Amherst Cultural Council
The Amherst Cultural Council allocates state Arts Lottery funds, but it is directed to support and nurture arts activities in the community by seeking private or other public funds and initiatives.
Contact
Matt Holloway & Julianne Applegate - Co-Chairs
chair.of.amherst.cultural.council@gmail.com
413-259-3002
Address
4 Boltwood Avenue
Amherst, MA 01002-2302
Connect on Social
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Application Information
FY24 Allocation
$53,800
FY24 Local Priorities
We will prioritize projects for and by BIPOC communities, individuals with disabilities, and low-income communities. We seek applications from people of all ages, races, and persuasions. We encourage new applicants and welcome repeat applicants.
Grant applications will be prioritized by the benefit they bring to the Amherst community. Please provide detailed information about how your project will specifically benefit people in the greater Amherst community.
We encourage events that bring regional collaboration and benefit. For grants that have regional audiences and also benefit Amherst residents we encourage you to apply to all LCC’s with communities who will benefit from the event.
To better serve the community, grants will be evaluated and prioritized to assure that the assortment of grants funded provide different types of arts and cultural activities: (e.g. music, theater, visual art, performing arts, literature, science, historical, and other types of events).
Council Guidelines
Requirements
Virtual events will be considered. Please include information on your virtual platform. Venues and dates must be confirmed when submitting an application. Please include a letter from the venue as confirmation of date.
FY24 Local Guidelines
Only one application from each group or individual will be considered. Please combine multi program/project requests under one application.
Applications from students are encouraged, but we do not support projects whose sole purpose is fulfillment of a requirement for a degree program.
Travel expenditures will not be reimbursed.
Please identify recipients of stipends and the number of performances, if applicable. K through 12 applications for projects and field trips must state how they relate to classroom activities and curriculum. The ACC will consider funding tickets for students and one adult for one trip per grade per school.
Do not attach more than ten pages of supplemental material.
All events and programs funded by the ACC must consider access for persons with disabilities, including the facility or event location as well as the content of the program. To ensure equitable access, an applicant should make a candid assessment and identification of barriers (physical, virtual, cultural, communication) followed by a bold and innovative plan for improvement.
Recommendations
As equity and inclusion are central to our work, we encourage applicants to develop accessibility practices and include accommodation services in their applications. ACC has dedicated funds to support accessibility — your grant budget may include additional funds for accommodation services that will provide improved access to your project. If it does, please specify the type of supports / services you are able to provide in your application narrative. Accommodations for greater access may include, but are not limited to: sign language interpreters; language interpreters and / or translations; open or closed captions; verbal and audio description; sensory modifications; and accessible website development. Resources are available through the Mass Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Mass Commission for the Blind, Massachusetts Office on Disability, Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission Independent Living Centers, the New England ADA Center, and your city’s Office of Disability. Applicants seeking more information about writing accessibility supports into their grants may reach out to ACC Co-Chair Matt Holloway (chair.of.amherst.cultural.council@gmail.com).
Regarding accessibility, applicants may also wish to review our 4/28/22 Accessibility Roundtable presentation, found at https://www.amherstma.gov/1221/Cultural-Council.
Does your council make direct grants or reimbursement based grants?
Learn more about how you can pay grantees up front to promote equity and access by reading the LCC Program Guidelines.
