Shutesbury Cultural Council

Contact

Address
1 Cooleyville Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072-9766

Application Information

FY26 Allocation

$5,700

FY26 Local Priorities

When determining whether to fund a grant request, the Cultural Council uses the following Council Priorities to evaluate the proposed programming.

The Council is committed to funding a broad cross-section of programs, activities, events, and projects. We support a wide variety of art forms, the work of individual artists, education projects, collaborative proposals that bring together artists and other types of organizations, local cultural groups, and projects that serve specific populations, such as youth, older adults, people living below the poverty line, and people living with disabilities.

Applications are evaluated in terms of several review criteria, including:

artistic or creative merit;
project design;
qualifications, dedication and track record of the individuals and organizations involved;
physical accessibility of any facilities being used;
community benefit, support, and/or involvement;
ability to address the diverse cultural needs and audiences of the community;
evidence of planning and potential for success/completion;
financial need and/or availability of other sources of funding.
Priority is given to:

Shutesbury-based applicants;
projects, events, or programs that have already secured a local venue;
projects, events, or programs that serve the widest range of local populations.
The proposed event, project, or program must take place between January 1 and December 31 of the year following the application.

Proposals from schools and libraries must not request support for activities that should be or used to be part of the municipal budget (i.e., teacher salaries, classroom supplies, school-sponsored clubs and organizations, library books/videos, etc.).

Enrichment projects utilizing outside professionals are allowed.

Applications should state, as explicitly as possible, the ways in which the proposed program will benefit the Shutesbury community.

The Council will carefully scrutinize repeated requests; such proposals should show other sources of support to show the project is not dependent solely on Council funding.

The Shutesbury Cultural Council requests that additional information accompanying the application be limited to one item.

FY26 Local Guidelines

The mission of the Shutesbury Cultural Council is to promote excellence, education, diversity, and inclusion in the arts, humanities, and sciences in order to foster a rich cultural life for all Shutesbury residents. Since 1998, the Shutesbury Cultural Council has awarded $110,559 in grant funding for 319 arts, humanities, and science programs and projects in the community.

Each year, the Shutesbury Cultural Council awards grant funding to practitioners, artists, educators, and organizations who serve the arts, humanities, and science needs of the Shutesbury community. For FY2023, the Shutesbury Cultural Council awarded over $5,500 for a wide range of programming, including performances, classes, workshops, publications, and more.

In Massachusetts, public funding for the arts, humanities, and sciences is provided through the Mass Cultural Council (MCC), which distributes state funding to Local Cultural Councils (LCCs) that award grants in accordance with MCC’s Program Guidelines and the LCC’s own Council Priorities. Local property tax revenue is not used toward Shutesbury Cultural Council grant funding.

Council members are appointed by the Selectboard and can serve for a maximum of two consecutive terms of three years each. They are responsible for making decisions on how to award the money granted to the Council by the MCC – plus funds raised in other ways – to support projects that will best serve local cultural needs. Council members should have a demonstrated interest or record of service to the arts, humanities, or sciences.

Grants from the Shutesbury Cultural Council are reimbursement-based and are typically in the $200-$500 range.

How Grant Recipients Are Paid

Direct Grants

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FY25 Funding List

Name	Project Title	Amount
Casilio, Sara	Make Your own Pinback Button	$420
Community Network for Children	Mucho Gusto Spanish for Families	$450
Longcope, Nate	Shutesbury Open Studios 2025	$400
M.N. Spear Memorial Library	Tales & Tunes with Katie	$500
M.N. Spear Memorial Library	Harmony in the Stacks: A Concert Series at Your New Library	$742
M.N. Spear Memorial Library	The Retile Nook Animal Talk Series	$200
M.N. Spear Memorial Library	Raptors in Flight with Monadnock Falconry	$350
M.N. Spear Memorial Library	Sourdough Starter Workshop.	$200
Shutesbury Elementary School	MCBA author visit	$540
Sobel, Anna R.	Robot Puppet Show at Shutesbury Elementary School	$550
Stepanek, Julie	Monthly Ukulele Play Along on Zoom	$600
Valentine, Rory	Fellowship Through Fiber Arts	$750

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Review Complete LCC Program Guidelines