McCluskey Family Foundation: Single Year Grants

The Ramsey McCluskey Family Foundation offers Single-Year Grants to support projects in arts and general education for preschool through high school. With an annual budget of about $300,000, grants can reach up to $10,000. Priority is given to hands-on arts education projects, with 75% of the budget allocated to this area. Organizations must wait one year after receiving three consecutive grants before reapplying. Eligibility is limited to projects within a 50-mile radius of MetroWest Boston.

NOTE: Single-Year Grant seekers new to the foundation are strongly encouraged to begin the process by a letter of inquiry. This should be submitted before the deadline. Letters of inquiry should receive a response within two - three weeks of our receiving them in the Foundation Office (this time may be longer during the summer months). We will attempt to respond within two - three days during the month of September just prior to the October 1st deadline.
Areas of Interest
The Foundation has two areas of interest which often coincide.
Arts Education: The Foundation will consider proposals for projects in any area of pre-school through high school hands-on arts education. We are particularly interested in projects with sustained contact for students. In the 2023-2024 grant cycle, almost three quarters of our grant budget went to arts education projects.General Education: The Foundation will consider proposals for projects in Pre-school through High School level education. We are committed to helping students become excited and engaged in learning, whether it is in the school environment, after-school, or in other settings. In the 2023-2024 grant cycle, approximately one-quarter of the grant budget targeted general education projects.
Our Grants
The Foundation awards three types of grants each yearly grant cycle.
The Foundation has a yearly grant making budget of approximately $300,000. Each year the Foundation awards fifteen to twenty Single Year Grants, three or four Scholarship Fund Grants and four Trilogy Grants. Single Year Grants may be up to $10,000. Scholarship Fund Grants are for $2500. Trilogy Grants are three-year grants totaling $35,000 over three years ($15,000 in year one and $10,000 in years two and three).
As the name implies, these grants are given to fund one year of a project. Single Year Grants are for a single fiscal year and may be up to $10,000. Aproximately 75% of the Single Year grant budget is dedicated to Arts Education projects. Organizations who have received three Single Year grants in consecutive years must take a one year break before applying again.

Eligibility

The Foundation is local in scope and limits new grantmaking to a fifty mile radius of our MetroWest Boston (Lincoln) location.
Grants are generally given for specific projects or programs that can show measurable results.

Ineligibility

Grants are usually not given for general operating expenses, endowments, sponsorship of performances, capital campaigns, or building funds.