How Grant Recipients Are Paid
Direct Grants
FY23 Funding List
| Name | Project Title | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1794 Meetinghouse, Inc. | Quabbin Valley Pro Musica 2022-2023 season | $145 | Amherst Art Alliance, Inc. | Art in Community | $2,353 | Amherst Cinema Arts Center, Inc. | We Support Community | $2,215 | Amherst Community Theater | Theater Access tickets for "The Little Mermaid" musical | $1,000 | Amherst Historical Society | Strings at the Strong | $1,985 | Amherst Regional High School | Transformative Performing Arts Experiences for All | $2,500 | Antenna Cloud Farm | Antenna Cloud Farm 2023 Season | $200 | Arcadia Players, Inc. | Arcadia Players 33rd Season | $2,000 | Bates III, Davis R. | Celebrating the Season: Winter Holidays | $475 | Beatty, Justin | Odenong Powwow | $7,000 | Charlemont Forum | Summer Speakers Series 2023 | $300 | Cope, Jr., Edward L. | Magic for Seniors and Famlies | $450 | Elkus, Eli | Musical Storytelling Series | $285 | Empowerment Through The Arts, Inc. | Lifting All Voices- Arts and Theater - Amplify and Empower | $235 | Fazio, Rhonda M | Dyeing to Wear It: Creating Community through Color | $285 | Ferguson, Carrie | Carrie Ferguson and The Grumpytime Club Band | $550 | Friedman, Andrew D. | FLOW at the Amherst Farmers Market | $300 | Friends of the Mount Holyoke Range, Inc. | Summit House Sunset Concert Series | $600 | Fullerton, Sean | Acoustic Memories | $250 | Ghost Ensemble, Inc. | Rewild: Experimental Ensemble Music by Sky Macklay, Pauline Oliveros, Miriam Piilonen, and Ben Richter | $1,415 | Green Street Brew A Capella Group | Local Vocal Chord Bowl #12 | $945 | Hampshire Young People's Chorus | YPC Spring Concert | $600 | Henderson, Steven I. | An Accidental Wedding | $325 | Hesse, Johanna | Social Fabric II: A Community Rugmaking Project | $235 | Hilltown Families, Inc. | Hilltown Families Suggests | $700 | Kirouac, Daniel | Concert for Senior Center | $250 | Longstreeth, Ken | Free Concert by Jeff Gavioli and his BAD NEWS JAZZ AND BLUES ORCHESTRA featuring Cindy Reed | $1,335 | MUSIC Dance.edu | Hip Hop Chair Dance for Seniors! | $600 | Martinez, Deliabridget | Salsa con Tacos Latin Dance | $1,200 | Means, Pamela | Pamela Means presents The Power of The Protest Song: Our Shared History and Present Day | $705 | Mohawk Trail Concerts, Inc. | Summer Festival 2023 | $190 | Montgomery, Jason | ABP Text Poem Project 2023 | $285 | Multi-Arts, Inc. | The Monarch Butterfly - Art Workshop & Exhibitions | $850 | Music On Main: Concerts at First Church | Together We Sing: A Multicultural Concert | $850 | Muspratt, Suzannah | Self-guided walking tour of stained glass in Town Center | $2,700 | Native Plant Trust, Inc. | Plant Communities of Massachusetts | $565 | Northampton Center for the Arts, Inc. | 2023 Youth Performance Festival | $800 | Paperbark Magazine | Paperbark Magazine Celebratory Launch | $235 | Parisi, Rita | Gothic Victorian Tales by Candlelight | $330 | Porter-Phelps-Huntington Foundation, Inc. | Wednesday Folk Traditions 2023 | $990 | Root, John A. | Edible Perennial Gardening and Landscaping | $500 | Self-Evident Education, Inc. | The Power of Truths Arts & Education Festival | $285 | Starlight's Youth Theatre, Inc. | Matilda | $700 | Sticca, Paul | Strong House Concert - Acousticca | $750 | Stryker, Catherine | For Want of a Nail | $945 | Survival Centers, Inc. | Tunes@Noon | $1,200 | Swift, Joshua | Developing Site-Specific Dance (Live and Installation) | $600 | Tamarack Hollow Nature and Cultural Center, Inc. | Gaia Roots Interactive World Music Concert & Workshop | $1,000 | The Downtown Amherst Foundation, Inc. | multi event collaboration with ARHS Community Free to Public | $2,500 | The Emily Dickinson Museum | Emily Dickinson Museum Amherst Area Community Day | $1,880 | The Nolumbeka Project, Inc. | 10th Annual Pocumtuck Homelands Festiva; | $500 | The Valley Winds, Inc. | USA to Mexico: Migration and the Music of Butterflies | $1,180 | Tincknell, Roger L. | Children's Songs and Singing Games Family Concert | $500 | Tresise, Lucy | West African Drum Workshop-Come out and play | $200 | Valley Art Salon | Valley ArtSalon in Amherst | $400 | Valley Classical Concerts, Inc. | Valley Classical Concerts 2022-2023 Season | $190 |
