Lowell Cultural Council

Amount Available for Granting in FY 2012

$49,455

Applications for field trips are not accepted. (Formerly known as PASS applications.)

LCC Program Guidelines (PDF)

The postmark deadline for applications is October 15

Funding Priorities

Lowell Cultural Council grants are open to individual artists, arts organizations, community organizations and municipal agencies. All projects funded by the Lowell Cultural Council must be based in Lowell and must benefit the citizens of Lowell through exhibits, performances, readings, demonstrations or by other means. The Lowell Cultural Council prefers to fund local artists who live or work in the city. As a general rule the Lowell Cultural Council does not provide funding for operating support.

For 2012, we have set a funding limit of $3000. Please, do not submit grant requests for amounts greater than $3000. We will accept a maximum of one (1) grant from each individual or organization.

Local Guidelines

The Lowell Cultural Council grant process is governed by requirements and regulations established by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, failure to comply may jeopardize a grant application. Additional information about the Massachusetts Cultural Council and its programs may be found at www.massculturalcouncil.org. The Lowell Cultural Council holds at least 2 public meetings in the Fall of each year to review funding priorities, guidelines and application procedures.

Grants are awarded for the period 6/1/2011 to 12/31/2012. Projects must take place during that time period.

The Lowell Cultural Council does not award Field Trip grants at this time.

ALL applicants MUST submit one (1) original and fourteen (14) collated and stapled, for a total of fifteen (15), ( revised 10/9/10) duplicate copies of their grant application and all supporting paper documentation, including critical personnel resumes edited to one page please). Duplicate copies of slides, video's, CD's, DVD's are not necessary. All applications must be POSTMARKED on or before October 15, 2011. Applications must be sent to: Lowell Cultural Council, c/o COOL, 50 Arcand Drive, 2nd Flr, Lowell, MA 01852. Application numbers are assigned on a random basis and are not dependent on delivery.

APPLICATION CHECKLIST:

1. Have you included one (1) SIGNED original and fourteen (14) copies of your application (15 total)?

2. Have you included one (1) original and fourteen (14) copies of the resumes of your key personnel (15 total)?

3. Does your budget (Expenses on Left and Income on Right) balance?

4. Have you postmarked (MAILED) your application by October 15, 2011? NOTE: Packages can be dropped off during normal business hours

5. PLEASE NOTE: Incomplete Applications will not be considered for funding!**

You will receive notification of the receipt of your grant application and an invitation to attend a meeting, either on Wednesday, November 2nd, or Thursday, November 3rd. It is at these meetings that the Council will ask questions about your application; while attendance at the meetings is not mandatory, it is strongly recommended that you or someone involved with your grant be available to answer any questions that Council Members might have. These meetings are strictly question and answer sessions, no presentations will be heard. The meetings start at 6:00 p.m., it is not necessary to attend the entire meeting, you will be given an approximate time to appear.

The balance of our grant cycle schedule is as follows:

Thursday, November 17th, 2011, 6:00p.m. The Council will discuss applications and vote on those applications that will receive funding. The Council will determine the amount of funding each successful grant will receive.

Grant Evaluation There are five major areas considered by council members in evaluating each grant application: 1) quality of project, 2) community benefit, 3) budget and funding, 4) planning, and 5) leadership.

The criteria used to evaluate these areas include:

1. Quality of Project - Is it creative? Does it have a specific focus and is that focus well defined? Is it engaging? Is it collaborative? Will the project enhance the cultural life of the city?

2. Community Benefit - How well does the project serve the residents of Lowell? How wide an audience is served? Does the project reflect priorities developed from the community input meeting? Is the target audience an underserved population?

3. Budget and Funding Support - Does the budget balance? Does the budget follow guidelines? Is the budget appropriate and clear? Are there other sources of funding or is LCC the sole source of funding? Is the project budget specific? Has this project been funded previously by LCC? Should this project be part of the city budget?

4. Planning - Are there well defined goals / targets? Is this a single event or an on-going project? If an on-going project is there a culminating event, activity or product that can act as a benchmark for evaluation? Is it clear that project planning has already taken place? Is the public program portion of this project accessible to individuals with disabilities?

5. Leadership - Does the leadership / staff have experience? Do personnel qualifications match the project needs? Is there evidence of past success in executing a similar project?

Things to remember: Applications MUST be typed. Please do not use a font size smaller than 10pt. Your budget MUST balance. The application must be signed.

All LCC grants are reimbursement based. Grant recipients submit a reimbursement request form accompanied by documentation that the project occurred (invoices, receipts, cancelled checks, program books) to the Council, the request is reviewed and then forwarded to the city for processing and payment. Although the reimbursement process has been streamlined, be aware that it can take up to 60 days to process a reimbursement. Plan accordingly. If you have any questions regarding the application process please contact us at lowellculturalcouncil@lowellma.gov.

In all published materials and announcements regarding the activities supported by LCC funds, the sponsoring group or individual must acknowledge this support with the following credit statement and by using the MCC logo.

"This program is supported in part by a grant from the Lowell Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency."

The logo is available at the MCC's web site (www.massculturalcouncil.org). This credit is required by the MCC and failure to comply may jeopardize future funding. Proof of credit acknowledgment should be provided when you request reimbursement from the granting LCC.