As the Commonwealth’s independent state arts agency, Mass Cultural Council is charged with bolstering the creative and cultural sector, thereby advancing economic vitality, supporting transformational change, and celebrating, preserving, and inspiring creativity across all Massachusetts communities.
Mass Cultural Council has long provided unrestricted operating support to cultural organizations through the Cultural Investment Portfolio. First launched in 2009, this program provides multi-year grants to cultural nonprofit organizations that provide public programs in the arts, sciences, and humanities. Following the adoption of the Agency’s new equity plans in 2021, the Agency paused applications to conduct a review of the program.
The result of this review was the decision to sunset the Cultural Investment Portfolio and launch a new organizational support grant program for cultural nonprofits, Operating Grants for Organizations.
In designing Operating Grants for Organizations, the Agency solicited feedback from key stakeholders and the cultural sector at large to ensure that the values that are important to grantees would be maintained, while also centering equity in the evaluation and program revisions.
FY25 is the first round of investment through Operating Grants for Organizations.
Mass Cultural Council is awarding unrestricted operating support to 56 more organizations in FY25 than FY24. In total, 155 organizations will receive funding through the Operating Grants for Organizations program, in addition to 239 organizations that will continue to receive funding through the Cultural Investment Portfolio.
Funding lists detailing the organizations receiving FY25 support from Operating Grants for Organizations and the Cultural Investment Portfolio are available online.
In this first round of Operating Grants for Organizations, when reviewing the 155 grantees, Mass Cultural Council notes that:
Organizations receiving awards from the Operating Grant for Organizations program expressed support for the new program.
“We were thrilled to host today’s celebration of the new Operating Grants for Organizations program, and honored to have been selected as one of the inaugural grantees,” said Anne Scott-Putney, President & CEO, Heritage Museums & Gardens. “As the largest cultural attraction on Cape Cod, Heritage Museums & Gardens has a thriving Card to Culture program and welcomes visitors of all ages to explore, discover, and learn together in three museums and extensive gardens and discovery areas across our 100 acres.”
"Mass Cultural Council’s historic $7.2 million investment is transformative, not only for the Rose Art Museum but for cultural institutions across the state,” saidAnthony DiPietro, Deputy Director of Operations, Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University. “This support ensures the Rose Art Museum’s ability to enrich the lives of residents of Waltham and our surrounding communities through free access to transformative art experiences, fostering empathy, inspiring connection across generations, and helping shape the next generation of artists, thinkers, and leaders in Massachusetts.”
“We are delighted to be among an impressive list of cultural organizations to be awarded funding through the new Operating Grants for Organizations program,” said Susan Grabski, Executive Director, Lawrence History Center. “As a dynamic living archive in the heart of downtown Lawrence, MA, this funding will allow the Lawrence History Center to better engage its immigrant community around meaningful intergenerational, place-based educational programming, to continue extensive collections development and research services, and to welcome visitors of all abilities into its historic home in the former Essex Company Offices & Yard.”
Mass Cultural Council was also joined by Rep. Steven Xiarhos (R- Barnstable) for this celebration.
“I am incredibly proud to join Mass Cultural Council in celebrating this significant investment in our creative and cultural sector,” said State Representative Steven Xiarhos (R- Barnstable). “Cultural organizations like Heritage Museums & Gardens are at the heart of our community, providing spaces where people of all ages can connect, learn, and be inspired. This $7.2 million investment in operating support will allow these organizations to continue their essential work of enriching lives and preserving the creative spirit of the Commonwealth. I commend and thank my good friend Michael Bobbitt and his team for their unwavering dedication to fostering equity and innovation in the arts, and I encourage everyone to join us in keeping the power of culture going.” |
