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 and MassDevelopment’s Cultural Facilities Fund grants are available to support the acquisition, design, repair, rehabilitation, renovation, expansion, or construction of nonprofit cultural facilities. Nonprofit cultural organizations, municipalities, and colleges or universities that own or lease cultural facilities are eligible to apply. Grants range from $7,000 to $200,000. Deadline: December 11, 2025.
The Arts Foundation of Cape Cod’s Grants for Organizations are available. Deadline: November 11, 2025. There will be a second grant round June 2026.
MA State Historical Records Advisory Board’s Veterans’ Heritage Grants offers up to $20,000 to municipalities and nonprofits covering up to 50% of project costs. Eligible projects must relate to veterans and their service, including preserving or digitizing records, improving access to archives, recording oral histories, restoring or creating monuments, and planning related initiatives. Deadline: November 11, 2025.
New England Foundation for the Arts is accepting applications for New England States Touring (NEST) grants, which funds nonprofit organizations to present touring artists in venues across New England. Deadline: December 1, 2025.
Applications for Lee Bank Foundation grants are open until December 1, 2025. Eligible applicants must be 501(c)(3) nonprofits. The foundation funds programs that bridge income and opportunity gaps, focusing on education, food security, economic development, health services, and workforce initiatives.
New England Foundation for the Arts’ Public Art for Spatial Justice Grant aims to support public artmaking that helps us see, feel, experience, and imagine spatial justice now, while we are still on this journey towards realizing more just futures for our public spaces and public culture. Deadline: December 2, 2025 for opportunities that take place between March 2026 and February 2028.
The Shubert Foundation, the nation’s largest funder dedicated to unrestricted funding of nonprofit theaters and dance companies, is offering grants from $15,000 – $371,000. Deadline: December 4, 2025 at 6pm.
The National Endowment for the Arts and Arts Midwest is accepting applications for the 2026–27 NEA Big Read, Celebrating America250. Matching grants of up to $20,000 are available for community reading programs reflecting on American history and culture. A mandatory Intent to Apply is due January 15, 2026, with final applications due January 29, 2026.
Things to Attend
Learn About Decarbonizing Your Cultural Facility by registering for Mass Cultural Council’s webinar on November 6, 2025 at 10am with New Ecology and Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources.
The Nonprofit Support Center and ONE Worcester are hosting So You Want to be an Executive Director? The workshop is for those newly in the position or thinking of becoming an Executive Director. In Worcester, MA on November 4, 2025, 9:30am-12pm.
The Institute for Human Centered Design is hosting Designing with “Experience” in Mind, a webinar exploring how designing with experience in mind can elevate inclusive design from a technical exercise to a multisensory, emotionally resonant, and socially engaged practice. November 6, 2025 at 12pm.
Arts Foundation of Cape Cod is launching a Fiscal Sponsorship Program to support artists and creative projects. Join their online information session in advance of applications opening in January. November 7, 2025 at 10am.
Associated Industries of Massachusetts is hosting the International Business Symposium for leaders from all sectors to network and learn. In Boston, MA on November 13, 2025 from 8-10am.
Lawyers for Civil Rights is holding their second annual Western Mass BizGrow Event on November 13, 2025 at 12pm. Register for a FREE appointment to meet with a lawyer about your small business. And stop by their Small Business Expo. Organizations that support small businesses will be there to provide information and networking opportunities. Register now.
Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston presents the Nonprofit Inc. Seminar geared toward leaders of existing nonprofits or those looking to incorporate. The seminar will focus on the legal process of becoming or being a nonprofit. Registration is required, and tickets are $25. November 13, 2025, 4-6pm on Zoom.
The Mel King Institute is hosting Community Organizing 101: People, Power & Change, a hands-on workshop on the art of mobilizing people to build their power, achieve shared goals, and take greater control of their lives. In Roxbury, MA on November 18, 2025 from 9:30am-3:30pm.
Arts Action Consortium presents Interdependence, Community Care as Burnout Response in Boston on November 18, 2025 from 6-8pm. Feeling overwhelmed and burnt out? Join Deshaun Gordon-King of Dunamis and the Arts Action Consortium for an insightful event on how community care can be a powerful response to burnout.
Other
Governor Maura Healey has released an additional 4 million from the state’s emergency food assistance program to support food banks and pantries. She has also launched a new SNAP resource hub that includes information on how families facing hunger can get help and ways for people and businesses to support them.
The Kennedy Center’s Access/VSA International Network’s is seeking proposals for their 2026 Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) Conference taking place August 10-14, 2026 in Philadelphia, PA. Learn more and access resources for crafting a successful LEAD 2026 Conference proposal. Deadline: November 21, 2025.
Young Audiences Arts for Learning is accepting workshop session proposals for the 2026 National Arts in Education Conference: Telling Our Story to be held March 25-27, 2026 in Washington, D.C. Questions? Contact Melissa Gawlowski Pratt, PhD, Director of Strategic Partnerships & Network Relations at 212-860-1563 x100. Deadline: December 1, 2025.
MAPC is accepting project concepts for their 2026 Technical Assistance Program (TAP). This is an opportunity for you to work with MAPC on local programs and planning initiatives that advance regional goals. Apply by December 8, 2025 for your project to be considered when the greatest amount of funding is available.
Massachusetts Small Business Development Center offers no-cost, confidential business advising, technical assistance, and training programs to prospective and existing small businesses throughout the Commonwealth. It is a partnership program with the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Massachusetts Office of Business Development. There is a rolling Request for Advising that businesses can submit.
Does your organization have an event, resource, or program that is Boston-based, free, and aimed at teens? See the City of Boston’s community events calendar or to place it in the weekly public-facing newsletter, please fill out their form.
LEGO® Education Science invites students to ask questions, solve problems, and explore new ideas, all while fostering skills in collaboration and creativity. From analyzing fossils to explaining gravity to modeling photosynthesis, LEGO® Education Science gives K-8 students the chance to practice scientific skills and deepen their understanding of concepts from across the domains of science. With teacher facilitation notes and classroom presentations for 120 lessons, teachers of any experience level can easily make science learning engaging, impactful, and hands-on.
The Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture’s Cultural Planning team has relaunched the Cultural Space Needs Register to support the development of their data infrastructure and research as a team. It is designed as a register of need because of the ongoing and sustained needs of many cultural organizations and artists to access affordable space for cultural production and performance.
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.