Power of Culture Blog
Card to Culture Shout Out – May
We are grateful to these 52 cultural organizations committed to a more accessible cultural sector
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.)
The City of Boston’s Neighborhood Activation Grants support community-focused arts, cultural, and creative activations in public spaces. Deadline: May 8, 2025.
The Tow Foundation’s Innovation Fund is seeking applicants from a diverse array of organizations that work to improve youth access to support and care for mental health and well-being in a variety of community, school, and clinical settings. These general operating grants range from $300,000 to $1 million. Info session: May 7, 2025. Deadline: May 23, 2025.
The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources’ Green Communities Division is offering Climate Leader Community Decarbonization Technical Support for municipalities. Deadline: May 30, 2025.
Upcoming Mass Humanities funding opportunities:
Cambridge Community Foundation’s Arts and Belonging Grants offer multi-year general operating grants supporting community impact and grassroots organizations dedicated to building belonging through the arts in Cambridge. Deadline: Jun. 3, 2025.
Massachusetts Office on Disability’s Municipal ADA Improvement Grants offer project and planning support of up to $250,000 and are available to support capital improvements specifically dedicated to improving programmatic access and/or removing barriers encountered by persons with disabilities in applicant facilities. Deadline: Jun. 13, 2025 at 5pm.
Microsoft’s Nonprofit Hub offers grants and discounts on their products and services to eligible nonprofits around the world.
The Boston Foundation, Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, and MassINC Polling Group invite you to The Shifting Federal Landscape: Massachusetts Nonprofits Raise the Alarm for the release of the Massachusetts Nonprofits Federal Impacts Survey results, which capture nonprofit perceptions of the new administration’s impact on their organizations and vulnerable communities. Register for the live stream on May 5, 2025 from 12:30-2pm.
Access/VSA at the Kennedy Center presents The REAL POWER™ Shift: Redefining Leadership for Today’s Cultural Changemakers. This webinar will go over global speaker & authentic leadership advocate LaMondré Pough’s leadership framework and offer a space for connection for today’s cultural leaders. May 6, 2025 from 2-3:30pm.
Register for the next Youth Arts Impact Network convening, and connect with your peers in Creative Youth Development and share what you have accomplished this school year as well as what you are planning for the summer at your organization. MASSCreative will join as a special guest speaker. May 6, 2025 from 4:30-6:30pm.
The City of Boston is hosting a training on Retention and Recruitment of Youth focusing on best practices for the recruitment and retention of youth in summer programming. May 8, 2025 from 9am-12pm.
The Boston Foundation in partnership with Artists for Humanity, MassCreative and The Foundry presents The Future of Collective Action for the Arts & Culture Sector. Join leaders and activists in a discussion on the current local and national landscape and share models and best practices for building collective action within and beyond our sector. May 8, 2025 from 5:30-7:30pm.
Candid presents Funding Beyond Federal: How to diversify funding to ensure stability in uncertain times a three-hour virtual intensive educational event designed to help experienced fundraisers identify new revenue streams, reframe existing strategies, and diversify their funding model. May 12, 2025, at 1pm.
Register for the Worcester County State of the Arts Convening hosted by the Fitchburg Cultural Alliance and Worcester Cultural Coalition, including a presentation on the Worcester County Cultural Asset Inventory, networking, and advocacy conversations with local representatives. May 14, 2025 from 10am-12:30pm.
Massachusetts Nonprofit Network presents Traps for the Unwary Nonprofit, a webinar that will go over some common mistakes nonprofits make when it comes to payroll, handbook policies, and other legal or compliance issues. May 15, 2025, at 10am.
New England Museum Association presents Some Good (Museum) News: Spring 2025. Inspired by John Krasinski’s “Some Good News”, they’ve launched a virtual museum edition to spotlight the inspirational and uplifting stories and programs of our nation’s museums. May 21, 2025 from 12-1pm.
Join EdVestors for their Education Showcase, featuring educators, community partners, researchers, and students who will explore how data, especially community-defined and community-informed data, can be a catalyst for improvement. May 21, 2025 from 4-6:30pm.
Join Americans for the Arts in Cincinnati, OH from June 11-14, 2025, for a national gathering of arts leaders, advocates, and changemakers. This year’s AFTACON will be a powerful convening that will feature innovative sessions spanning Cultural Impact, Educational Development, Economic Growth, Social Transformation, and Future Innovation—all while fostering deep connections across the industry.
Americans for the Arts is taking a national pulse survey of arts and culture organizations and creative businesses to gather critical information to demonstrate the human, programmatic, and financial impacts of recent executive orders that reduce the footprint of many federal agencies. Please respond to the survey by May 9, 2025. It takes about 6 minutes to complete.
Congress is accepting FY26 funding requests so they need to hear from you. Your voice as a local arts leader/creator carries significant weight with Congress. When legislators hear directly from constituents about the impact of arts and cultural funding in their districts, it makes a real difference in their decision-making. Please email AND call your members of Congress today. Here’s a list of resources for shaping advocacy messages to Congress now.
The Highland Street Foundation’s Community Impact Consulting program is accepting RFPs. The program provides nonprofits a professional consultant for a six-month period to help them address a specific need within their organization. Deadline: May 9, 2025 at 5pm.
The Northeastern University College of Arts, Media and Design’s Co-op Department would love to partner with you to engage with Northeastern students. Their students are designers, arts administrators, digital marketers, content creators, filmmakers, writers, actors, musicians, and more. Opportunities for student engagement include: career sessions (information on career pathways, current workforce development skills and trends, resume and portfolio reviews) internships/co-ops, mentorship, speaking engagements, site visits, and contract or gig work. For more information, contact Nancy Tarr or Isabel Dmitruk.
The National Endowment for the Arts’ and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis’ latest data reveal continued growth for the arts sector. Details of their findings are available in a number of resources.
Mass Cultural Council’s 2024 Massachusetts Cultural Asset Inventory quantifies the size, scope, economic impact, and needs of individual generators and cultural organizations across the Commonwealth. County fact sheets are also available.
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.
