Twins Jeremy and Brendan Smyth have received Haverhill Cultural Council grants for their popular Haverhill Experimental Film Festival.
Haverhill Cultural Council is seeking candidates to share in more than $23,000 in arts and culture grants and is making it easier to apply.
This year for the first time, grant applications will be taken online exclusively at www.mass-culture.org/haverhill. The two-page application is easier to follow and eliminates traditional mail delays. The online application launches Thursday, Sept. 1 and may be completed through Monday, Oct. 17. Council members hope the new system will encourage additional applicants and more varied programs, field trips and capital projects for the benefit of Haverhill residents.
“The council noted that we get a lot of repeat applications. While we are thrilled to support successful programs repeatedly as they develop year to year, we want to ensure that the cultural options in Haverhill can include new ideas, with new applicants submitting them,” said Haverhill Cultural Council Chair Also According to HCC Chair Letriah Masters. “To accomplish this we are reminding the public that grant requests can be as small as $100 or as high as $3,000, even more under special circumstances. We’d also like to see more applicants from either end of the age spectrum—18-year-olds and senior citizens.”
Phuong Pham, Haverhill High School graduate now enrolled at UMass Dartmouth, sings during the council’s open mike tent during the Inside Out Event.
“In the past we typically stopped supporting events after their third year of operation. We’ve made the decision to consider funding beyond that third year, if we see substantial benefit to the community and further development of the program,” Masters said. She, as examples, the council has observed growing community support for such programs as Movies By The River program and the Haverhill Experimental Film Festival.
Some of the requirements for grant applications include:
1) Event or program must occur in Haverhill, and be a public benefit to the city. Field trips must begin in Haverhill schools.
2) Applicant must be 18 years or older. If there is a grant application team, however, as long as the leader is 18 years or older, other members may be younger.
3) The council must not be responsible for the entire budget
4) Program must fall into at least one of the following categories: arts, humanities and/or interpretive sciences.
Haverhill Cultural Council Officers Officers, from left, Ruby Lyons, treasurer; Letriah Masters, chair; and Alison Colby-Campbell, secretary.
There will be an Applicant Information Night, Wed. Sept. 21, 7 p.m., at the Citizens Center, 10 Welcome St., Haverhill. At the meeting, council members will answer questions regarding the application process. Completed applications will be reviewed Wednesday, Oct. 26, 7 p.m., at the Citizens Center. Applicants that attend receive an extra point in the rating process.
Haverhill Cultural Council is a member of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. The Local Cultural Council Program is the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation, supporting thousands of community-based projects in the arts, humanities and sciences annually.
Besides Masters, local officers are Ruby Lyons, treasurer, and Alison Colby-Campbell, secretary. Members are Haverhill residents appointed by the mayor and serve as an advisory board.