Neighborhood and Downtown Activation Grant

The Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture’s (MOAC) believes artists have a crucial role in creating a thriving, healthy community for all. Furthermore, MOAC is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to creative expression through lifelong arts programming across all Boston neighborhoods. To support this vision, the Neighborhood and Downtown Activation Grant program was established to fund community-focused arts, cultural, and creative activations in public spaces that foster joy and strengthen community wellbeing across Boston neighborhoods. 

Who COULD apply?  

This fund was open to individuals, nonprofit organizations, collectives, fiscally sponsored groups, and businesses working with and alongside community partners to implement creative activations of various scales in Boston, with a priority for projects that center communities who have been impacted by long-standing systemic inequities.

What is a creative activation? 

Specific to this grant, a creative activation is an arts, cultural, and/or creative experience in a publicly accessible space that imagines and explores new possible uses for that space. This includes experiences that: 

• Transform the Space: Result in permanent or temporary changes to the physical, social, or atmospheric components of the space.
• Highlight Community: Center the social fabric, traditions, norms, and conversations within the community, showcasing its existing strengths and history.
• Incorporate Multiple Creative Elements: Demonstrate a variety of creative elements, cultural traditions, artistic disciplines, and community engagement processes.
• Engage and Benefit Residents: Are designed, planned, and executed in partnership with residents, local organizations, business owners, and workers, aiming to benefit those within and surrounding the space.

This grant was open to both existing creative activations that were ongoing and new activations that were being launched for the first time. General examples of creative activations include (but are not limited to): performance art, community celebrations, a community-led stage, interactive theater productions, film screenings with conversation, cultural festivals, arts and cultural markets, community dialogues that center the arts, a digital arts festival, and more. For examples of selected grantees in rounds one and two, please see here.

Contact: For questions regarding the Neighborhood and Downtown Activation Grant, please email artsgrants@boston.gov with subject line “NDAG, round 4”. If phone is preferred, please leave a message at 617-910-0048, and someone from the grants team will be in touch with you. 

Funding Source: American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Boston Planning and Development Public Impact Contribution Funds

Total Funds Available: Up to $5 million

Size of grants: 

• Cultural Festival: $5,000, one time grant
• Small-Scale Activation: Less than $20,000, one time grant
• Mid-Scale Activation: Less than $50,000, one time grant
• Large-Scale and/or Multiyear Activation: $50,000 - $100,000, one time grant and multiyear, up to 2 years

Additional Information

• Events and programs of all scales will be considered, including those with a budget under $10,000. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a budget that is commensurate with their proposed activation. 
• Individuals with proposals over $50,000 are required to submit an application in partnership with a nonprofit organization or business.
• Pending on funds available, approved proposals may receive partial funding of the total requested grant amount. 
• For large, multiyear funding, we encourage applicants to list additional funders that you have either confirmed and/or are considering pursuing.
• There is a limited number of large, multiyear funding opportunities.

Funds for round 4 will support activations starting after November 1, 2024. All American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds must be in contract by the end of the calendar year 2024 and be fully spent by grantee partners by the end of calendar year 2026. Funds will be disbursed in 1-2 installments for one time grants and over 3 or more installments for multiyear grants. 

A condensed application process is as follows:

• Submit application via Submittable
• Initial review of application by the Grant Review Committee 
• Virtual Q&A / Conversation between applicant and grants team (only some applicants will be asked to join a conversation)
• Final Proposal and approval

Application Support

The Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture hosted three virtual office hours for applicants to discuss the NDAG and its application.

Due Dates

Grant applications have been reviewed on a quarterly basis. The quarterly due dates for applications in fiscal year 2024 were as follows: 

• Round 1: July 3, 2023 by 11:59 p.m.
• Round 2: October 31, 2023 by 11:59 p.m.
• Round 3: February 16, 2024 by 11:59 p.m.
• Round 4: September 25, 2024 by 11:59 p.m.

A member of MOAC will inform all applicants on the status of their application within 10-12 weeks of the due date. If approved, payment can take up 30 days to process. 

Grant Review Committee

MOAC is committed to implementing transparent, equitable and inclusive grantmaking practices, including the way we determine and distribute funding. The Grant Review Committee (GRC) is a diverse cohort across age, race, cultural backgrounds, professional and lived experiences, artists and community members, ability, gender identity, and more. It is comprised of MOAC staff members and community members, positioning community members as decision makers on systems and structures that ultimately have the power to shape their lives and the well-being of their communities. 

Accessibility and Accommodations 

If you need accommodations or assistance with your application, please contact the grants team at artsgrants@boston.gov with subject line “NDAG, round 4,” or leave a message at 617-910-0048, and someone from the grants team will be in touch with you.