2025 Grant Application Info

Media Contact:

Abby Bernstein, Chair

Needham Council for Arts and Culture

needhamartsandculture@gmail.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Needham Council for Arts and Culture Seeks Funding Proposals 

Funding Proposals for community-oriented arts, humanities, and interpretive science programs are due on Thursday, October 16th, at 11:59 PM EST.

NEEDHAM, MA - September 2nd, 2025--In partnership with the Town of Needham and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Needham Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) is now accepting applications from organizations and individuals in the arts and cultural sector or in the interpretive sciences seeking funding to support proposals  for the public benefit of our community.  

Grants from the NCAC can be used to support various projects and activities in Needham -- including performances, exhibits, festivals, short-term artist residencies, workshops, lectures and readings, field trips, school-based arts and cultural opportunities, and organizational support. 

The Needham Council for Arts and Culture has, once again, been awarded funding from the operating budget of the Town of Needham in the amount of $18,300 to directly support the Local Cultural Council (LCC) grants initiative. For FY26 there will be a total of $27,700 in state and municipal funding to support the cultural vitality of our community through this program. 

The NCAC will prioritize grant applications for Needham-based public programs and projects that are accessible and beneficial to our Town, especially those that aim to help meet the needs of under-served or in-need groups and elevate the diverse voices and experiences of historically marginalized populations. We are interested in supporting local artist and artist groups, many of whom foster collaboration and a sense of community.

Previously funded projects include grantees such as Arlekin Players Theatre, Needham Diversity Initiative, Plugged In Band Program, Needham Housing Authority, “The King’s Own Fourth Regiment of Foot” Reenactment Troupe, Storytime Crafts, and Needham Historical Society.  We’re grateful to the members of the NCAC for their service to the Town and for the many artists, educators, historians, and other community partners who will benefit from these grants.

The NCAC, the Town of Needham, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council has shown a firm and unyielding commitment to celebrating, promoting, advocating for, and investing in a vibrant and energized arts and cultural environment in our Town. Arts and culture not only is an instrument of education and wellbeing, but also of community engagement, economic vitality, inclusion, and solidarity.

The deadline for applications is October 16th, 2025, at 11:59 pm. 

The NCAC will host a Grants Open House on Tuesday, September 30th at 7:00 PM in Needham’s Town Hall where potential applicants can learn more from the Council about the grants process or gain answers to their specific questions. Applicants can also find information on the NCAC’s Town website: https://www.needhamma.gov/1111/Needham-Council-for-Arts-Culture. Members of the NCAC will be available at the Needham Harvest Fair on October 5, 2025, from 11 AM to 3 PM to answer questions from the public. The NCAC can be reached via email at: needhamartsandculture@gmail.com. 

The Needham Council for Arts and Culture is part of a network of 329 Local Cultural Councils serving all 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth. The LCC Program is the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation investing $5.5 million in arts and cultural programming, and supporting more than 6,500 public projects annually in the arts, sciences, and humanities. The state legislature provides an annual appropriation to the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, which then allocates funds to each individual community. 

Follow us on Facebook to stay up to date (Facebook.com/NeedhamCouncilforArtsandCulture). 

Application forms, guidesheets, and more information about the Local Cultural Council Program are available at www.mass-culture.org.

**Below Images top row: images credited to photographer, Chris Tess, for the Needham Theater production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible

**Below Images bottom row: images credited to Heather Simmons, NCAC Co-chair - Fourth Foot Comes to Needham