Lowell Cultural Council
The Lowell Cultural Council’s (LCC) mission is to promote excellence, access, education and diversity in the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences in order to improve the quality of life for all Lowell residents and to contribute to the economic vitality of this community through the re-granting of public monies awarded to the LCC by the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC). The Lowell Cultural Council is an agent of the Massachusetts Cultural Council which receives funding from the Massachusetts Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts. Distributions are based on a local aid formula devised by the state and are not determined by the individual municipality.
Contact
Erin Duffey, Administrator
culturalcouncillowell@gmail.com
978-674-1483
Address
375 Merrimack Street
Lowell, MA 01852-5909
Application Information
FY23 Allocation
$133,600
FY23 Local Priorities
Priorities for the 2023 year are based on the responses from a city-wide survey. Based on those results, the LCC will give extra consideration to grants with a focus on:
* Arts Education and Instruction including, but not limited to, Children’s Programming
* Performing Arts including dance, theater, spoken word, and musical performances.
This does not preclude grants being awarded to individuals and organizations applying from all other Arts & Culture disciplines, and we welcome creativity and diversity.
FY23 Local Guidelines
Because the application process is competitive, it is imperative that applicants familiarize themselves with Council guidelines. Applicants must ensure that they follow the guidelines in the application process and then, if the application is successful, follow the guidelines for publicity and reimbursement.
Applications will be accepted for projects taking place between January 1 and December 31, 2023.
Deadline for receipt of online applications is 11:59pm, Monday, October 17th. Early submission is strongly recommended.
Lowell Cultural Council restrictions:
The Lowell Cultural Council will accept no more than two applications per lead individual, lead organization or under the umbrella of the same program serving the same or overlapping audience. For further clarification, please attend one of the online grant workshops. We do not fund semester long residencies in the Lowell Public Schools. Please apply to the Mass Cultural Council Stars Residencies which are grants to schools to fund this type of project.
� Available funding and high demand for support may result in an award smaller than funds requested. Indicate on the application how this may affect your project. Awards have historically ranged from several hundred dollars up to $5,000. In 2022, LCC awarded 42 project grants at an average of $3,900. Additional grants in varying amounts may be made available at LCC’s discretion, subject to total available grant funds and the grant applicant pool.
� Repeat Funding: In order to encourage new applicants and to ensure the widest distribution of funds, projects may not receive funding for more than three consecutive years. Applicants who received funding for three consecutive years must wait one year for applying again for the same project. However, applicants may receive funding for more than three consecutive years for projects which are conceptually different.
� Incomplete Requirements: Grant recipients who fail to complete grant requirements are ineligible to apply for a new grant for two years.
� LCC reserves the right to restrict funding of any item(s) and or grantees regardless of cost that do not provide a significant public benefit.
Electronic applications will be available online at https://massculturalcouncil.org/ on September 1, 2022.
For assistance with creating an application a video walk through from MCC is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD7mPcAroKI
For more information on the grant application process, visit https://massculturalcouncil.org/communities/local-cultural-council-program/application-process
The Lowell Cultural Council requires that the following documentation MUST accompany the application:
1. Resumes of all individuals engaged in leadership roles in the project.
2. Written letters of support from partner organizations/individuals.
3. Written letter from venues confirming participation in/acceptance of the project if necessary.
4. Public art projects must have written permission from owners of property. If Public Art projects are to take place in Historic Districts and/or Lowell National Historical Park, letters of support from the Historic Board and/or Lowell National Historical Park must accompany the application. If the Public Art project is a permanent installation, a maintenance plan must accompany the application. If the Public Art project is a temporary installation, an installation and removal plan must accompany the application.
5. All applications that anticipate gatherings of over 50 people must provide an alternative plan should future pandemic restrictions require modification of the original project.
6. As needed or applicable, projects are required to provide assistive support for the deaf, hard of hearing or blind in addition to meeting ADA requirements for those with physical disabilities. Budgets must include a line item for assistive support. Please note that the Lowell Cultural Council maintains a separate fund for assistive support and will pay providers directly.
Please note that the online application allows a maximum of three pages of PDF attachments for supplemental materials. Additional pages of supplemental materials should be sent to the Council via link to a Dropbox file. This link should be embedded in the supplemental materials (for instructions go to https://www.dropbox.com/help/167 and follow the instructions for creating a shared link).
Grant Evaluation
There are five major areas considered by council members in evaluating each grant application: 1) quality of project, 2) community benefit, 3) budget and funding, 4) planning, and 5) leadership. Each area has a rating scale of one to five for a total of 25 points.
The criteria used to evaluate these areas and determine a grant’s success include:
1. Quality of Project – Is it creative, unique? Does it have a specific focus and is that focus well defined? Is it engaging? Is it collaborative? Will the project enhance the cultural life of the city? Where will the project take place? Are dates and times included?
2. Community Benefit – How well does the project serve the residents of Lowell? What is the audience to be served? Does the project reflect priorities developed from the community input meeting? Is the target audience an underserved population? Is the applicant a Lowell resident, work in Lowell or participating in a work/study project in the city?
3. Budget and Funding Support – Does the budget balance? Does the budget follow guidelines? Is the budget appropriate and clear? Are there other sources of funding or is LCC the sole source of funding? Is the project budget specific? Has this project been funded previously by LCC? Should this project be part of the city budget? If the project is only partially funded, can it be modified and completed successfully? Does the budget include a line item for assistive support for the deaf, hard of hearing, blind or physically disabled?
