Northampton Arts Council - 413-587-1269; 413-587-1548 (fax)

The Northampton Arts Council is a non-profit Arts organization.

The Arts Council supports and nurtures arts activities in the community, allocates arts lottery funds, stimulates public awareness and support for the arts, and works to maintain the diverse cultural heritage of Northampton.

ArtsEZ Grants Spring Grants

In the spring we award up to $15,000 in grant money for projects in the following categories: dance, film/video, literature, mixed media, music, schools, theater, and visual arts. The Northampton Arts Council is unique in that it offers this second round of grants every spring with money raised through events like Transperformance (every August) and Four Sundays in February Series. Last spring, the Council awarded $12,500.

MCC/LCC Fall Grant Program

The Local Cultural Council Program is the most extensive system of grassroots support for the arts, sciences and humanities in the nation. Distributions to each LCC are based on a local aid formula devised by the state. The formula takes into account population and property values, and is weighted in such a way to give larger distributions to less wealthy communities. LCCs gave out approximately $2.9 million in FY 2009.

Last fall, the Arts Council awarded $9,380 to 17 recipients in a highly competitive round with grants ranging from $200 to $1200 to projects in the following categories: dance, film/video, literature, mixed media, music, PASS, schools, theater, and visual arts. The caliber of applications during every grant round tend to be outstanding, and we are unable to fund many worthy projects. The Arts Council frequently receives over 50 requests for funding every fall.

How it Works

The Local Cultural Council Program was first established in 1982 and was managed by the Massachusetts Arts Lottery Council.

Then in 1990, the Arts Lottery Council merged with another state agency, the Mass. Council on Arts and Humanities, to form the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

The MCC has overseen the LCC Program since and receives its funding from an annual state appropriation.The LCC network consists of 329 councils serving all 351 Massachusetts cities and towns. Each year, local councils award more than $2 million in grants to more than 5,000 cultural programs statewide. These include school field trips, afterschool programs, concerts, festivals, lectures, theater, dance, music, and film. LCC projects take place in schools, community centers, libraries, elder care facilities, town halls, parks, and wherever communities come together.

Other Grant Programs

In honor of BJ Goodwin--performer, dancer, and educator--the Northampton Arts Council has formed a new grant program for the arts community. The BJ Goodwin Grant is designed to provide direct assistance to a Northampton-based artist, writer or arts organization in recognition of exceptional work and to support the further development of artistic talents. It is our hope that this new grant opportunity will also provide artists with recognition and affirmation from their peers and the public.

The Northampton Arts Council is accepting donations from the community that will go towards the building of this special fund.

All donations are 100% tax-deductible.

Tags: Charity Organization,Arts & Entertainment