Fitchburg Cultural Council
FY26 Grant Season – Public Input Survey – Deadline August 1, 2025
Annual Public Input Meeting
August 7, 2025 – 6PM
Fitchburg Art Museum
The Fitchburg Cultural Council is committed to supporting diverse and inspiring programs for its residents. These programs in arts, culture, science and humanities provide cultural enrichment in the everyday lives of our community. We serve as a conduit for conveying artistic and culturally based activities through community programs and grant solicitation. The selection of recipients and awarding of funds for grant recipients is primarily made possible from resources from the Massachusetts Cultural Council as well as fundraising endeavors and other charitable donations
¡LLAME PARA NUEVOS MIEMBRO Buscando: Artistas • Estudiantes • Contadores • Multilingües ¡Y cualquier persona interesada en involucrarse con las artes y la cultura en nuestra comunidad! Asista a nuestras reuniones mensuales que están abiertas al público. Envíenos un correo electrónico hoy a Fitchburg.MCC@gmail.com para obtener más información.
Join our fb group: Arts, Culture, & Things to Do in Fitchburg
The FCC meets on the 4th Monday from 5:00-6:00 pm at the Legislative Building at The Fitchburg City Hall. Meetings air Live, when available and replayed on FATV.
Contact
Joe Bowen, Chair
fitchburg.mcc@gmail.com
978-829-1800
https://www.fitchburgma.gov/708/Cultural-Council
Address
718 Main Street
Fitchburg, MA 01420-3125
Connect on Social
Facebook
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Application Information
FY26 Allocation
$58,600
FY26 Local Priorities
Based on feedback collected through August 7, 2025, the Fitchburg Cultural Council will encourage all programming opportunities with priority given to the following:
1) Priority will be given to applicants who live or work in Fitchburg and/or who offer programs and presentations that specifically benefit the Fitchburg community.
2) Types of programs: Priority will be given to programs that fall into one of these categories:
• Youth Programs
• Unifying gatherings for all interests, ages, demographics
• Celebrating local history, cultures & diversity
• Music
• Downtown revitalization efforts
• Public Art & Beautification
3) Publicity: Priority will be given to applicants that describe a marketing plan detailing action steps to promote their program to Fitchburg residents. For example: local newspapers, newsletters, mass mailings, banners, and flyers all around Fitchburg (Main St-Mill St, Library, City Hall, Community Centers, etc.) and online (social media, evite, YouTube, community calendars, official website, etc.). Programs or projects that spread awareness of Fitchburg programs locally and beyond are also encouraged, particularly with early marketing campaigns (> 2 weeks), multilingual options, FATV and podcast advertising.
4) Program Location: In-person programs that offer effective, virtual and accessible options (i.e. hybrid) will be prioritized. Virtual programs that collaborate with Fitchburg Access Television and invest in bilingual (especially Spanish) and ASL translators will be prioritized over virtual programs that do not.
FY26 Local Guidelines
All applications and supplemental materials must be submitted online. For special assistance, contact The Fitchburg Cultural Council via email: Fitchburg.mcc@gmail.com. For additional questions, call The Mayor’s office at (978) 829-1800.
Requirements:
1) Out-of-town applicants: If you do not live or work in the City of Fitchburg, you are required to provide a letter of support from a Fitchburg partner. A commitment letter from the venue is required and serves to meet this requirement.
2) Partners and Advisors: When you are listing local contributors / partners, please provide names and list their qualifications and in what way they will be assisting you.
3) Virtual Programming guidelines: Applicants for virtual programming applications must reside in North Central Massachusetts or the program must have campaigns promoting specifically to the Fitchburg Community.
Notes on Funding:
Funding Limits: The Fitchburg Cultural Council may initiate a funding limit on grants to fund as many viable projects as possible. You are encouraged to ask for as much funding as you wish and demonstrate how you will scale back your program in the event it cannot be fully funded. If, after granting monies to all viable projects, there are still remaining funds to be disbursed, the council will award additional funds to the priorities listed above.
Funding: Will be the direct grant process.
Funding Sources: As always, we encourage Applicants to seek multiple sources of funding. On your application, you MUST list all other sources of financial assistance and grants that you have applied for and/or received. If your project will NOT happen without funding from the Fitchburg Cultural Council, you MUST let us know. For links to other programs and grants offered by the Mass Cultural Council, please visit: https://massculturalcouncil.org/about/programs-a-z
Grant Trainings: Two trainings will be conducted. Thursday, September 11 & Thursday, October 2, 6-7PM at The Fitchburg Legislative Building, 718 Main Street. Any additional trainings or changes to these dates can be found at the City of Fitchburg’s Agenda Center: https://www.fitchburgma.gov/agendacenter as well as our social media sites.
Please add our email to your address book: Fitchburg.mcc@gmail.com and let us know if you have any questions.
How Grant Recipients Are Paid
Direct Grants
FY26 Funding List
A grant list will be published here after January 17, 2026 and once the Local Cultural Council has finalized their decisions.
