contains 1,300 square feet of Start-Up Business and “Affordable Cultural/Commercial Space” located on the first floor, adjacent to the public Pedestrian Green, and next to a cluster of eight on-site Artist Live/Work Units. Interested parties should thoroughly review all materials related to the RFI/RFP process. Letter of Intent deadline: June 21, 2024 at 5pm.
Mass Cultural Council has put together a Guide to Writing a Call to Artists to help organizations when they have an opportunity to exhibit, present, commission, or otherwise partner with artists. It explores the basics of “Call for Artists” and “Request for Proposals”, and shares some tips on getting the most out of the experience.
Emergency Preparedness and Recovery Resource: 5 Ways to Center Disaster Readiness in Your Grantmaking by Craft Emergency Relief Fund’s Executive Director, Ruby Lopez Harper.
The Kellogg Foundation offers a free Strategic Communication Planning Hub designed to help non-profits and organizations of all sizes become more skilled in the fundamentals of communication to advance policy, advocacy, and programmatic goals.
The Department of Labor (DOL) is encouraging people to share ideas for policies, resources, tools, and actions regarding the needs of very small businesses and nonprofits (with fewer than 50 employees) that employ or are planning to hire disabled workers or are owned by disabled entrepreneurs. DOL wants to learn about successes in supporting workers with disabilities, the challenges they face, and the impact of current policies and regulations on their outcomes.
CAST, a nonprofit education research and development organization, has created the Universal Design for Learning framework and guidelines, now used all over the world to make learning more inclusive. CAST is committed to intentionally designed learning experiences for school, the workplace, and life that elevates strengths and eliminates barriers so everyone has the opportunity to grow and thrive. CAST provides an excellent free tips and resource page.
Mass Cultural Council has a Useful Links page highlighting institutions, organizations, and groups that offer resources and supports for people looking to better their cultural organization.
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.