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
Upcoming Mass Cultural Council grant opportunities:
- Grants for Creative Individuals aims to equitably advance creative expression throughout the Commonwealth with unrestricted grants to Massachusetts artists, culture bearers, and creative individuals. Grants are $5,000. Deadline: Dec. 11, 2023.
- Cultural Facilities Fund grants 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. Deadline: Dec. 14, 2023.
- Gaming Mitigation Fund: Grants to Massachusetts nonprofit and municipal performing arts centers to spend on touring shows or touring artist fees. Opens: Dec. 5, 2023. Deadline: Feb. 1, 2024.
The American Library Association’s Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities will offer more than $7 million in grants to small and rural libraries to increase the accessibility of facilities, services, and programs to better serve people with disabilities. To be eligible, a library must have a legal area population of 25,000 or less and be located at least five miles from an urbanized area. Grants range from $10,000 – $20,000. Deadline: Dec. 11, 2023.
The USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program Renewable Energy Systems & Energy Efficiency Improvement Guaranteed Loans & Grants program offers loan financing and grant funding to rural small businesses for renewable energy systems, or to make energy efficiency improvements. Next deadline: Dec. 31, 2023.
Creative Forces Community Engagement Grants support community-based arts engagement programming for military and veteran populations—including family members and caregivers. A program of the National Endowment for the Arts and Mid-America Arts Alliance. Deadline: Jan. 17, 2023
The National Endowment for the Arts, SouthArts, and the other US Regional Arts Organizations have launched ArtsHERE, a new grant program supporting organizations committed to equity & increasing arts access for underserved communities. Statements of Interest deadline: Jan. 19, 2024.
The National Endowment for the Arts‘ Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) provides expansive funding opportunities to strengthen the nation’s arts and cultural ecosystem. Grants are available for arts projects in a wide variety of artistic disciplines.
- 1st GAP Deadline: (a) Submit to Grants.gov, Feb. 15, 2024. (b) Submit to Applicant Portal, Feb. 21-28, 2024
- 2nd GAP Deadline: (a) Submit to Grants.gov, July 11, 2024 (b) Submit to Applicant Portal, July 16-23, 2024
Things to Attend
Nonprofit Learning Lab’s free nonprofit webinar series continues:
Join Whole Whale, a leading nonprofit digital agency, for a dynamic and interactive webinar that explores the world of tools like ChatGPT and its potential to create meaningful social impact. They’ll discuss how AI can empower nonprofits to enhance your work and achieve your mission more effectively. Whether you’re looking to enhance storytelling, generate compelling content, or drive engagement, this webinar will equip you with the knowledge and tools to unlock the power of AI in making a positive impact.
Having clear roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities is the key to creating successful teams. Establishing group norms and group agreements helps ensure your teams remain focused and expectations are managed. In this session the purpose of Group Norms and Agreements will be reviewed, where and when to use them, and how to get started. This session is ideal for anyone leading organizations or teams.
Major gift fundraising is vital for the success of a nonprofit. Landing a major gift can propel an organization into the future. But to do so successfully, you must engage both the “art” and the “science” of major gift fundraising. This workshop presents strategies for both, strategies that have been used successfully to close major gifts at multiple organizations and that can help your organization take the next step of growth.
TSNE has an ongoing Better Nonprofit Management Training Series with three upcoming sessions:
Philanthropy Massachusetts is hosting a virtual workshop, Engage, Inform, Persuade: Data Storytelling Workshop, to help organizations craft compelling narratives from their data. Dec. 6, 2023 from 10 – 11:30am. Cost: $30 for members; $45 for non-members.
The Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston is presenting Get on Board!, a half-day, virtual seminar where attendees will learn about the different types and structures of boards as well as the roles, responsibilities, and legal obligations of nonprofit board members. Dec. 8, 2023 from 9am-12pm.
Lawyers Clearinghouse is hosting a virtual workshop, Nonprofit Conflicts of Interest: How to Identify Conflicts and Protect Your Nonprofit. Dec. 11, 2023 from 12-1pm. Optional Q&A at 1:30pm. Cost: $25 per organization.
Register for the Cultural Equity Learning Community, an anti-racism course open to arts and culture leaders committed to building intersectional racial equity. A partnership of Arts Connect International, Mass Cultural Council, and HipStory. Register by Jan. 19, 2024.
Other
Do you know an unstoppable woman changing Boston? Nominate them for YW Boston’s 2024 Academy of Women Achievers. This award acknowledges “unstoppable women changing Boston” who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and achievement in their professional and civic lives. YW Boston is asking for nominations of women who are leading in their fields, creating change, and breaking down barriers in Boston and beyond. Deadline: Dec. 4, 2023.
Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery Initiative has announced its inaugural Request for Proposals (RFP). The RFP presents a unique opportunity for community-based organizations to partner with the Harvard community to advance reparative actions that confront the lasting impact of slavery. H&LS is seeking proposals that will help promote reparative work in critical sectors such as education, economic mobility, health, urban planning, and criminal justice. Each proposal will require both a community-based organization and a Harvard partner. Attend an upcoming Ideathon on Dec. 7, 2023 to exchange ideas and find potential partners. Sign up for updates.
Calling all visionaries shaping civic life in the Commonwealth – Mass Humanities wants to honor them with the 2024 Governor’s Award. Nominate a Humanities Hero! Deadline: Dec. 15, 2023.
Cultural organizations can learn about the Systems Replacement Plan (SRP) — a 20-year building assessment that can help organizations resolve facility challenges and prepare for long term sustainability — by watching a recorded presentation by Mass Cultural Council and the Nonprofit Finance Fund. Learn about how a Cultural Facilities Fund SRP grant includes an inspection from a qualified buildings engineer who assesses the age, useful life, and cost of repair/replacement for various components of a building. The assessment is then used to build a flexible 20-year budgeting tool for financial and operational planning.
The FrameWorks Institute, a nonprofit research organization helping mission-driven organizations build public will for progressive change, has released a report – Navigating Cultural Mindsets of Race and Place in the United States.
Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization offers a Community Transportation Technical Assistance Program to provide municipal officials with technical advice on local transportation concerns such as traffic operations, safety, bicycle and pedestrian access, livability, parking, and bus stop locations.
HireCulture.org is a free, online database of creative employment opportunities throughout Massachusetts that includes administrative, artistic, executive, volunteer, and intern listings. A service of Mass Cultural Council.
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.