Creative Experiences

Application Process

Creative Experiences provides grants to organizations (including schools) to fund festivals, projects, residencies, and other cultural activities in the arts, humanities, and sciences. This program combines Festivals & Projects and Creative Projects for Schools into a single program.

The program provides one-year grants of $2,500 or $5,000 to fund activities taking place between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026.

Además, usted también puede solicitar la traducción de los materiales de la aplicación y que estos se le sean enviados digitalmente. Este proceso tardará de 5 a 10 días hábiles.

Mass Cultural Council is happy to offer alternative formats, auxiliary aids, translation, interpretation, and other services necessary so that any individual can participate in Mass Cultural Council’s programs and services. Contact staff for help. To facilitate your request in a timely manner, please contact us at least three weeks before any Mass Cultural Council event or grant deadline.

Mass Cultural Council aims to build a diverse and equitable creative and cultural sector in the Commonwealth. To that end, historically underfunded organizations are encouraged to apply, including but not limited to Native American, Indigenous, or Urban Indian organizations, Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) organizations, d/Deaf & Disability organizations, and organizations serving vulnerable populations.

How to Apply

Questions? Join our virtual office hours, contact program staff, or call 617-858-2821.

Program Guidelines

The following organization types are eligible to apply:

Nonprofit Organization: State or federally recognized nonprofits:

• Nonprofit organizations recognized by the State to do business in the Commonwealth, in good standing with the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth (not dissolved or revoked). This includes nonprofit corporations, library associations, religious organizations, and other nonprofit types included in the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s 950 CMR 106.00.
  OR
• Nonprofit organizations recognized by the IRS as tax exempt and registered with the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Nonprofit Organizations/Public Charities Division. This includes nonprofit corporations, unincorporated associations, and trusts.

For-Profit Organization: recognized by the state to do business in the Commonwealth, in good standing with the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth (not dissolved or revoked). This includes profit corporations, multiple-member limited liability companies (including C Corporation, S Corporation, and Partnership LLCs), limited partnerships or limited liability partnership, and benefit corporations. Single member limited liability companies are not eligible for this program.

Government Entity: A federally recognized tribal, state, or municipal government entity in Massachusetts.

Pre-K – 12 School: Any Massachusetts public school district, public school, charter school, private school, collaborative, approved special education school, or approved special education program, serving grades Pre-K – 12. The school must be recognized by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) with a 2024-2025 DESE School ID.

Unincorporated Organization:  An unincorporated organization is a group of people who have come together to pursue a common goal without forming a separate legal entity. These organizations are NOT recognized by the state to do business in the Commonwealth, AND are not operated by a larger organization (i.e. as a program of, department of, or a branch of). These organizations must have a Massachusetts address, conduct 50% or more of their programming in Massachusetts, and have an eligible fiscal agent. (Refer to the FAQs for more guidance.)

Please note:

• This grant program is for organizations. Individuals, single member limited liability companies, and sole proprietorships are not eligible for this program.

Program Eligibility

You are eligible to apply if you have an experience that:

• Incorporates the arts, humanities, or sciences. (Refer to the FAQs for more guidance.)
• Contributes to the cultural vitality of Massachusetts by being publicly available or intentionally serving a specific portion of the general public, rather than benefiting any private individual or group. For this program:
  • ‘Publicly available’ means any experience that is intended for and promoted to available to the general public, by paid or free admission.
  • ‘Portions of the general public’ means a geographic community, a school, ethnic heritage, or cultural/tribal tradition and may include events, education, performances, conservation, or cultural revitalization efforts, OR groups of people requiring specific accommodations (i.e. K-12 school students, seniors in care centers, incarcerated individuals, people with disabilities, people in recovery programs, etc.).
• Has 50% or more of its programmatic activity taking place between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026.
• Has a project budget equal to or greater than the requested grant amount – either $2,500 or $5,000.
• Takes place in Massachusetts, either in-person or virtually.
• Is accessible to people with disabilities. (Refer to the FAQs for more guidance.)
• Does not include activities that are ‘inherently religious’ such as religious worship, instruction, and/or proselytization.
• Is not an event for a political candidate running for office.
• Does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, age, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

Eligibility Related to Multiple, Duplicate, and/or Overlapping Applications

• Each applicant can only submit one FY26 Creative Experiences application.
• Each experience/activity will only be funded once per cycle.

Additionally, to ensure Creative Experience grants have the broadest possible reach, there will be limitations on the number of awards in the following situations, and only one of the entities will receive funding if multiple applications are submitted.

• Organization/School (parent) & Department/Program of the Organization/School (child)
• Organization/School & Fundraising/support organization of the Organization/School
• Organization/School & Guest/Partner organization presenting at/with the Organization/School
• Organization/School & Organization participating in the Organization/School’s festival/event

If there are multiple applications submitted from the above entities, the Organization/School will receive priority and/or the highest scoring application will be kept, and the others deemed ineligible.

Please see the FAQs for examples and additional information. Organizations simply renting space or paying a fee to an organization to use the venue are not affected by the aforementioned limitations.

