Miranda Cook, Program Officer
The 2022 Annual Report for the Cultural Facilities Fund (CFF) is now available, highlighting the investment of $14 million into Massachusetts’ cultural infrastructure.
In the past year, 127 grants were made to support projects in construction, restoration, and deferred maintenance, undertaken by nonprofit cultural organizations, municipalities, and colleges operating public cultural facilities statewide.
Cultural Facilities Fund grant recipients have included community art centers, theaters, dance companies, museums, libraries, nature conservatories and many others.
Jim Grace, Executive Director of the Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston, remarked on their recent capital grant. “Western Avenue in Lowell is one of the largest artists live-work spaces in the country, and the community is a regional economic development engine and cultural asset. With the purchase of the building, we will continue to preserve and protect a vibrant community of artists by offering them access to affordable spaces for them to hone their respective crafts.”
A survey conducted by Mass Cultural Council in the fall captured the CFF’s impact on jobs and organizational spending. While grantees report that CFF has helped leverage funds from other sources to complete their projects, there continues to be significant demand: 314 cultural organizations reported $1.2 billion in future capital projects over the next two to three years.
“The Cultural Facilities Fund provides funding to support important and necessary replacement and updated building capital expenditures. Without the knowledge and support of CFF funding, we would not be able to afford the significant cost to replace or upgrade our aging building infrastructure and protect our permanent collection,” said Michael Rabideau, Director of Operations at the Cape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis.