The Boston Cultural Council allocates grants to small and mid-sized organizations that offer arts, cultural, and/or creative programming in Boston.
Update: Applications are now open. Apply by Wednesday, October 16, 2024 at 11:59 p.m.
Before you get started
Boston Cultural Council (BCC) offers general operating grants to small and mid-sized nonprofit and fiscally sponsored organizations, as well as unincorporated entities and artist collectives, providing innovative arts, cultural, and creative programming that:
- Advances a vibrant, creative, and just Boston
- Enhances the quality of life in our city
The BCC Grant is for organizations with budgets under $2 million. Grant sizes are $5,000, $7,500, and $10,000. The specific amount organizations are eligible for depends on their budget size.
Boston Cultural Council Organizational Grant Categories
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Tier 1: $5,000 |
Organizations with budgets between $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 qualify for Tier 1. |
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Tier 2: $7,500 |
Organizations with budgets between $500,000 to $1,000,000 qualify for Tier 2. |
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Tier 3: $10,000 |
Organizations with budgets less than $500,000 qualify for Tier 3. |
Check your eligibility
Who is Eligible to Apply?
- 501(c)(3) organizations with budgets under $2 million whose mission and programming demonstrates a clear commitment to foster and sustain the arts and/or cultural creative expression in any arts discipline
- Boston-based organizations or organizations not based in the City of Boston but whose primary programming takes place in Boston and demonstrates strong community partnership. Reviewers will be looking for specific examples of public benefit to the people of Boston, and confirmation that the organization provides 50% or more of their programming in the city of Boston.
- Unincorporated groups can apply with a fiscal sponsor as long as they meet the rest of the eligibility criteria. This includes: artist collectives, volunteer groups, publications, and any other group jointly working toward common creative goals
- Organizations can submit only one proposal per funding cycle
- Organizations with L3C designations are eligible to apply
Grant Fund Restrictions
Grant funding may not be used for the following items:
- To pay salaries or stipends for employees of the Boston school system, library, parks department, or municipality
- On capital expenditures for schools, libraries, and other municipal agencies
- On programming that discriminates or discourages participation on the basis of race, gender, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, sexual orientation, or age
- To purchase food or beverages of any kind
Additionally, the BCC does not award grants to:
- Individuals (Individual artists seeking funding from the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture may be eligible for the Opportunity Fund and the Neighborhood and Downtown Activation Grant. Please see MOAC’s website for grant opportunities.)
- K-12 schools or K-12 school foundations
- Main Streets organizations
- Colleges or universities
- “Friends of…” organizations whose primary purpose is to support government entities
- Religious organizations or programs of any kind. Religious organizations can serve as fiscal sponsors as long as they are not receiving any of the funds provided.
Read the full guidelines and application questions for the BCC
You can find the complete outline, guidelines, and rubric for the Boston Cultural Council Grant here. Please read through the full grant description prior to applying. A strong application will fit the full criteria outlined in this description.
If you would like to review application questions, you can see a list of them here. The purpose of this list is to help you prepare to submit your application via submittable. This document does not replace the formal application.
Application Checklist
- Account registration with Submittable.com
- Most recent financial information such as a board approved budget or a budget completed using the BCC budget template
- Financial documents such as Forms 990 or 1023 that contain your organization’s EIN, year of formation, and NTEE code (if applicable)
- Materials for the online application including your organization’s mission statement
- Up to three support materials such as brochures, flyers, images, testimonials, or other collateral that demonstrates your programming and mission
Fill out your application
Application Forms and Submission
BCC uses Submittable for all grant applications. If you would like to review the application questions in advance of starting an application, click here. If you are a first time applicant, you will need to create an account with Submittable. Grant updates and final reports will be made through this account, so we recommend using an email address that is generic for your organization - something that multiple people have access to.
While we prefer to have all proposals submitted online, we also accept hand-written hard copies. Hard copies can be picked up in the MOAC’s office: 1 City Hall Square, Boston, MA, 02201 (Eighth floor, Room 802).
Application Opening and Deadline
The BCC grant application opens on Sunday, September 1, 2024. The application deadline is Wednesday October 16, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. If you are submitting a hand-written hard copy, it must be received no later than October 16, or delivered to the MOAC’s office by 5:00PM on October 16.
No late applications will be accepted, and MOAC staff will not be available after 5pm on October 16. To avoid technical issues, it is recommended to submit your application before the deadline.
After You Apply
Once received, grant applications are initially reviewed for eligibility and completeness. If eligible and complete, applications are assigned for review, scored via an evaluation rubric, discussed and selected by the Grant Advisory Team, and approved by the BCC board. All applicants will be notified of BCC funding decisions in the spring and grants will be disbursed in the spring and summer of 2025.
The BCC is committed to implementing transparent, equitable and inclusive grantmaking practices. The BCC Organizational Grant review process will engage MOAC’s Grant Advisory Team, a cohort of diverse stakeholders inclusive of community members and MOAC staff. The aim of the Grant Advisory Team is to position community members as key decision makers on systems and structures that ultimately have the power to shape their lives and the well-being of their communities.
Reconsideration
An applicant may request reconsideration of a decision on its application if the applicant can demonstrate that the BCC failed to follow published application and review procedures. Reconsideration requests must be made in writing (email or hard copy) and sent to the Mass Cultural Council at the address below or to lcc@art.state.ma.us within fifteen (15) days of the notification date on the disapproval letter (postmark date on envelope or timestamp on email). No reconsideration may be requested by grantees regarding their grant size.
Mass Cultural Council
Attn: Community Department
10 St. James Avenue, 3rd Floor
Boston, MA 02116-3803
Grant Payment
During the 2024-2025 grant cycle, all Boston Cultural Council grants will be made in full and up front. Grant reporting is required for all grant amounts. All grantees must establish a Supplier ID before payment is processed. You can go here to learn how to create a Supplier/Vendor ID. Please email vendor.questions@boston.gov or call 617-961-1058 for additional assistance.
Conflict of Interest
The Boston Cultural Council observes the Mass Cultural Council’s Conflict of Interest Policy regarding review panels. To ensure that all review panels are free from conflicts of interests, panelists are required to disclose any current or prospective affiliations they or their immediate family members have with an actual or potential applicant. “Affiliation” applies to employment, board memberships, independent contractual relationships, advisory or policy relationships, substantial contributor relationships, or other financial relationships. In addition, panelists are required to disclose any past or current adversarial relationships with actual or potential applicants. Panelists will not be permitted to participate in discussions or votes relating to applicants with whom they have an affiliation or relationship.
QUESTIONS?
We have an FAQ that you can access here. We will be updating it weekly to include the questions applicants are sending in and their answers, in case that information is helpful to all other applicants.
If your question is not resolved through the FAQ, or you would like to meet with a staff member, the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture will host office hours for applicants to discuss the BCC Organizational Grant and its application. The office hours schedule is as follows:
- Monday, September 9th from 5-6PM EST
- Wednesday, September 25th from 12-1PM EST
- Thursday, October 10th from 9AM-10AM EST
You can access office hours using this link.
If you have any further questions, please email BCC@Boston.gov with the subject line “Question about BCC Grant Application.” Answers to these questions will be added to the FAQ. If you need accommodations or assistance with your application, please contact BCC@Boston.gov. If you would prefer to call, please call 617-635-2787.
About the Boston Cultural Council
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.
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.
Our Commitment to Equity
To truly thrive, Boston must be an equitable city. The Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture (MOAC) and the Boston Cultural Council acknowledge the systemic harm perpetuated by Boston’s arts sector. People of color in Boston have faced significant barriers to creative resources, space, and economic opportunity. We commit to an intersectional racial justice lens that uplifts those most harmed by systemic oppression and racism. We hold ourselves accountable to implement policies and programs that eliminate structural racism, embrace collective healing, and center BIPOC/ALAANA and LGBTQIA+ community members, as well as those who face discrimination due to their age, gender, disability, social status, neighborhood, citizenship status, and more. The BCC, in partnership with MOAC, envisions a vibrant and creative Boston, where everyone can access and participate in the arts.
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Need to Know:Still have questions? Email us at bcc@boston.gov.
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More funding resources
We created a list of other funding resources in the state.
