Grant Application Guide
The LCC grant application deadline for 2025 cultural projects was October 16, 2024. Applications will open again next fall.
MCC Grants
The Brookline Commission for the Arts awards grants on an annual basis. As a Local Community Council (LCC) to the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), we administer and award grants to artists and arts organizations based on a yearly allocation of funds from the MCC. We fund projects in literature, music, theatre, and the graphic and plastic arts, including publication, performance, exhibition, or education that contribute to the cultural life of Brookline. The Brookline Commission for the Arts supports cultural opportunity and/or diversity in the arts, humanities, or interpretive science—the explanation of scientific subjects in a cultural setting.
Applications were open on September 1, 2024 and the deadline for submissions was Wednesday, October 16, 2024. Unfortunately, late grants cannot be submitted, but you can contact us with off-cycle requests for direct funding.
Visit the Massachusetts Cultural Council's (MCC) website to submit your application for an LCC Grant application. Please refer to the Council Priorities for Brookline MCC Grants, when completing the application.
The Brookline Commission for the Arts requires grant applicants to use the online MCC application.
You are strongly urged not to wait until the last minute to submit your application as you may experience delays in processing. The October 16th date is a hard deadline and no exceptions can be made. If you can cite an exceptional reason why you need to submit your application using an alternative method (for instance if you do not have access to a computer), please send your request for permission to this email address (September 1 – October 16). Do not send your application to this address. If permission is granted, you will be provided with alternative application materials and instructions.
Application Guidelines
Applicants must meet all state eligibility and criteria requirements of the LCC Program – click here and please include the following in your plan of work:
Specific Aims: State your objectives clearly in list or summary form, with the project's benefit to the Brookline community in mind.
Timeline and Confirmed Venue: Include an overview of key dates and venue: either the venue or the participating artist(s) must be Brookline based. Hybrid activities and events (combining both virtual and in-person participation) are permissible as long as they are associated with Brookline organizations. Priority will be given to applications where the event/program location and date has already been approved and a letter of confirmation is submitted from the venue.
Marketing Plan: Describe how you plan to market and communicate your event. Promotion of all activities and events (in person and hybrid) should target and attract Brookline audiences.
Project Description: Please be brief and clear.
Budget: Provide a realistic budget indicating costs associated with the project and noting that the BCA is not the sole source of funding; if either the venue or artist(s) is/are not in or from Brookline, or if collaborating with separate Brookline artists, clearly delineate the cost(s) associated with the Brookline-based portion of the project.
Grants typically average $500 to $1500, with a maximum grant of $2000 for any one organization/project.
Exclusions:
School-supported/funded programs, requests for food/beverages, personal requests for scholarship, capital improvement funding, and requests for event/program support that would promote any political or religious cause, individual or group.
Applications from for-profit organizations incorporated with the Secretary of the Commonwealth, including corporations, partnerships, and Limited Liability Companies (LCC), must show that a public benefit results from the project for which they seek funding.
Applicants must demonstrate that they have been engaged in the kind of activity for which they are seeking funds for at least two years. Evidence may be previous sale or exhibition of work, performances, reviews, etc.
Supplemental materials or media: Please follow the online MCC application guidelines for links and PDF attachments. If applicants believe that additional materials are crucial to the fair review of their proposal, they may send attachments or links to materials that are highly relevant to the proposal to this email address prior to the grant deadline. Applicants must indicate the project title and name of the applicant in the subject line of the email.