LCC Program Information - About Your LCC

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BRING SOMETHING NEW TO TOWN! Our best LCC funded program for the community is the MONDAY NIGHT MUSIC through the summer at the TILTON LIBRARY. These have brought together people of all ages for free music of all kinds and includes picnics on the lawn. Don't miss them this summer as they continue to grow in patronage! MEETING ANNOUNCED!! The Local Cultural Council will be holding their annual review of applications and voting for grant awards meeting at the Town Hall on Tuesday, October 27th at 6:30p

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. 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.

http://https://www.mass-culture.org/lcc_public_about.asp?coun_enum=
email culturalcouncil@town.deerfield.ma.us

Deerfield Cultural Council Deerfield Town Hall South Deerfield, MA 01373-1021 413/665-1400 x315

In order to apply for an LCC grant, applicants must meet all eligibility and criteria requirements of the LCC Program.

For more detailed information, refer to the full LCC Program Guidelines (PDF).

The priority of the Deerfield Cultural Council is to bring new and varied programs to all ages of our population. We award the funds to the applicant in each category that will reach the most residents.
1. We try to allocate across three demographics: students, seniors and our general population.
2. We give preference to events that take place in town or have free or reduced ticket prices for our residents. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ways in which it is affecting our ability to convene large, indoor events, we will also give preference to events that can be offered online (ex. Via Zoom, Facebook, YouTube, etc.) and/or to outdoor events that lend themselves to social distancing.
3. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that persons with disabilities have access to public programs or services on an equal basis with the rest of the general public. Furthermore, federal law mandates that any programs or service that receives federal or state funding must be accessible to persons with disabilities and reasonable accommodation be made to provide an accessible environment. Therefore, all events and programs funded by the LCCs must consider access for persons with disabilities, including the facility or event location as well as the content of the program. To ensure equitable access, an applicant’s first step is a candid assessment and identification of barriers (physical, virtual, cultural, communication) followed by a bold and innovative plan for improvement. If an applicant puts forward a proposal for a project with strong potential for public benefit, but the Local Cultural Council has concerns about access for persons with disabilities, the council may choose to award a conditional approval. This would allow the applicant the opportunity address the concerns and improve access as a condition of receiving the grant.
4. Generally smaller grants are more likely to be funded. (We are splitting up a very small pie.) We cannot stress enough the need for the applicant to have an approved plan with a venue and a budget in place before applying. This confirms that our community is invested in the event and will work towards its success.
Important to note.
1. You must provide a venue. This means YOU need to find a town institution that will agree to host you by the time of the application and supply a letter of support. 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 same as 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. We will also give priority to projects that increase awareness of cultural diversity and/or elevate the voices of historically marginalized groups. Projects should create opportunities for artists and community members who identify as Black, Indigenous, POC, LGBTQX, refugee, immigrant, or persons living with a disability. Projects may include coalition building, research, leadership, and youth development.

An online application will be available October 1.

FY 2020

Name	Project	Project title	Amount
David Neill,	Arts	Music for South County Senior Center Picnic	$250
Deerfield Recreation Department	Arts	The 60's Experience	$400
Deerfield Recreation Department	Arts	T J & the Peepers	$400
Dianne Cornwell,	Arts	Clay Art	$400
Ed the Wizard (Ed Cope),	Humanities	Magic for Seniors	$150
Piti Theatre Company	Arts	The Memory Box: Living History Theatre Project	$500
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association	Humanities	1704 Commemoration	$1,000
Roger Tincknell,	Arts	Under One Sky: A Celebration of Cultural Diversity	$400
Roger Tincknell,	Arts	Beatles and Beyond	$150
South Deerfield Women's Club Denise Schwartz	Humanities	Winter Lighting of the Deerfield Town Common	$800
Tilton Library/ Youth Services	Arts	Poetry Readings	$365
Tim Van Egmond, Folksinger & Storyteller,	Arts	St. Patrick's Day Performance at Senior Center	$125
Union 38 Family Network/CFCE	Science	Family Science Night	$260

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Deerfield Cultural Council

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Amount Available for Granting in FY 2021