Ashland Cultural Council

The mission of the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) and its Local Cultural Council (LCC) partners 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 Massachusetts residents and to contribute to the economic vitality of our communities. ACC’s cultural projects take place in schools, community centers, libraries, elder care facilities, town halls, parks, and wherever communities come together.

Contact

[email protected]
508-881-0100

Address
101 Main Street
Ashland, MA 01721-1191

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Application Information

FY27 Allocation

$10,900

FY27 Local Priorities

Deliver visible ACC-branded programming and scholarships: Continue producing signature events, workshops, youth opportunities, and micro-scholarships that bring residents together and expand access to arts and culture.

Increase awareness of ACC and cultural opportunities : Consistently promote ACC-funded and partner events, grants, artist opportunities, and programs through social media, email, community partners, and local outreach.

Expand youth, teen, and intergenerational participation: Prioritize programs and partnerships that give young people meaningful opportunities to create, perform, lead, and collaborate with other generations.

Build and activate Ashland’s creative network: Connect local artists, makers, performers, educators, venues, businesses, and organizations through networking, artist features, shared opportunities, and facilitated collaborations.

Center community input in funding and programming decisions: Conduct annual surveys and targeted listening activities, broaden participation among underrepresented groups, and use findings to establish and evaluate ACC priorities.

Increase cultural access and inclusion: Reduce barriers to participation by prioritizing accessible venues, affordable programming, thoughtful scheduling, inclusive communications, and projects designed to reach residents who are not already engaged.

Strengthen ACC visibility and organizational capacity : Grow public understanding of ACC’s role, recruit new Council members and volunteers, strengthen community partnerships, and build the internal systems needed to sustain ACC’s programming and outreach.

FY27 Local Guidelines

Ashland First: Priority to projects taking place in Ashland and directly benefiting Ashland residents.
Community Impact: Preference for projects creating meaningful public participation, connection or access and not solely benefiting any individual practitioner.
Priority Populations: Particular consideration for projects engaging youth/teens, students, seniors, people with disabilities, and intergenerational audiences.
Shared Cultural Experiences: ACC welcomes music, festivals, performance, visual/public art, STEAM, cultural traditions, environmental arts and other creative experiences responsive to demonstrated community interests.
Fresh Ideas & New Voices: New applicants, collaborations and projects are strongly encouraged.
Right Place, Right Access: Venue, timing, cost and format should make sense for the intended audience.
Specific & Ready: Applications should identify proposed dates, locations, partners and intended audiences.
Affordable: Projects should be free or low-cost for Ashland residents whenever possible.
Transparent: Applications must provide a clear and reasonable project budget.
Visible Public Support: Funded projects should appropriately acknowledge Ashland Cultural Council support and help residents understand that community cultural funding is available.

How Grant Recipients Are Paid

Reimbursement Grants

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FY26 Funding List

Name	Project Title	Amount
Applefield, Janet	Combatting Hate and Prejudice	$450
Ashland Community Theater LLC	My Three Angels	$600
Ashland Healthy Harvest, Inc.	Ashland Farmers Market Music Program	$1,000
Ashland Music Association, Inc.	AHS Winter & Spring Choral Concert Accompanist	$400
Bilotta, Tara	The Traffic Box Project	$1,835
Haller, Evan	Interactive Music Concert for Children	$475
Joseph P. Keefe Regional Technical High School	You're a Good Man Charlie Brown	$600
MUSIC Dance.edu	Hip Hop SQUARE Dance for Seniors!	$300
O'Hara, Maryanne	Art + Word: A Creative Journaling Workshop	$441
Reidy, William	Neil Diamond Tribute Show	$350
Southeastern Massachusetts Community Wind Symphony, Inc.	Band Concert	$650
Stone Park Music Festival	Stone Park Music Festival	$800
The Friends of the Ashland Public Library, Inc	The History of Nintendo	$500
The Spectacle Collective, Inc.	Common Chords: The new generation of Chilean classical music	$600
Tincknell, Roger L.	Swinging on a Star	$500

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Review Complete LCC Program Guidelines