Falmouth Cultural Council
MCC Funding Criteria
The MCC requires that projects have a public benefit: Activities must contribute to the cultural vitality of the community rather than benefiting any private individual or group. Whenever possible, activities funded by Local Cultural Councils should be available to the public or community by exhibit, performance, demonstration, reading, or other means, whether in-person or via virtual and remote programming.
The MCC also requires that projects not discriminate on the basis of age, ability, ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, nationality, geographic origin, or immigration, military, or socio-economic status. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that persons with disabilities have access to public programs or services on an equal basis with the rest of the public.
Contact
Alice Kociemba
falmouthcultural@gmail.com
508-548-7611
Address
Town Hall
59 Town Hall Square
Falmouth, MA 02540-2761
Connect on Social
Facebook
Application Information
FY23 Allocation
$8,400
FY23 Local Priorities
Falmouth Cultural Council Funding Priorities
In addition to state funding and eligibility requirements, the Falmouth Cultural Council will use the following review criteria to evaluate applications:
• How well the program meets local priorities
• Presence of community support, collaboration, and involvement
• New events and first-time applicants may merit special consideration
• Ability to address the diverse cultural needs of Falmouth’s underserved populations or support diverse forms of cultural activities
• Free or reduced fee provisions for programs
• Demonstrated planning that includes prior approval of a named venue
Based on the results of its community funding priorities survey conducted online in July and August 2022, the Falmouth Cultural Council is encouraging projects that serve both the public desire for projects and events in the arts, culture, and interpretive sciences, and also the needs of individual artists and arts organizations still reeling from the continuing effects of the continuing COVID pandemic and facing economic uncertainties brought on by inflation, loss of income, reduced operating funds, and general belt-tightening.
All projects are welcome. However, based on preferences expressed in response to the community survey, the Falmouth Cultural Council encourages projects that feature live music; arts and crafts fairs; library programs and events; art, music, and cultural classes; theater, comedy, poetry, and storytelling; historical, humanities, and cultural talks and events; art exhibits and receptions; science and nature educational projects and events; operating funds for local arts and cultural organization; projects celebrating cultural diversity; projects celebrating local history; support for artists’ work spaces and materials; school programs; professional development for local artists and writers; and projects serving underserved populations.
The Falmouth Cultural Council encourages projects that serve and include underserved populations. Respondents to the community survey identified underserved populations such as low-income persons; BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color); non-English-speaking persons; people with disabilities; and seniors. Also of concern were single adults, teens, people identifying as LGBTQIA2+, and families and children.
The Falmouth Cultural Council prioritizes funding of applications from Falmouth individuals and organizations, events that take place in Falmouth or benefit the Falmouth Community; and those that respond to the special circumstances brought on by the COVID pandemic.
FY23 Local Guidelines
Falmouth Cultural Council information
The Massachusetts Cultural Council allocates money each year to local cultural councils (LCCs) to support programs in the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences that promote excellence, education, diversity, and inclusion and help to foster a rich cultural life in communities across the Commonwealth. Local decision-making is an integral element of this system. Local Cultural Councils have the right and responsibility to award grants that address cultural needs specific to their communities.
The Falmouth Cultural Council (FCC) publicizes and promotes the grant program and provides information to individuals and organizations interested in applying for grants; reviews grant applications submitted to the MCC website; determines which applications will be funded and at what level; and supervises the distribution of grants. FY23 grants are a direct grant program, meaning applicants who are approved for funding will receive their award up front, rather than as a reimbursement after the program has been completed..
