Mass Humanities Announces 2024 Funding Opportunities

11:34AM / Sunday, January 21, 2024Print Story | Email Story

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — Humanities, the Commonwealth's leading funder of humanities programs, announced upcoming opportunities for its 2024 grant season.

Application materials for Expand Massachusetts Stories (EMS) grants are available now on the website, with the application window opening on February 5.

EMS grants support projects that collect, interpret, and share stories about the Commonwealth. Special consideration is given to humanities programming, events, and creative works that emphasize the voices and experiences of residents that too often go unrecognized, or have been excluded from public conversation and public history.

This year, Mass Humanities is offering a new grant track for projects that explore different aspects of climate change. Applicants are eligible to receive up to $20,000 for projects that illuminate community knowledge, experiences, and values in response to the climate crisis. Organizations interested in applying for a grant can now choose between the Climate Change Track, Advancing Equity Track, and Open Track.

"We believe that the humanities are crucial to confronting the complex challenges facing every human and every community," said Brian Boyles, executive director of Mass Humanities. "At this pivotal time in our nation, Mass Humanities supports storytellers and changemakers who bring people together to listen, share and imagine a better future. As we celebrate our 50th anniversary in 2024, we look forward to hearing their ideas and celebrating their work."

Mass Humanities launched the EMS initiative in 2021 with the support of Mass Cultural Council and the Barr Foundation. Since then, Mass Humanities has distributed more than $1.8 million to projects across the state that included audio tours, documentary films, oral histories, public events, and archival research.

"Every creative community has a compelling story to tell," said Michael J. Bobbitt, executive director of the Mass Cultural Council. "Today's EMS grant recipients are about to inspire us all through these conversations. I cannot wait to experience, learn and engage with them. Mass Cultural Council is proud to partner with and support Mass Humanities in this effort, which ensures these types of important dialogue happen in Massachusetts."

In 2023, Mass Humanities awarded $751,357 in EMS grants to 42 cultural nonprofit organizations from Cape Cod to the Berkshires. The majority of funds went to organizations receiving their first Mass Humanities grant, while people of color lead 67 percent of the supported projects, and 65 percent of the organizations had annual operating budgets of less than $300,000.

Eligibility requirements and grant guidelines can be viewed on the Mass Humanities grants website. Resources are available in both English and Spanish.

For more information regarding Expanding Massachusetts Stories grants, contact Katherine Stevens, Director of Grants and Programs, at grants@masshumanities.org.

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Pittsfield School Committee Sees Budget Calendar, Chapter 70 Concerns

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:28AM / Monday, January 19, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Pittsfield Public Schools kicked off its fiscal year 2027 budget calendar, and are again facing uncertainties with state Chapter 70 funding.

During the first meeting of the new term on Wednesday, the School Committee OK'd an FY27 budget calendar that plans the committee's vote in mid-April. Interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips stressed the importance of equity in this process.

"It's really important for us through these next couple of months to look at our different schools, our different needs, different student demographics, and really understand, are we just assigning resources equally, or are we really assigning them based on what different groups of students need?" she said.

The district could lose up to $5 million in Chapter 70 funding from declining enrollment, specifically of low-income students. This is a similar issue that PPS saw in 2024, when the discovery of 11 students meeting those income guidelines put the district in the higher funding category and added $2.4 million to the school budget.

"We are in a funding category, Group 11, for a district with a large percentage of low-income students, and that number could fluctuate depending on who exited the district," Phillips explained.

"So we're going to do our best to understand that, but ultimately, these numbers will impact the budget that is proposed to us by the governor."

According to the budget calendar, a draft budget will be presented in March, followed by a hearing in early April, and the School Committee is set to vote on the budget in mid-April. The City Charter requires it to be adopted before May 1, and a meeting with the City Council must occur no later than May 31.

Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Bonnie Howland provided an overview of the Chapter 70 funding and budget process. The budget calendar, she said, is designed to really support transparency, coordination, and legal compliance.

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