Belchertown Cultural Council

The Belchertown Cultural Council strives to bring the arts to our community by focusing on local artists who are dedicated and enthusiastic about sharing their talents with our schools, community centers, and with anyone who enjoys taking in the meaningful cultural experiences that this area has to offer. The cultural council seeks diversity in its programming as well as presentations and workshops that explore the arts in a way that will educate and invigorate the community.

Contact

Molly Robinson
bccgrantsmgr@gmail.com
413-233-6864
https://belchertown.org/BCC

Address
2 Jabish Street
Belchertown, MA 01007-9840

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Application Information

FY26 Allocation

$12,700

FY26 Local Priorities

Priorities
The Belchertown Cultural Council strives to bring the arts to our community by focusing on local artists who are dedicated and enthusiastic about sharing their talents with our community. We are focused on promoting cultural equity, diversity and inclusion by prioritizing programming from LGBTQ+ organizations and organizations that center BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) individuals and communities.

Preference is given to applications that fall in the following categories:
– Public events
– Nature, science and environmental education
– Programs celebrating local history and cultural diversity

In addition to MCC requirements, the following local criteria must be met:

Public Benefit: The project or program must take place in Belchertown and the application must clearly articulate the benefit it brings to our community.

Venue: All applications must include a letter of support from the venue. Applicants are responsible for arranging the venue. If you have not yet identified a venue or need support with securing a venue please reach out to us at BCCgrantsMGR@gmail.com before applying and we will assist you.

Budget: Grants from BCC are not intended to be the sole source of funding for your project or program, with limited exceptions, your project or program must be able to proceed with only partial funding.

Caps and limitations:
The number of grant applications that we receive, along with our state allocation, will determine if any grant applications will be fully funded or if all grant awards are partial.

– Applicants cannot receive more than two grant awards per cycle, but may submit more than two applications.
– Applicants who have been awarded grants in prior years and did not complete their programming or did not follow promotion guidelines will be de-prioritized.
– Recurring project and program expenses may not be considered to receive a grant award more than three years in a row.
– Grants to fund scholarships, tuition reimbursement, travel expenses, or capital expenditures are ineligible.
– Grant applicants proposing to work in the Belchertown Public Schools should apply for a grant through the Belchertown Education Foundation.

Letters of support:
Projects involving collaboration must include a letter of support from the collaborating organizations.

BCC expectations:
Promoting your event: you must provide your marketing materials to us no less than two weeks prior to the start date(s) of your project(s) or program(s), so we can:
1) review the required credit line and logo
2) promote your project or program as an LCC grant recipient.

Representation is expected at our Grant Reception, usually held in the spring.

Grant recipients are required to complete a short LCC assessment form after the completion of their project or event.

Acknowledgement of Belchertown Cultural Council support must be given during the program or project and verification of such must be provided for grant payout

FY26 Local Guidelines

Deadline: Applications open September 2 and are due by October 16th.

Time/Venue Required: Applicants must specify an arranged venue for their activity and a specific date or on-going timeline.

Level of Support: The Council may not fully fund your project. To demonstrate that your project is not dependent solely on BCC funding, you must specify other sources of financial support in the budget section of the application.

Qualifications: Applicants must demonstrate a record of engagement in the type of activity for which funds are requested.
Program Eligibility: Programs in music, dance, visual arts, poetry, literature, drama, the humanities and scientific interpretation for all age groups will be considered. Applications for programs that are normally funded by the town budget and/or programs taking place within the Belchertown Public Schools will not be considered.

Repeat Applicants: An applicant who is funded 3 successive years may not be considered.

Project modifications: After the grants are awarded, programs cannot be modified without the Council’s review.

How Grant Recipients Are Paid

Reimbursement Grants

FY26 Funding List

A grant list will be published here after January 17, 2026 and once the Local Cultural Council has finalized their decisions.