Community Foundation seeks Creative Commonwealth grant applicants

NEW BEDFORD — Building off the past two years of support for arts and culture through various grants and programs, the Creative Commonwealth Initiative will award several grants to help elevate the cultural and artistic expression of culturally diverse and immigrant communities in Fall River and New Bedford. This new round of funding will emphasize innovative, original, and culturally relevant projects that are engaging and collaborative. The Community Foundation seeks to fund efforts that are organized and driven by these communities. Their intent is to encourage and support the celebration of authentic cultures and the creative expression of historically under-invested populations. Proposals should be reflective of the needs and interests of the populations the applicants wish to serve.

"The Community Foundation's Cultural Expression grant gave our organization the capacity and courage to expand into the community of Fall River and connect with its people in meaningful ways through the cultural maps we worked on. Our youth artists were able to develop a much stronger understanding and appreciation of the city's unique cultural identity through these projects and ended up growing alongside the organization," said Tom Flint, Executive Director of YEAH! Corps in Fall River, 2019 grant recipient.

A minimum of $100,000 will be available for projects that emphasize and celebrate the cultural expression of ethnically diverse communities in Fall River and New Bedford. Lead project applicants must be a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit, municipality, or educational institution. Grant requests can be a maximum of $20,000.

"Having the opportunity to offer weekly ballet classes at two of the most culturally diverse elementary schools in New Bedford has been a winning partnership for everyone: the participating students, their families, the Gomes and Hayden McFadden Schools, and New Bedford Ballet. We look forward to inviting students from these groups to NB Ballet's 6-week summer studio program with scholarship option for the fall. NBB is grateful to the Community Foundation for funding this program," shared Joanne Gracia, New Bedford Ballet President, 2019 grant recipient.

“Over the past two years, we have seen incredible momentum in support of the arts in New Bedford and Fall River. We are especially excited as we are seeing a broader diversity in the voices and faces. It’ll be great to see what we can support through this second year of Cultural Expression grants,” said John Vasconcellos, President of the Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts.

Concerts, exhibits, festivals, performances, speakers/presentations, and visual arts are just some of the examples of projects they will accept for this Cultural Expression grant. The Creative Commonwealth welcomes artistic risk-taking and diversity of creative experiences and audiences.

Interested applicants can access the Letter of Interest at https://www.grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=cfsema. Completed Letters of Interest are due by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 24, and potential applicants should direct questions to Rayana Grace, Arts & Culture Program Manager, at 508-996-8253 Ext. 203 or rgrace@cfsema.org. Please visit their website for a detailed timeline of this grants process and for more information regarding eligibility: https://www.cfsema.org/about-us/creative-commonwealth#G5.