Application Process:

Collective Futures Fund awards $85,000 per year to artists and groups for collaborative, public-oriented projects.

Applications Process:

Review FAQ and sample application

 

Identify a lead applicant

        *For collectives, the lead applicant is financially responsible for the grant funds including the taxes. CFF cannot split up a single project grant into various applicant.

 

Review eligibility guidelines

 

Applicants can only apply for one tier per lead applicant// per project.

 

Create a submittable account

Select your grant tier

** Application questions are branched. When you select your tier, related questions will branch out.

Review work sample guidelines

Work Sample Guidelines:

 

Applicants have the following options for work samples:

-              Up to 5 Images of applicant’s representative projects

-              Up to 5 minutes for time-based media per application

-              Up to 2-pages of writing samples maximum per application

 

Please name your files artist name_sample#. example: Warhol_sample1

 

This can be any arrangement as long as you do not exceed the work sample guidelines.

For example you can submit:

  • Two images, a 1-minute video and two pages of writing

  • A 60 sec video, and four image samples

  • Three images, and two videos that are 2.5 minutes each

  • A page of writing, a 5-minute video, and 3 work samples

*If you submit more than 5 minutes of video total, jurors will be instructed to only view the first 5 minutes of the first work sample.

 

Similarly, if you submit more that 5 work samples through a PDF, or image folder link jurors will be instructed to only view the first 5 in the first work sample. Composite images are allowed.

Work Sample Link:

 

The work sample link box is intended for linking to a video, image, or other media if an applicant was having trouble uploading or if the work sample was hosted elsewhere. If you have uploaded your work sample, please leave this part blank  

Work Description: 

Please use this box to provide supporting information for your work samples such as: title, artist/project name, image credit, year, and an up to 50-word description of the work.

 

For both the work description box and the work sample link box PLEASE DO NOT LINK TO THE FOLLOWING:

  • PRESS FOR YOU OR YOUR PRACTICE

  • A WEBSITE OR ONLINE PORTFOLIO

  • ACADEMIC ARTICLES SUPPORTING YOUR PROSAL

  • TESTIMONIALS OR CV

 

Work Sample Recommendations:

 

  • For Sustaining Practice: Submit representative images of your overall artistic practice or other supporting materials on your research if applicable.

  • For New Projects: Submit representative images/media that are aligned in method, ethos or scale to the new project proposed.

  • For Ongoing Platforms: Submit representative images of past work related to your application.

Budget Form:

 

Grantees are expected to request the full grant amount. It is required that you submit your budget in the Collective Futures Fund budget format

The budget form has 3 sections:

Budget: This refers to the portion of the budget that the CFF grant will go towards. Some applicants have elected to put a full budget for their whole project exceeding CFF grant amounts as they felt this was a better representation of their project. If you choose to do this, you are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to use the “additional comments” box to explain what part of your budget CFF grant fund will go towards.

Income: This refers to project income not personal applicant’s income. CFF is not a need-based grant. Use this section if you are applying for other grants, have additional project support from other sources, or if you plan to sell tickets or collect donations through your project.

In-Kind Donations: In-kind donations are non-monetary donations usually of goods or services.

 

Service: the donations of time or expertise to perform a service you would otherwise have to pay for. This includes the use of an event or practice space or venue.

 

Goods: contributions of usually physical assets, that support the project.

Selection Criteria and Requirements:

 

Review Stage 1: CFF staff will do an initial review of each application using a 3-question rubric evaluating on: eligibility and adherence to grant guidelines, approach to the visual arts, and collaborative or public impact.

 

Review Stage 2:  The Collective Futures Fund invites an independent panel to review and select projects for funding. The four–person panel includes national and local artists and/or arts professionals, a regional regranting program colleagues, and a previous grantee. All panelists will review and rank each proposal based on the stated criteria.

 

Jurors will score applications using a 5-question rubric unique to each grant tier, to issue a cumulative score for each application. Jury rubrics are informed by the following selections criteria:

 

·      Overall idea and vision, with an emphasis on experimentation, risk taking, and unconventional viewpoints

·      Relevance to and engagement with Greater Boston’s social, cultural, and/or geographic communities, histories, and contexts

·      Accessibility of the project to the public

·      Capacity of the applicant to realize the project on time and within budget

·      Potential impact on the local community, the arts and culture landscape, and/or the artist’s growth

·      Response to the urgencies of the present moment with unique and considered approaches to visual arts and arts organizing, with the understanding that Boston artists experience those urgencies and the present moment in varying ways

 

Review Stage 3

The top 15 – 25 sustaining practice applications and the top 10 -20 project grant applications will move on to a final jury discussion. As well as the top 3 scores for each juror.

 

At this meeting 10 Sustaining Practice applications and 8 project grant applications will be selected. We will also establish the waitlist for each category. Applicants will not be notified if they are on the waitlist.

Grantee Responsibilities:  

·      At the beginning of the one-year grant period, Collective Futures Fund project grant recipients will receive 90% of their grant funds upon return of a signed contract. Sustaining Practice grantees receive the full amount upon return of a signed contract.

·      Grantees are required to submit a mid-year and final report.

·      The report is intended to help recipients reflect on the project in ways that may inform future creative pursuits. The final 10% of grant funds will be disbursed upon receipt of the mid-year report but a final report is still required.

·      Grantees will be asked to maintain communication with Collective Futures Fund throughout the grant period and have an interim “studio visit.”

·      Grantees are legally responsible for all events, materials, outcomes, etc. connected with their projects.

·      Grantees will periodically be asked to contribute text, visuals, and other materials for Collective Futures Fund promotions and archives.