Mass Humanities Announces 2025 Funding Opportunities

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NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — Mass Humanities has announced its 2025 funding opportunities through its Expand Massachusetts Stories (EMS) initiative.
 
This year, the EMS initiative features:
  • Promises of the Revolution: Organizations are invited to explore how people, past and present, responded to the promises of the American Revolution in preparation for the country's 250th anniversary in 2026.
  • Story Forward: Organizations that have received funding from Mass Humanities in the past can advance their storytelling to reach new audiences or build on previous work.
Reading Frederick Douglass Together grants are currently open, with applications accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year.
 
Application materials for EMS grants are available on the Mass Humanities website. Letters of Inquiry are due June 9.
 
Mass Humanities has set aside $600,000 to fund projects in the Promises of the Revolution track.
 
Mass Humanities launched the EMS initiative in 2021 with the support of Mass Cultural Council and the Barr Foundation.
 
In 2024, Mass Humanities awarded $1.2 million in EMS grants to 64 cultural nonprofit organizations.
 
Eligibility requirements and grant guidelines can be viewed on the Mass Humanities grants website.
 
 
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Town Meetings That Rejected CBRSD Agreement to Vote Again

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The three towns that failed Central Berkshire Regional School District's proposed regional agreement last year will likely see it again on this year's annual town meeting warrant. 
 
The item failed during last year's town meetings in Hinsdale and Peru, as well as Cummington's special town meeting — the regional agreement needed six out of the seven towns to vote in favor of passing. 
 
Until an updated agreement is approved, the school district will continue to operate under its current agreement and follow state law. 
 
The original agreement, created in 1958, has been amended several times and approved locally but never by the state Department of Education, which is required.
 
Over the past year, David Stuart, the vice chair of the School Committee and chair of the ad hoc regional agreement committee, and other School Committee members have visited the towns to find a solution and inform residents about what the state allows to be included in the regional agreement.
 
Despite this, they were unsuccessful in getting the Hinsdale, Cummington, and Peru's select boards to support it. 
 
"It's been hard. There's a lot of good things in here," Stuart said. 
 
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