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Partner Guidelines
Partners in the Cultural Investment Portfolio (CIP) have a long funding history with the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) and a proven track record of strong organizational capacity and public programming in the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences to their communities. MCC invests in the mission of these organizations by providing a predictable stream of unrestricted general operating support.
Eligibility Requirements
To be classified as a Partner, organizations must have:
- an established track record of programmatic excellence, demonstrable
public benefit, and organizational capacity as evidenced by
favorable MCC panel reviews
- at least eight general operating support grants with no more
than one panel denial
- a minimum of 10 years providing public cultural programming in Massachusetts
- at least three paid full-time equivalent positions.*
- tax-exempt status under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue
Service tax code or be an agency of local government (ex. local
arts agency, historical commission)
- incorporation as a not-for-profit organization
*The U.S. Government Accountability Office defines full-time employment as comprised of 2,080 hours annually. Partners are required to have three FTE's – which means the organization must pay for at least 6,240 hours of work by professional staff annually. These hours do not have to be performed by three staff members; rather, the cumulative total of hours can be distributed among any number of employees. For example, a full-time development director plus two half-time development associates would combine to comprise two FTEs.
Cultural Data Project
The Massachusetts
Cultural Data Project (CDP) is a powerful tool that enables
organizations to track trends in performance and benchmark those
against others. The CDP quickly and effortlessly produces several
different reports that can aid in grant applications, board reporting,
and annual planning.
Site Visits
Each Partner receives a site visit from a team comprised of MCC staff and senior staff from other CIP Partners. Site visits are not evaluations or accreditations. The visit is an opportunity to build on the existing relationship with MCC, develop new connections, and learn from those participating. The visit is a conversation with senior staff, members of the board of directors, and a group of key community stakeholders.
Senior management (executive director, managing director, artistic director) of all CIP Partner groups are required to participate on two site visit teams. They are invited to contribute their own knowledge and experience to the conversation and it is hoped that their participation will be seen as a useful professional development opportunity.
Download
the Partners Site Visit Guide (PDF).
Advocacy
A top priority of the Cultural Investment Portfolio is encouraging Massachusetts’ arts, humanities, and science organizations to see themselves as part of an important sector that speaks with a collective voice to state leadership. Advocacy involves communicating with your state legislators or members of the administration about how funding for arts and culture helps support your programming and serve your community.
To facilitate this conversation senior staff of all CIP Partners must participate in two advocacy activities each fiscal year that enable direct interaction with state leadership. These activities should provide opportunities to explain to your legislators, in concrete and personal terms, the social and economic benefit of supporting a vibrant cultural community.
Be creative and think beyond the MCC requirement about ways to engage your legislative delegation in all of your work. Following are some suggestions on activities that meet the annual advocacy requirement:
- Talk to your elected officials at MCC events like local grant announcements, public receptions, or the bi-annual Commonwealth Awards.
- Have a conversation at community meetings hosted by others like chamber of commerce, Rotary, etc.
- A meeting at your state senator or representative's office, either at the State House or in his or her district.
- Add your elected officials to your mailing list. Invite them
to your programs.
Some examples:
- A chamber music ensemble invites their state senator to briefly address the audience before a performance.
- A youth arts program invites an elected official to observe a group of middle-school students in an after-school pottery program. The visit includes time for the official to chat with the students about why they enjoy learning how to throw pots.
- A group of seniors from an assisted-living center write letters to their elected representatives praising a local independent movie house that provides vans for residents to attend matinees.
- The executive director of a local history museum meets her state representative for coffee to describe the specific ways that local funding enables her organization to serve the community at large.
- Engage your board of directors, audiences, students and parents to tell their stories, write letters, emails, make a phone call, post on social media. (ex. mailing party, phone-a-thon).
Partnership Requirements
To maintain Partner status organizations must:
- Submit a Data Profile to the MA Cultural Data Project annually.
Learn
more.
- Actively advocate for increased state and local resources. Learn
more.
- Host a site visit and participate in others’ site visits. Learn
more.
- Demonstrate a willingness to serve as a resource to other organizations. (e.g. be the subject of a case study, mentor another organization, answer questions asked by other organizations , etc.)
Grant Awards
The Cultural Investment Portfolio provides unrestricted multi-year
grants using a formula scaled to the organization's operating budget.
Funding for Partners is expected to range from $5,000 to $50,000
each year for four years. Funding range and specific award amounts
are based on total funds allocated to the Cultural Investment Portfolio
by the MCC board based on the agency’s annual legislative appropriation.
In cases where a Partner experiences serious organizational capacity
issues, rather than take punitive action our goal is to strategize
with that organization to address the challenge. For example, we
may direct that a portion of the grant be used for capacity building
and planning.
Only in the most extreme cases when we or the organization determine it is no longer able to carry out its basic mission will we discuss rescinding funding.
Funding Decisions
Once the formula has been applied grant recommendations are sent to the MCC board. The board considers funding recommendations and makes all final funding decisions.
Legal and Other Requirements
ACCESS
In accordance with state law, the MCC recognizes the importance of non-discrimination, diversity, and equal opportunity in all aspects of its programs and activities. The MCC is committed to access, not only as a matter of state and federal law, but also as a policy designed to encourage the participation of all segments of the Commonwealth’s population in MCC-funded programs. The MCC also considers low-income communities, rural populations, and citizens over 65 years old as underserved populations that should be proactively included in programs.
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 program or service that receives federal or state funding must be accessible to persons with disabilities. Therefore, all events and programs funded by the MCC must be accessible to persons with disabilities, including those with visual, hearing, mobility, and learning disabilities. Accessibility includes the facility and event location as well as the content of the program.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF FUNDING
Grant recipients are required to credit the Massachusetts Cultural
Council in all print, audio, video and internet materials, and
all publicity materials (such as press releases, brochures, posters,
advertisements and web sites). Detailed
information is available online.
Questions?
Contact Eric D'Alessandro at 617-727-3668 x261.
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| © Massachusetts Cultural Council 2012 |
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