4. Planning – Are there well-defined goals / targets? Is this a single event or an on-going project? When and where will the project take place? If an on-going project, is there a culminating event, activity, or product that can act as a benchmark for evaluation? Is it clear that project planning has already taken place? Is the public program portion of this project accessible to individuals with disabilities? Is there a letter of support from the venue if the venue requires it? What are plans for promotion and outreach? Funding is based on a project taking place. Are there contingency plans for weather or pandemic related delays?
5. Leadership – Does the leadership / staff have experience? Do personnel qualifications match the project’s needs? Who is involved in the planning process for the project? (Are specific individuals/organizations and their contributions listed?) Is there evidence of past success in executing a similar project? Is there an alternative plan to respond to future pandemic restrictions?
Timeline for Lowell Cultural Council Grant Cycle
MCC online application goes live September 1st.
Online application are due no later than 11:59pm on October 17, 2022.
Applicant Review Procedure
Council members review each grant application. Members then submit questions they have regarding your grant to the Chairs. Interviews will be held via phone on October 26th. Applicants will receive a call that evening between the hours of 6:30 PM-8:30 PM. If you are not available, you may respond to questions via email by 11:59 PM on October 28th. If none of the Council members have questions regarding your grant application, you will receive an email letting you know we did not have any questions for you.
Council members are not experts in every field and the questions allow members to fill in their knowledge gaps. While there is no standard set of questions, all questions are based on the application. Questions tend to fall into one of the following categories:
– Asking for information that was missing in the application.
– Clarification about the project description
– Details about the planning process
– Explanation of community benefit
– Strategies for marketing and promotion
– Qualifications of project leaders
– Clarification of budget details
Council members will attempt to keep their questions direct and succinct. We ask you to do the same in your responses. Responding to these questions is strictly voluntary but is strongly recommended.
The Voting Meetings
Once the Council members have had an opportunity to review all applications and responses to questions (if any), they will tentatively score each application. The dates for deliberations and funding will be posted on our Facebook page after the deadline.
Denials and Approvals
– Applicants who are not approved for funding will have 15 days from the date of notification to request reconsideration. Please note, reconsideration can be requested if, and only if, it is believed that the Council did not follow published state and local guidelines in the grant making process.
– Once the reconsideration period has passed and the Lowell Cultural Council has received the allocation for 2023, the Council will send out approval letters to successful applicants.
How Grant Recipients Are Paid
Reimbursement Grants
FY23 Funding List
| Name | Project Title | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Angkor Dance Troupe, Inc. | Angkor Dance Troupe presents Yike | $3,969 | Chakraborty, Maitreyee | Harmony in Vocal and 'Sarod' - exploring Tagore's Compositions | $1,629 | City of Lowell | Spring Clean Up Concert Series | $10,000 | City of Lowell | Senior Artists Learning Together | $2,975 | Corporation for the Celebration of Jack Kerouac in Lowell | Annual Lowell Celebrates Kerouac Festival | $3,069 | Do-it-Yourself Lowell | Community Idea Summit 2023 | $3,088 | Farkas, Maxine | The Lowell Photo Archive Phase 2 | $3,069 | FreeVerse! | FreeVerse! | $3,825 | Image Theatre, Inc. | Lost Cellphone Weekend | $1,500 | Ismatul Oliva, Susana | Salsa in the Park | $3,838 | James, Wendy | Face to Face | $500 | Latinx Community Center for Empowerment, Inc. | Lowell Hispanic and Latinx Festival | $8,500 | Loading Dock Arts, Inc. | Loading Dock Arts Workshops and Speaker Series | $1,869 | Lowell Art Association | "Whistler's Mother Reborn" | $3,969 | Lowell Art Association | Art in Gardening and Landscaping for Seniors | $8,500 | Lowell Chamber Orchestra | Lowell Chamber Orchestra: FY23-24 Season | $5,398 | Lowell Film Collaborative | Lowell Book to Film, Volume I | $1,287 | Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race | Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race | $5,000 | Lowell Makes, Inc. | 2023 Mill City Skill Share | $3,538 | Massei, Derek | PALE BLUE DOT (tentative) | $1,869 | Merrimack Repertory Theatre | MRT Educational Offerings for 2023 | $6,088 | Miceli, Donna | Dance MOVES for PD | $2,319 | Miceli, Donna | Dance MOVES for EveryBODY | $2,284 | New England Film Orchestra, Inc. | Lowell Summer Music series | $3,069 | Orng, Sophornya | Untitled Open Mic 2023 | $4,063 | Points of Light Lantern Celebration | Points of Light Lantern Festival | $6,000 | Pollard Memorial Library | Children's Songs and Singing Games Family Concert | $575 | Porter, Christopher | The Town and The City Festival | $2,713 | The Filmmakers Collaborative, Inc. | FC Academy Filmmaking Program | $3,069 | The Lowell Festival Foundation | Lowell Folk Festival - Programming Assistance | $8,500 | The Lowell Festival Foundation | Lowell Summer Music Series Free Fun For Kids | $6,000 | The Lowell Philharmonic Orchestra, Ltd. | Mega Grant for 5 Concerts in 2023 | $6,088 |
