Creative City Boston - Community Partner Grant

About the Creative City Grant Program

Creative City Boston aims to foster a community of practice among artists and community partners interested in sparking public imagination, inspiring community members to share in civic experience, and creatively engaging important conversations taking place in Boston’s communities through socially-engaged public art.

As NEFA invests in artists’ creative agency as civic leaders through Creative City Boston Artist Grants, we also recognize that collaboration and partnerships are essential to supporting artists taking creative risks in the public realm.

Visit the Creative City Boston Artist Grant page to learn more about program values and goals, artist’s funding criteria, application process and grantee requirements.

Visit the Creative City Boston Artist Grant Page

Eligibility

Organizations that are nominated for the Community Partner Grant must meet the following eligibility criteria.

• Community partner organization must be nominated by a Creative City Boston artist finalist. See the Application Process & Deadlines section for the community partner nomination deadline.
• Community partner organization must be based in Boston.
• Community partner must be an organization. Individuals are not eligible for the Creative City Boston Community Partner Grant. 
• Community partner organizations are eligible to apply for up to two community partner grants per grant year.  For example, if two artists independently approach the same organization to collaborate on separate projects during the same grant year and the organization is nominated by both artists, the organization is eligible to apply for community partner grants for both projects. However, the panel reviewing applications will carefully consider the organization’s capacity in awarding community partner grants.

Community Partner Criteria

Strong community partner applications will support the artist’s application by meeting the following community partner criteria:

• Organizational Alignment with Artist’s Vision: Clear understanding of how the organization’s work and values align with the artist’s vision for the proposed project.
• Organization’s Role and Responsibilities: Clear understanding of the organization’s role in realizing the artist’s proposed project. Community partner roles may vary depending on the nature of the project.  Some areas to consider are skills, expertise, resources (e.g. space) and social capital (e.g. community relationships) that the artist(s) and community organization are each bringing to the partnership. Note: Community partner organizations will be required to attach an agreed upon MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) between the artist and the organization.
• Strengthening a Community of Practice. Demonstrates interest from the organization to also engage in the grantee learning cohort to foster a community of practice among artists and community partners supporting socially engaged public art in Boston. See grantee requirements section below for details regarding the grantee learning cohort.
• Organizational Capacity: Demonstrates the organization’s capacity to support the artist-proposed project and participate in the grantee learning cohort during the upcoming grant year. Some areas to consider may be staff capacity and availability of in-kind resources.

Community partner grant applications will be reviewed by the panel as supplemental material along with the artist’s full project proposal. 

Note: The artist’s  project proposal will be evaluated on the funding criteria outlined on the Creative City Boston Artist Grant page. One of the criteria that the artists’ proposals will be evaluated on is related to community partnerships:

• Community Partnership(s): Demonstrates meaningful community partnership(s) and clearly articulates the community partner(s)’ relationship to and role in realizing the proposed project. Some areas to consider are shared values and goals, skills, expertise, and social capital that the artists and community organization(s) are each bringing to the partnership

NEW Application Process & Deadlines

Creative City Boston Community Partner grants are available by invitation only.

Creative City Boston Artist Grant finalists may nominate up to two collaborating community partners to apply for supplemental community partner grants.

Artist Nomination Deadline: September 16, 2019, 11:59PM Eastern

Artist finalists must submit nominations by this deadline in order for community partners to be invited to apply.  Artists will receive nomination instructions when they receive their finalist award letter.

Community Partner Grant Application Deadline: October 21, 2019, 11:59PM Eastern

This is the same deadline as the Artist’s Full Project Proposals.

The community partner organization will be required to attach an agreed upon Memorandum of Understanding between the artist and the organization. Here is a Memorandum of Understanding template to help get you started.

Community partner grant applications will be reviewed by the panel as supplemental material along with the artist’s full proposal. 

Grant Award & Grant Recipient Requirements

Grant Award

Community partner grants are contingent upon the lead artist’s project being awarded.  Community partner grants are up to $5,000 per artist project.

Community partner grant amounts will be dependent upon the amount allocated to each organization by the lead artist during the nomination process.  Nominated organizations may apply up to the amount allocated.

For example, in the nomination process, the lead artist may allocate:

Organization A       $3,000

Organization B       $2,000

Total Allocated:      $5,000

Organization A may apply for up to $3,000, and Organization B may apply up to $2,000.

Grant disbursement is made in two installments:

1. Upon receipt of signed contract agreement, NEFA will issue 75% of the total award amount to the community partner organization after January 1, 2020
2. After the project is successfully executed, grantees are required to complete a final grantee report. Upon approval of the final grantee report and supplemental materials, NEFA will issue the final 25% of the total award amount

Grant Recipient Requirements

Creative City Boston community partner grantees are required to:

• Provide support as outlined in the MOU between the lead artist(s) and community partner organization during the designated grant year.
• Participate in at least two grantee cohort gatherings. These are opportunities for community partners and artists across the full cohort of grantees to:
  • Get to know each other
  • Build a sense of community
  • Troubleshoot challenges
  • Celebrate successes
  • Share best practices with one another

Additional professional development opportunities (optional) will also be made available throughout the year.

NEFA staff will work with artists and community partners to determine the best possible dates for each gathering.  See grant contract agreements for more specific details regarding grantee expectations.