Local Application Process
The FY2023 funding cycle opens September 1, 2022. Applicants are invited to attend Grant Writing Workshop on Tuesday, September 20, 2022, at 7 PM, in the Bay Meeting Room on the lower level of the Falmouth Public Library, 300 Main Street, to learn more about Local Cultural Council funds and how to apply for them. For more information, email falmouthcultural@gmail.com or visit http://falmouthculturalcouncil.org
Applications are available and must be submitted on the MCC website: https://massculturalcouncil.org/communities/local-cultural-council-program/
The deadline for submitting a grant application is October 17, 2022, after which the Falmouth Cultural Council will meet to review the applications and determine awards. This is a direct grant program, which means applicants who are approved for funding will receive their award up front, rather than as a reimbursement. Review of applications take place in November and December. Notification (both denial and approval letters) will be sent out by mid-January 2023. Processing of direct grant requests will begin by the end of January 2023. All programs must be completed by December 31, 2023, and initial paperwork must be submitted to the Falmouth Cultural Council within two weeks of receipt of the grant approval letter. Final reports are due two weeks after the program take place. Completion of paperwork is a Mass Cultural Council requirement for LCC grants.
Mass Cultural Council Funding Criteria and Eligibility
NOTE: Funding criteria and eligibility are spelled out in detail in MCC’s Local Cultural Council Guidelines (July 2022). https://massculturalcouncil.org/documents/lccguidelines.pdf
Local Cultural Councils use the first three rules listed below in the review of all funding decisions. All three rules are equally important. Additionally, councils have the option of developing local review criteria and may decide how to weigh their importance:
1. Arts, Humanities, and Sciences
2. Public Benefit
3. Non-Discrimination
4. Local Criteria
How Grant Recipients Are Paid
Direct Grants
FY23 Funding List
| Name | Project Title | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Bates III, Davis R. | Raising Our Voices: A Summer Reading Performance | $550 | Beyond the Bounds, Inc. | Beyond the Bounds 2023 | $1,000 | Calliope Poetry Series, Inc. | Wish You Were Here: Postcards from the Past | $1,200 | Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, Inc. | Summer Chamber Music Concert in Falmouth | $500 | Children's Discovery Museum of Cape Cod, Inc. | Oceans and Waterways WHOI | $1,000 | College Light Opera Company, Inc. | CLOC's Community Shows: June 2023 | $1,000 | Esperson, Lisa | Drum Rhythms from around the Atlantic | $750 | Falmouth Artists Guild, Inc. | Art History lectures | $750 | Falmouth Chamber Players, Inc. | Falmouth Chamber Players Spring Concert | $500 | Falmouth Community Television Corporation, Inc. | Streaming For Creators | $907 | Falmouth Jazz, Inc. | Celebrating Women Blues Singers: Women's History Month | $550 | Falmouth Village Association, Inc. | Falmouth Village Movies Under the Stars | $1,000 | Good Grief Cape Cod | Good Grief Expressive Art Program | $1,000 | Hammers, Dawna J. | Earth Day Concert | $700 | Historic Highfield, Inc. | End to End: Artists with the Land and Sea - Summer Exhibition 2023 | $1,000 | Lewis, Stephen | Nuclear Energy is there a future? an international Poster Exhibit | $195 | Means, Pamela | Pamela Means presents The Power of The Protest Song: Our Shared History and Present Day | $950 | North Falmouth Village Association, Inc. | What's My Message? | $400 | Skylark Vocal Ensemble, Inc. | Sauntering Songs | $1,000 | The Arts & Justice Collective | Community House Parties | $500 | The Cahoon Museum of American Art, Inc. | Wampum Exhibit Community Access | $500 | The Cultural Center of Cape Cod, Inc. | Rise and Shine Program | $250 | The Falmouth Historical Society | Discovery Backpack | $750 | West Falmouth Library, Inc. | Bringing the Zoo to You | $450 | Wilson, Mary | Puppets, Paul & Mary Show | $500 | Woods Hole Film Festival, Inc. | Woods Hole Film Festival Celebrates Black History Month | $1,000 | Woods Hole Historical Museum | Improvements to Museum | $429 | Zuzanski, Jacek | Puppet Show "Alice, or Red King's Dream" and accompanying workshops | $669 |