If you have any questions about whether your organization’s work is eligible for this grant, contact us before starting the application.

Other Mass Cultural Council Funding & Eligibility

To support our equity goals, Mass Cultural Council has taken steps to ensure that we can fund as many organizations as possible. Read about these steps on our blog. Organizations receiving funding from the following Mass Cultural Council programs should be aware of additional considerations, as described below:

Not eligible to apply:

• FY25 Operating Grants for Organizations grant recipients.
• FY25 YouthReach grant recipients.
• FY25 Gaming Mitigation Fund grant recipients.
• FY25 Cultural District Investment Grants recipients.
• FY25 Festivals & Projects grant recipients that did not do their approved activity in the grant year and were approved for an extension into FY26.
• FY25 Creative Projects for Schools grant recipients that did not do their approved activity in the grant year and were approved for an extension into FY26.

Eligible to apply, but will only be funded by one program:

• FY26 Creative Experiences applicants also applying for FY26 Operating Grants for Organizations.

MAY be eligible to apply:

• Organizations currently receiving funding from Mass Cultural Council’s Cultural Investment Portfolio may only apply for Creative Experiences if FY25 is their final year of Portfolio funding.
• Organizations that manage a state-designated Cultural District might be eligible if it has operations that are independent of the Cultural District.

Review Process

Mass Cultural Council staff review all applications to confirm eligibility. The Agency will make every effort to ensure accuracy but cannot be held accountable for missing or incorrect information in the relevant sources. If staff cannot verify that an organization exists based on the application materials, the organization will be deemed ineligible.

Staff will review the application for completeness and accuracy. Staff will contact applicants if any technical errors are discovered. The applicant will be given a deadline to resubmit the corrected application. If the applicant does not meet the deadline, the application will not be moved forward for review. Incomplete applications (i.e., leaving required narrative questions blank) will not be reviewed.

If eligible applications exceed available funding, the Funding Prioritization and Equitable Distribution details below will be used to determine which applications will be funded.

Funding Prioritization: Mass Cultural Council envisions a diverse creative and cultural sector that is valued as essential in the Commonwealth. To that end, priorities have been established to support programmatic practices that advance equity, diversity, and inclusion through our services to the sector. Prioritization will include the following:

• Experiences/Activities where the primary purpose is creating, presenting, or providing services in the arts, humanities, or sciences.
• Experiences/Activities that hire and compensate Massachusetts artists, humanists and/or scientists.
• Applicants that have not received funding from Mass Cultural Council in the last three fiscal years (FY25, FY24, FY23), or that are applying to the Mass Cultural Council for the first time.
• Applicants that have only received a total of $2,500 in grant funding in the last three fiscal years (FY25, FY24, FY23). This is equivalent to one Festivals & Projects grant.
• Applicants/Experiences providing access for low-income individuals and families:
  • Applicants participating in the Agency’s Card to Culture program (Applicants may sign-up for this voluntary non-granting program in the Agency’s grants management system)

OR

• • Experiences/Activities that are free to the public.

• Applicants that are BIPOC Centered Organizations or BIPOC majority schools:
  • Organization applicants that self-identify as led by and serving people of the global majority — Black, Indigenous, People of Color, Latinx, Asian, Native American, Pacific Islander, and all other ethnicities of color. Learn more about the Agency’s racial equity work. Applicants wishing to make this BIPOC Centered Organization identification will need to fill out a form in the Agency’s grants management system.

OR

• • School Applicants that are recognized by Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) with a 2024-2025 DESE School ID with student populations that are 50% or more Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color (BIPOC) as reported by Data Source (2024-2025).
• Experiences/Activities in cities and towns that are below the state’s median household income and below statewide educational attainment. This includes but is not limited to places designated as Gateway Cities. A full list of these under-resourced communities is available. 
  

Please note, this program receives a high volume of applications, and not all eligible applicants are guaranteed funding.

In the event we cannot fund all eligible applications and several applications are tied for the final available award(s), we will first use equitable distribution considerations to break ties.

Equitable Distribution: Mass Cultural Council reserves the right to ensure equitable distribution of funding across the Massachusetts cultural sector considering a variety of factors. This may include, but is not limited to, equitable distribution across county, city/town, discipline, project budget, and/or applicant type.

After equitable distribution considerations have been applied, a lottery style randomization will be used to determine how many remaining ties will be broken.

Timeline

Application Opens: March 4, 2025
Information Session: March 13, 2025
Application Deadline: April 30, 2025 at 11:59pm
Applicant Notification: End of August 2025
Contract Sent: Late-September – October 2025
Final Report Due: July 2026

Please note: This timeline is subject to change, and awardees need to complete a multi-step contracting process before funds can be disbursed. Applicants with funded activities happening before that time may be paid retroactively.

Grant Payment

Grants will only be paid to the applicant or the applicant’s listed fiscal agent. Grants cannot be transferred or redirected to a third party such as a partner or co-producer.  If an applicant/fiscal agent is unwilling or unable to accept the grant funds, the grant will be cancelled, and the funds forfeited.

