The Gaming Mitigation Fund provides grants to Massachusetts nonprofit and municipal performing arts centers to spend on touring shows or touring artist fees.
Donor Name: Mass Cultural Council
State: Massachusetts
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 02/01/2024
Size of the Grant: Not Available
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The Gaming Mitigation Fund was established by MGL Section 59 chapter 23K and aims to mitigate a direct threat to the sustainability of nonprofit and municipal performing arts centers in Massachusetts by providing capital to preserve their ability to compete in a new, unbalanced marketplace.
This is important because performing arts centers:
- Are economic engines for communities
- Ensure access to the arts across the Commonwealth
- Are centers of community gathering and place making
- Provide young people creative learning opportunities
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible, applicants must meet all three of the following characteristics described in-depth below:
- Applicants must be a performing arts center
- Applicants must be a non-profit OR municipally owned
- Applicants must present touring shows or artists
Applicants must be a performing arts center, which means:
- The organization’s primary mission must be to promote access, diversity, or education in the arts, humanities, or interpretive sciences.
- The organization commits 50% or more of their operating expenses to the performing arts. Performing arts are types of art that are presented live for an audience; examples include dance, music, opera, musical theater, theater, folk/traditional dance, and/or music.
Applicants must be a Massachusetts non-profit OR owned by a Massachusetts municipality:
- Non-profit performing arts centers include fully-cultural performing art centers and cultural affiliates as defined below that meet the relevant requirements for each.
- Fully-cultural non-profit performing arts center:
- A legally-recognized 501(c)3 performing art center in good standing in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
- Non-profit performing arts centers managed by separate non-profit managing organizations.
- The managing entity must have a long term (at least 5 years) contract, lease, or deed articulating their management responsibilities.
- Cultural affiliate performing arts center: A semi-independent performing art center that operates under a non-cultural parent organization.
- Have a primary mission to promote access, diversity, or education in the arts, humanities, or interpretive sciences.
- Have a parent organization that is a Massachusetts recognized non-fully-cultural 501(c)3 organization in good standing in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. (For example, a theater at a university or a performance venue at a social service organization.)
- Manage their own budget.
- Have at least one full-time (min. 30 hours per week) compensated administrative staff position dedicated solely to operation of the performing arts center.
- Have its own advisory board that meets regularly to discuss policy, strategic direction, and resource development plans to ensure long-term sustainability.
- Municipally-owned performing art centers include:
- Managed by the municipality itself.
OR
- Managed by an eligible managing organization:
- The managing organization must have a long term (at least 5 years) contract, lease, or deed articulating their management responsibilities.
- Eligible managing organizations include:
- A legally-recognized 501(c)3 nonprofit
- A for-profit managing company
- Ineligible managing organizations include:
- Resort-style or slot parlor casinos
- For profit or non-profit managing companies that operate under the direction of resort-style or slot parlor casinos
- Applicants must present touring shows or artists: Touring shows or artists must be an independent entity being presented as a guest at the organization.
- Touring artists featured in a piece produced by the applying organization are only considered an independent entity if they are considered a headliner(s) with name recognition that is used as a marketing tool.
- Touring shows and artists MUST ALSO meet at least TWO of the following three criteria
- Appears on one of the below (or similar, but not listed) artist rosters.
- Pollstar, Creative Ground, Bands in Town, Song kick, Association of Performing Arts Professionals, CINARS
- Appears on one of the below (or similar, but not listed) artist rosters.
- Has an established history of touring within the last five years. Touring being defined as travel to different towns, cities, states, or countries in a pre-planned route for a series of live performances.
- Has established artist representation.
- CAA, CAMI, High Road Touring, Jensen Artists, IMG Artists, Paradigm Agency
For more information, visit Mass Cultural Council.
