Grants

Mass Humanities’ Expand Massachusetts Stories-Open Track grant program offers up to $20,000 for projects that collect, interpret and/or share narratives about the Commonwealth, with an emphasis on the voices and experiences that have gone unrecognized, or have been excluded from public conversation.

Applicant organizations must:

• Be a 501(c)(3), non-profit, fiscally-sponsored association or filmmaker (see below), state or federally recognized tribe, or non-federal government organization.
• Serve Massachusetts residents.
• Be in compliance with state and federal regulations which bar discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, age, or sexual orientation, and which require accessibility for persons with disabilities.

See Grant Guidelines below for more information on eligibility.

• March 20, 2023–Applications Open
• Week of April 24, 2023–Applicant Webinars
• May 22, 2023–Applications Due
• September 19, 2023–Award Notification

Typically 30-40

• Oral histories
• Community-centered museum exhibitions
• Facilitated discussions about underrepresented aspects of local histories
• Exhibits and programs focused on new interpretations of collections
• Short documentary films (15-30 minutes) or digital media projects that present new insights into the lives of Massachusetts residents past or present
• Teacher professional development focused on connecting Massachusetts narratives to K-12 curriculum
• Programs that use inquiry, contextualization, and/or reflection to support residents in recording and exploring their lived experiences

Reading Frederick Douglass Together grants support public readings and discussions in Massachusetts of Frederick Douglass’s famous Fourth of July address, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” A group of people take turns reading parts of the speech until they have completed it. Readings can take place anywhere, from virtual spaces to community centers to historical societies and town greens.

All nonprofit, educational institutions, government organizations, or state or federally recognized tribes that serve Massachusetts residents are eligible to apply.

Ad-hoc groups must find an eligible organization to be their fiscal sponsor. Fiscal sponsors are non-profit organizations that manage the grant funds and have signed fiscal sponsor agreements with the group that will host the reading.

Grant applications will open December 12th, 2022

Grants are awarded every 2-3 weeks (see guidelines for details)

Staffing Recovery grants will fund organizations to sustain, expand the hours of, or hire new staff in order to:

• Sustain successful humanities programs for the next two years
• Create, bring back or grow humanities programs with new or expanded staff positions (including program, fundraising, administration or marketing positions).

Staffing Recovery Grants are a two-year funding opportunity for organizations with budgets of $500,000 or less and five or fewer full-time employees.

The council expects to award $1.25 million in grants through the new opportunity. These grants are made possible by a Cultural Sector Recovery Grant from Mass Cultural Council.

• Be a 501(c)(3) or fiscally-sponsored museum, historical society or community cultural organization with humanities programs or state or federally recognized tribe.
• Have had an operating budget no larger than $500,000 as of your last completed operational year.
• Have five or fewer Full-Time Equivalent Employees (FTE).
• Full details available March 6th

Who is not eligible to apply:

• Organizations that were awarded more than $25,000 from Mass Cultural Council’s Cultural Sector Recovery Grant program or through Chapter 102 of the Acts of 2021§1599-2043 (COVID-19 recovery) are not eligible for this opportunity.
• If you received less than $25K you are eligible.
• Recipients of Mass Humanities 2022 Staffing Grants are not eligible for 2023 Staffing Recovery Grant. There will be a separate grant process for these organizations.
• Applicants with Mass Humanities open grants that were awarded prior to 2020 need to have completed their grant projects and submitted their final report one week before completing an application for the Staffing Recovery grant.
• Expand MA Stories applicants are eligible.

• March 6, 2023–Full Guidelines Available
• March 6, 2023–Application Open
• April 6, 2023–Webinar
• May 1, 2023–Application Deadline
• June 2023–Award Notification

• 30-40

Mass Humanities’ Expand Massachusetts Stories Advancing Equity Track grant program will award up to 15 grants to applicants whose projects are led by people from historically excluded communities, and whose organizations meet additional criteria. Selected applicants will develop final applications through a non-competitive review and approval process that includes cohort workshops and application development support with Mass Humanities staff and additional advisors. Proposals not selected into the track that are still eligible for Expand Massachusetts Stories grants may apply through the Open Track.

To be eligible for the Advancing Equity Track applicant’s projects must have leadership roles (such as project director, program director, lead curator, lead designer) for people of color or other communities historically excluded from humanities leadership, and meet 2 of the 4 following criteria:

• The applicant organization has an annual operating budget of $300,000 or less.
• The applicant organization has 2 or fewer full time equivalent staff.
• The applicant organization has never received a grant from Mass Humanities.
• The applicant organization is based-in and primarily supports communities of color.

Applicants must also meet the basic eligibility requirements for all applicant organizations.

See Grant Guidelines below for more information on eligibility.

• February 6, 2023–Letter of Inquiry (LOI) Opens
• March 20, 2023–LOI Due
• By April 21, 2023–Selection Notification
• Week of May 8, 2023–Application Workshop
• June 5 – July 10, 2023–Applications Due
• Awards Announced Within 3 Weeks of Application Submission

• Up to 15

• Oral histories
• Community-centered museum exhibitions
• Facilitated discussions about underrepresented aspects of local histories
• Exhibits and programs focused on new interpretations of collections
• Short documentary films (15-30 minutes) or digital media projects that present new insights into the lives of Massachusetts residents past or present
• Teacher professional development focused on connecting Massachusetts narratives to K-12 curriculum
• Programs that use inquiry, contextualization, and/or reflection to support residents in recording and exploring their lived experiences