About NEST

New England States Touring (NEST) provides support to nonprofit organizations based in New England for community-related activities by select New England performing artists from outside of the presenter's state.

The goals of NEST are to:

• Give the communities of New England direct access to the artistic excellence and diversity available in this region
• Provide New England artists with the opportunity to enrich their work and build audiences through touring to a variety of communities, thereby increasing demand for their work
• Encourage thorough planning of projects that provide meaningful interaction between New England artists and communities
• Extend the arts to populations whose opportunities for arts experiences are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability

Eligibility

Any nonprofit organization with IRS 501(c)(3) designation based in a New England state - Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, or Vermont – is eligible to apply for NEST funding.

The nonprofit organization does not need to be an arts organization. An organization that does not have a federal tax identification number (such as a national historic park) may apply as long as it is part of an official government agency (such as the National Park Service).

Nonprofit organizations who are interested in bringing cultural arts programming to its community may apply for NEST funding. Examples of eligible applicants include: libraries, schools, theaters, service agencies, and arts organizations. Applicants may only receive NEST support for presenting select NEST artists.

NEST Artists
NEST artists are performing artists who meet the NEST Artist Requirements on MatchBook.org and may be selected for NEST funding by an eligible applicant. They represent a wide range of disciplines, such as music, dance, opera, musical theater, poetry, writing, storytelling, interdisciplinary work, and folk arts, must be available for public performances, and reside permanently in New England.

Applicants may search MatchBook.org for NEST artists by following these steps:

1. Go to http://www.matchbook.org/ArtistSearch.aspx
2. Under “Enhanced Search” on the right side of the form; select the “NEST Eligible” tab. Check “Artist is NEST Eligible” and choose any other desired search criteria
3. Click “Search All” at the bottom. Applicants may apply to present those artists with the following icon on their profile:

NOTE: Artists are not juried, but instead must complete a detailed artist profile on MatchBook.org. We recommend that presenters thoroughly review artists' profiles on MatchBook.org, and consider factors such as experience, professionalism, and artistic accomplishment when deciding if an artist is appropriate for their programming needs.

About MatchBook.org

Developed by NEFA in partnership with the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the other state arts agencies of New England, this free website features an easy-to-search directory of artists, performance spaces, and presenting organizations, designed to ‘MATCH’ artists with presenters that ‘BOOK’ them to perform.