To receive the funds awarded through this program, grantees must complete the following documentation:

• CASL (Contractor Authorized Signatory Listing) Form
• Electronic Funds Transfer Form/W-9 including valid EIN
• State Contract and attachments

While Mass Cultural Council staff make every effort to confirm the organization’s legal status and standing during the review process, if during the contracting process it is discovered that the grantee does not meet the eligibility requirements of the program the grant will be cancelled, and the grantee will be notified.

All the necessary documents will be sent via DocuSign to grantees to complete. Grantees who do not have a bank account that the funds can be transferred to can notify the Contract Officer at the time of award notification to request a mailed check. Grantees using a fiscal agent will not be paid directly, the fiscal agent will complete the contract and receive the payment on the grantees’ behalf.

Electronic deposits will be made to the grantee’s account (or a check will be mailed) 20-45 days after the grantee returns their contract. Mass Cultural Council will make every effort to expedite payments as quickly as possible.

Grant Requirements

• Final Report
  Grantees will be expected to complete a simple final report describing the use of their grant funds by July 15, 2026, for legislative reporting and advocacy purposes.
• Acknowledgement of Funding
  Grant recipients are required to credit Mass Cultural Council for funding. Attachment D of your contract package or the online Credit and Publicity Kit has more details.

Holds, Modifications, Cancellations: Mass Cultural Council has the right to withhold, reduce, or discontinue funding if grantees:

• Intentionally misrepresents their budget, programming, or other eligibility requirements.
• Does not notify Mass Cultural Council of significant changes to the project.
• Fails to carry out the program as described in the approved application.
• Fails to completely and accurately submit contract materials in a timely fashion.
• FY25 Festivals and Projects and FY25 Creative Projects for Schools Recipients: Mass Cultural Council will not release the FY26 funding until complete reports are received from the applicant.

Compliance with Laws and Regulations

Mass Cultural Council and its grantees are contractually committed to abide by state and federal regulations which bar discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, age, gender identity, or sexual orientation, and which require accessibility for persons with disabilities. Mass Cultural Council’s grantees sign a contract certifying that they will comply with ADA and Section 504. Mass Cultural Council aims to help grantees understand their obligations and recognize the opportunities that increasing access can provide for both the public and the grantee. Resources and additional information are available as part of Mass Cultural Council’s Access Policy.

Legal and Other Requirements

Accessibility and Non-Discrimination Policy

Mass Cultural Council is committed to ensuring that all programs, services, policies, and practices are formulated and conducted in a manner which will ensure equal access for all people and prevent discrimination not only as a matter of law, but also as a policy designed to encourage the participation of all segments of the Commonwealth’s population in Mass Cultural Council programs and services.

Mass Cultural Council is dedicated to creating a workplace, programs, and services that welcome, respect, and value people of all races, color, age, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, religions, creeds, ancestry, national origin, disability and veteran status, and does not discriminate on the basis of these attributes. We strive to reflect diversity in all activities, programs and services by removing any barriers to accessibility.

Mass Cultural Council is happy to offer alternative formats, auxiliary aids, and services necessary so that any individual can participate in Mass Cultural Council’s programs and services. Contact staff for help. To facilitate your request in a timely manner, please contact us at least three weeks before any Mass Cultural Council event or grant deadline. Please read the full Access Policy for more information.

Reconsideration Policy

An applicant may request reconsideration of a Mass Cultural Council decision on their application if the applicant can demonstrate that the Mass Cultural Council failed to follow published application and review procedures. Dissatisfaction with the results of a review does not constitute grounds for reconsideration.

The first step in the reconsideration process is to consult with the appropriate Program Staff to discuss the review process that concluded in the Mass Cultural Council’s decision. If the applicant wishes to pursue a reconsideration, a request must be sent to the Mass Cultural Council’s Executive Director, in writing, within 30 days of the Mass Cultural Council’s notification to the applicant of its decision.

Grants Management System

All applicants should submit their applications through the online system. To create a profile in the system you must have an email address, which will be your username.

If you have not applied to Mass Cultural Council before and/or do not already have a user profile, complete a registration in the grants management system:

• Go to the online system and click “Register”.
• On the next page select “Organization” to register your organization, school, town, or other group.
• Your organization may already have a record in the system. Use the Organization name field to find and select your organization, then provide your contact information.
• If your organization’s name is not listed, click the link at the top of the page to register your organization manually. There you will also provide your own contact information as well.
• After completing the registration, you should receive an email to activate your account. The account must be activated within 24 hours. After clicking the activation link, you will be prompted to create a new 8-digit password.

If you have previously applied for a Mass Cultural Council grant using your email address, you may have a profile in the system already. Here’s how you can check to see if you already have a user profile:

• Go to the online system and click “Forgot Password”.
• Once you submit your email address, you will receive an email with a temporary password and a link to the site.
• Copy the password to use on the login page, you will then be prompted to create a new password.
• If you do not receive an email, you do not have an account and you should create one (see above), or you can contact the grants help desk for assistance.

Proceed to the Online Application