DALTON, Mass. — The Cultural Council tentatively approved 15 partially funded and fully funded grant applications for local events and initiatives. 

 

The town received 41 applications from venues across the Berkshires, including organizations in Becket, Sheffield, Pittsfield, and, of course, Dalton. 

 

The state Cultural Council awarded the town council $8,000 for the 2026 fiscal year, however, the council also has a carryover of $1,000 from last year. 

 

The council tentatively approved requests from Grow Dalton Inc., the Community Recreation Association, Craneville Parent Teacher Organization, Tamarack Hollow Nature and Cultural Center, and more. 

 

Although the council approved these grant applications, the decisions are not final for two weeks as applicants have a chance to appeal. 

 

After independently ranking each event and a lengthy discussion, councilors decided to fund 15 events and initiatives including concerts, art programming, educational programs and events, a festival for seniors, and more. 

 

The members ranked each of the application with a scoring matrix that had the following criteria: whether the program or event ties in with the town’s Community Health Needs Assessment, if there are measurable outcome, whether it focuses on one or more target populations, if they have financial support from other nonprofits or community organizations, whether the event takes place in Dalton, and whether the event benefits Dalton residents. 

 

The council gave priority to applications that demonstrate significant community benefit, have local partnerships or support letters, have reasonable costs relative to the number of individuals served, and ensure diversity in the audience, such as serving children, adults, and seniors.

 

Other criteria they considered is whether the event or initiative had letters of support, what the believed impact would be, and what budget constraints the organizers have. 

 

Funding amounts and partial funding adjustments were also made to fit the council's budget, with some larger requests reduced to spread support across more programs.

 

Of the applicants that were denied, the council cited reasons including it not serving the town’s community or too small of an audience, the application not having a clear, measurable outcome or evidence the program would benefit the Dalton community, the high cost with limited impact or unclear need, and uncertainty about actual local participation or whether the applicant had necessary partnerships.

 

Next year, the council hopes to improve the selection process by updating and clarifying the evaluation criteria and making them clear on the website, specifically how many residents it would serve and what the measurable impact would be.

 

The hope is that this will encourage applicants to provide clearer data and strengthen their proposals, making it easier to compare proposals fairly and allocate funding effectively.