In a time of economic distress for many non-profits, the goal of the Deerfield Cultural Council
is to help keep our local programs vital. The grant money that we are fortunate to receive from the State of Massachusetts is never enough to support all of the wonderful applicants that we would wish. For this reason, we give first consideration to those applicants who are serving our local community the most. This may be because they are based in the community (such as our library, children's museum, schools, or historical society) or because they serve many local residents through performances or venues within town. This is sort of like buying local.Another consideration that is important to us is that residents do not have to pay high ticket fees to enjoy the program that will be brought to the community. Programs that offer free or reduced fees for performances receive extra consideration.
News & Events
BRING SOMETHING NEW TO TOWN! Our best new LCC funded program was The FAMILY MUSIC NIGHTS at the TILTON LIBRARY. These have brought together people from the community of all ages for free music of all kinds and included picnics on the lawn. Don't miss them this summer as they continue to grow in patronage!
Amount Available for Granting in FY 2013
$4,125
Applications for field trips are accepted. (Formerly known as PASS applications.)
LCC Program Guidelines (PDF)
The postmark deadline for applications is October 15
Funding Priorities
1. We try to bring a variety of ARTS programs to be shared in the community (interactively if possible).
2. We try to allocate across three demographics: students, seniors and our general population.
3. We give preference to events that take place in town or have free or reduced ticket prices for our residents.
4. Smaller grants are more likely to be funded. (We are splitting up a very small pie.) One way to make your grant smaller is to get additional funding from other sources.
Local Guidelines
1. You must provide a venue., which means you need to find a town institution that will agree to host you by the time of the application. This is important because we need to get a concrete sense of which part of the Deerfield community you will serve when we sit down to allocate grants. Almost without exception we reject applications submitted without a venue.
2. The application must be filled in correctly - the most common error that applicants make is in the financial details (the total expenses should not be the amount that you request).
3. We cannot fund the same artist or programs every year as we try to bring variety. Groups should be careful to show that they are bringing something NEW for people to view, hear or be involved in.