July 10, 2009

Massachusetts: Cultural Investment Portfolio

The Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) announced the launch of the Cultural Investment Portfolio (CIP), a new approach to unrestricted funding for arts, humanities and science organizations. The CIP replaces the MCC’s Organizational Support Program. The CIP is a funding partnership designed not only to enhance the capacity of individual organizations, but to strengthen the cultural sector as a whole. Like Organizational Support, the CIP provides multi-year, unrestricted grants. But instead of relying on an application narrative and competitive, discipline-specific panel review, the CIP incorporates a comprehensive site visit by organization peers and stakeholders and MCC staff to assess public value.

CIP organizations can choose between three levels of participation—Partner, Colleague and Peer—with eligibility based on factors such as history of MCC support and budget size. Partners and Colleagues are required to participate in the newly launched Massachusetts Cultural Data Project, and leaders of all CIP organizations must attend yearly MCC events. These changes are designed to arm organizations with better information about their impact on the Massachusetts economy, and to raise the visibility of the sector’s aggregate impact. To inform the design of the new program, the MCC invited organizations from across the Commonwealth to participate in focus groups. Participants affirmed the benefits of multi-year funding and expressed a preference for peer review by in-state experts, concerns about a “one size fits all” approach and a desire for less paperwork. All of these recommendations are reflected in the CIP.

For more information, contact Massachusetts Cultural Council Communications Director Greg Liakos, or download the CIP brochure.