Boston Cultural Council
To apply for an FY2025 Boston Cultural Council arts organization grant, please visit:
https://cityofbostonartsandculture.submittable.com/submit/302692/fy25-boston-cultural-council-organizational-grant and follow the instructions.
Applications will NOT be accepted through this MCC portal, so please click through the link above to apply!
About the BCC:
The Boston Cultural Council (BCC) distributes general operating grants annually through the BCC Organizational Grant. These funds are sourced from the City of Boston’s Operating Budget, and the Mass Cultural Council (MCC), a state agency, to support small and mid-sized nonprofit and fiscally-sponsored organizations, as well as unincorporated entities and artist collectives. The goal is to foster innovative and original arts, cultural, and creative programming that: 1.) advances a vibrant, creative and just Boston and 2.) improves the quality of life in our city. The BCC grant program aims to work in tandem with other grant programs to ensure that all Boston residents can access and participate in arts programming and creative expression.
The BCC is a 5+ member council composed of Boston residents and is facilitated by the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture (MOAC). Council members work in partnership with MOAC on the strategic direction of the grant program, and they also provide final approval of selected grantees. Council members are selected on the basis of their lived experience within Boston’s arts, cultural, and creative communities and their demonstrated commitment to cultural equity.
Contact
Mayor's Office Of Arts and Culture
bcc@boston.gov
617-635-4445
https://www.boston.gov/departments/arts-and-culture/how-apply-organizational-grant
Address
Boston City Hall Room 802
1 City Hall Square
Boston, MA 02108-4309
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Application Information
FY25 Allocation
$305,600
FY25 Local Priorities
BCC Grant Strategy and Priorities
Ensuring that BCC grants contribute toward its goals requires a deliberate focus on funding organizations that embody and advance cultural equity within Boston’s arts ecosystem. BCC also seeks to address inequities in arts funding across the city. A 2016 study published by The Boston Foundation highlights that while small to mid-sized organizations comprise 86% of Boston’s arts sector, they receive disproportionately less funding compared to larger institutions.
To counter this imbalance, the BCC prioritizes support for small to mid-sized arts organizations in the Boston arts ecosystem by focusing on organizations with annual budgets under $2 million, committing the majority of grant funds to those with the smallest budgets. Priority is given to organizations where arts and cultural programming are central to their mission. Only organizations who can demonstrate over 50% of their programming is located in the city of Boston are eligible for this grant. In summary, BCC is committed to fund small to mid-sized organizations that exemplify and promote cultural equity in the Boston arts ecosystem.
FY25 Local Guidelines
Information not provided
How Grant Recipients Are Paid
Direct Grants
FY25 Funding List
A grant list will be published here after January 17, 2025 and once the Local Cultural Council has finalized their decisions.
