BIPOC-Centered Organization Self-Identification

Culture embraces everyone. 

Mass Cultural Council acknowledges that historically, both private philanthropy and public sector resources have failed to invest in, and meet the needs of, the people of the global majority — Black, Indigenous, People of Color, Latinx, Asian, Native American, Pacific Islander, and all other ethnicities of color — and the organizations serving these communities.

Because of this, and as outlined in our Racial Equity Plan, the Agency is committed to collecting inclusive identifications of organizations that center BIPOC* (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) individuals and communities to better measure our investments in them. It is a priority of our anti-racism work to intentionally design programs and services to ensure we are reaching all residents of the Commonwealth.

Mass Cultural Council has created a BIPOC-Centered Organization Self-Identification Form to collect demographic data from organizations that apply to our grant programs. Completing this optional form (see sample below) will help further the Agency’s understanding of organizations working in the cultural community and help ensure that our BIPOC constituents are being more equitably served. We may use this information to inform certain grant reviews, evaluate our grant making processes, report on grant making, and share relevant opportunities.

*For the purposes of this identification, we will use the term BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color). We recognize that language is fluid and the intersectional justice movement is redefining terminology regularly.

Sample Self-Identification Form Questions

Mass Cultural Council is collecting self-identified demographic data on the people and organizations that make up the Commonwealth’s cultural community. This information will be used to better measure our investments in under-funded communities and ensure programs are designed to reach everyone.

This list is not exhaustive. We will update it as we learn more. BIPOC is intended to also include, but not limit to:

• ALAANA (also ALANA) - African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, and Native American
• AAPI – Asian American and Pacific Islander
• Latino/a (also Hispanic) as well as Latine/x and Afro-Latino/a
• Native American (Tribal and Urban) as well as Alaska Native, American Indians, Indigenous
• MENA – Middle East and North African
• People of the Global Majority
• People of the Global African Diaspora

BIPOC-Centered Organizations must be able to demonstrate that:

• The organization’s primary mission, programming and/or practices explicitly and specifically reflect and serve one or more communities that self-identify as BIPOC.

Community can be defined as any group that your organization is intentionally working to serve (e.g., members, students, artists, participants, audience, geographic community, ethnic heritage or cultural tradition).
and

• Must be BIPOC led and/or run. 

* Does your organization’s primary Mission, Programming, and/or Practices explicitly and specifically reflect and serve one or more communities that self-identify as BIPOC?
BIPOC identities include, but are not limited to:

• Asian, South Asian, or Asian American
• Black, African, or a part of Africa’s Global Diaspora
• Brazilian or Cape Verdean
• Latino/a, Latine/x, Hispanic or Afro-Latino/a
• Multi-racial, multi-ethnic, bi-racial, or mixed
• Native American, American Indian, or Indigenous
• Pacific Islander, Samoan, or Hawaiian Native
• Persian, Arab, Middle Eastern, or North African

Yes
No

* Please briefly describe the BIPOC community itself and how the organization’s mission, programs, and/or practices are designed to serve that community.

If you are identifying your community or workforce (below) as Native American, Indigenous or Alaska Native, please identify the state or federally recognized Tribal Nation to which you are affiliated, or another signifier of Indigenous heritage. (500 characters)

* Is your organization BIPOC led or run?
Yes
No

Complete a BIPOC-Centered Organization Self-Identification Form

Forms are submitted through the Agency’s online system. To create a profile in the system you must have an email address, which will be your username.

If you have not applied to Mass Cultural Council before and/or do not already have a user profile, complete a registration in the grants management system.

• Go to the online system and click “Register”.
• On the next page select “Organization” to register your organization, school, town, or other group.
• Your organization may already have a record in the system. Use the Organization name field to find and select your organization, then provide your contact information.
• If your organization’s name is not listed, click the link at the top of the page to register your organization manually. There you will also provide your own contact information as well.
• After completing the registration, you should receive an email to activate your account. The account must be activated within 24 hours. After clicking the activation link, you will be prompted to create a new 8-digit password.

If you have previously applied for a Mass Cultural Council grant using your email address, you may have a profile in the system already. Here’s how you can check to see if you already have a user profile:

• Go to the online system and click “Forgot Password”.
• Once you submit your email address, you will receive an email with a temporary password and a link to the site.
• Copy the password to use on the login page, you will then be prompted to create a new password.
• If you do not receive an email, you do not have an account and you should create one (see above), or you can contact the grants help desk for assistance.

Once you have logged in to the online system, select “Current Opportunities” to find the BIPOC-Centered Organization Self-Assessment Form.