Cultural Investment Grant

Background and Overview

The Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture (MOAC) established the Cultural Investment Grant (CIG) in January 2023 to make new and unprecedented investments in cultural solutions. This was a $10 million multi-year investment through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). It aimed to grow and sustain arts and cultural organizations with a clear vision of a creative, equitable, and more just city. CIG built capacity for organizations working with communities in Boston who were most harmed by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly communities of color.

Grants ranged from $400,000 - $1 million, distributed over four years. The grant provided investments in the cultural sector that will:

give organizations a path to thrive in Boston
create long term opportunities for all Boston communities to have access to the arts, and
strengthen our local arts ecosystem.

Please note: This was a one-time grant program funded by the American Rescue Plan Act. The CIG will not reopen for future rounds of funding.

Cultural Advisory Team

For this grant program, we piloted a Cultural Advisory Team. Their scope of work included supporting organizations in completing applications and providing MOAC with funding recommendations.

Learn more about the Cultural Advisory Team

Grantee Partners

Beat The Odds, a multidisciplinary arts organization based in Grove Hall that is dedicated to serving under-resourced youth in Boston’s low-income communities through its Creative Youth Development Program, and aims to provide a safe space where young people have access to the creative tools necessary to inspire self-awareness, mental health, and healing.
Dorchester Art Project and Boston Little Saigon Cultural District, a collaboration between two organizations that are working to develop a mixed-use community, cultural, and arts services hub that is trauma-informed, BIPOC-centered, and dedicated to conserving and promoting the arts, cultures, and identities within the Dorchester community.
BAMS Fest, a Boston based, non-profit cultural organization whose mission is to break down racial and social barriers to arts, music, and culture across Greater Boston through education and entertainment, including its annual Boston Art & Music Soul Festival.
Design Studio for Social Intervention (ds4si), a creativity lab situated at the intersections of design thinking and practice, social justice and activism, public art and social practice, and civic/popular engagement that designs and tests social interventions with and on behalf of marginalized populations, controversies, and ways of life.
The Theater Offensive, an organization that works to present liberating art by, for, and about queer and trans people of color that transcends artistic boundaries, celebrates cultural abundance, and dismantles oppression.

Veronica Robles Cultural Center, a community-based organization in East Boston that aims to to promote Latino arts and culture as an engine for stronger communities and economic growth.
Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (Pao Arts Center), an organization utilizes creative place-based work and community engagement to increase community cohesion and well-being, using arts, culture, and education to bring together families throughout the community and across generations.
Cultural Equity Incubator, a creative home for Boston’s small and mid-sized organizations and collectives led by, and for, Queer, Trans, 2-Spirit, Disabled, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (QT2SDBIPOC) arts communities that works to equitably share space, governance, networks, and resources to support one another in actualizing their creative efforts.
That Child Got Talent, Secret Society of Black Creatives, and Next Leadership Development Corporation, a collaboration that aims to transform material conditions for young Black creatives–those pursuing opportunities in the film industry and those who may never consider themselves ‌as such, but given the pathways to opportunities, explore careers and realize their potential and passions.
Jean Appolon Expressions, a contemporary dance company deeply rooted in Haitian-folkloric culture that celebrates, nurtures, and empowers a global community through professional performances, teaching, and fostering healing and the joy of movement in people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds to contribute to a socially just world.
Hyde Square Task Force, an organization that amplifies the power, creativity, and voices of youth, connecting them to Afro-Latin culture and heritage so they can create a diverse, vibrant Latin Quarter and build a just, equitable Boston.

What is Transformative?

ARPA funding is a unique opportunity. To establish this grant, we had to define what is “transformative” for organizations. This funding created a transformative opportunity for cultural organizations to:

stabilize, build roots, and anchor in their community or communities
make space to explore methods that catalyze innovation and elevate their work
build holistic sustainability beyond the scope of the grant
scale their work and impact, and
shape solutions in partnership with community stakeholders.

MOAC worked with grantees to assess what they needed to maximize this opportunity. We determined what resources and opportunities we could leverage for grantees to thrive over the long term. We also engaged with funders and City partners to support policies, spending, and social beliefs that align with grantees' missions.

Eligibility

Arts and cultural organizations that met the following criteria were eligible for consideration:

Mission

Its mission statement committed to fostering and sustaining the arts or creative expression.

Location

It was located in Boston, or the funding allowed an organization working with Boston communities to be located in Boston. Priority was given to organizations located within communities disproportionately harmed by COVID-19.

Equity

It showed a commitment to equity, leadership development of those historically excluded from decision-making power. There were liberatory practices across its mission, histories, and core programming.

Representation

Its vision, mission, and programming was reflective of and shaped by the communities with which it worked. Its leadership, staff, board and decision-makers were also reflective of those communities.

Active partnerships

It was building or intending to build collaborative partnerships with community stakeholders toward a shared vision of a more creative, equitable, and more just city.

Fiscal Budget

It had a fiscal budget under $3 million.

Tax exempt status

It was a 501(c)3 with federal tax exempt status or had a fiscal sponsor.

Through this process, we were committed to helping address the ongoing financial inequities that have harmed organizations founded by and for communities in Boston that have been excluded from access to resources. We also recognized that people experience inequities in many intersecting ways. To that end, we focused on organizations that worked to address the overlapping ways their constituents experienced social, economic and power inequities.

Program Timeline

All ARPA money was required to be encumbered by the end of the calendar year 2024 and be spent by the end of calendar year 2026. Funds are being dispersed over four years on a timeline that meets the fiscal spending of grantees. A condensed timeline is below:

Dates	Actions
January 9, 2023	Official announcement and Letter of Inquiry launch for the Cultural Investment Grant.
February 1, 2023	LOI submission deadline.
February - Early March 2023	Up to 12 organizations from LOI submissions were selected to complete applications. The Cultural Advisory Team conducts interviews of application submissions.
March 13, 2023	Deadline for application submissions.
Mid-March 2023	Final decision process with support of the Cultural Advisory Team.
Late March 2023	Organizations informed of grantee decisions, grant agreements and paperwork submitted.
Mid - April 2023	First round of funding disbursed.