CFWM Capacity-Building Grants

The Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts offers Capacity-Building Grants to support artists in Franklin, Hampshire, or Hampden counties. Each grant provides $2,500 along with professional development, coaching, and community-building resources. This initiative aims to enhance the sustainability of artists from diverse backgrounds, encouraging those who have not received grants previously to apply. The program fosters equal opportunities and prioritizes applicants who identify as black, indigenous, or a person of color.

The Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts (CFWM) is excited to launch its next round of Capacity-Building Grants. This grant opportunity is funded by the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts’ ValleyCreates Program and is administered by Assets for Artists (A4A) program. The focus is a capacity-building and sustainability initiative for artists who currently live or have studio space in Franklin, Hampshire, or Hampden counties in Massachusetts. The program pairs a $2,500 grant with coaching, workshops, business/career building, personal financial literacy resources, and artist community-building. This program promotes equal opportunity and seeks diversity in its applicants and participants. When selected for the program, artists will receive:A $2,500 grant.A combination of self-directed and group professional development for artists of all disciplines Individualized support and resources from A4A staff and trainers in service of artists’ creative professional goals    Planning tools to help explore what’s next in your artistic career  Cohort events for connection and peer learning Priority access to A4A’s professional development workshops Up to 3 hours of one-on-one coaching sessions with an A4A trainer in support of artists’ goals  (Please note that for most recipients, the Capacity-Building grant will not be regarded as income for tax purposes, and will not result in a 1099 being issued, which would typically be considered taxable income.)

Eligibility

Eligible applicants are artists aged 18+ of any discipline (painters, sculptors, installation artists, new media artists, craft artisans, designers, filmmakers, photographers, performers, writers, musicians, thespians, dancers, etc.) who live OR have a studio address in Franklin, Hampshire, or Hampden counties.These funds are intended to support individual artists only

Ineligibility

Funding cannot support the following:Artists who are recipients of previous ValleyCreates Working Capital/Capacity Building or ValleyCreates Project Evolution grants. Programming or operations of a 501(c)(3) organization.