Special Projects Grants

The Creative County Initiative (CCI), a program of the Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF), administers the Special Project Grants to advance innovative and transformative arts-based projects across Essex County, Massachusetts. The ECCF is a regional grantmaker that supports nonprofits and community initiatives with the overarching aim of strengthening civic life and elevating the arts as essential to social, economic, and cultural well-being. Through CCI, the Foundation funds projects that encourage boundary-pushing creativity, cross-sector collaboration, and innovative approaches to pressing community issues. The Special Project Grant program provides funding of up to $5,000 for new, uniquely creative initiatives that fit into one or more of several thematic categories. These categories include cultural planning, diversity-equity-inclusion-access (DEIA), public art and creative placemaking, creative leadership, development of artistic spaces, and nonprofit organizational capacity building. Emphasis is placed on projects that embody systemic change and generate lasting impact within communities. The program explicitly excludes funding for continued operations, single events, retrospective expenses, or existing initiatives, thus prioritizing fresh ideas and new programmatic ventures. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations or groups whose work primarily takes place within Essex County. Applicants may only submit one proposal per year to one of CCI’s three funding programs (Special Projects, ALAANA, or Last Mile Fund), and they cannot be repeat recipients of the same grant in consecutive years. Projects must generally be deliverable within a 12-month window and culminate in a public presentation, either in person or online. ECCF offers grantees optional technical assistance, promotional support, and partnership-building resources throughout the duration of the project. Funded recipients must engage in several accountability and visibility practices, including communicating regularly with the Creative County Program Director, utilizing ECCF’s communication platforms, acknowledging ECCF/CCI in all public-facing grant communications, and participating in final reporting. The final report is expected to cover project outcomes, lessons learned, and how the initiative contributed to artistic or organizational development. Grantees are also encouraged to attend ECCF-sponsored capacity-building trainings and convenings. Applications for the Special Project Grant open in January 2026 and will be accepted on a rolling basis. Although there is no hard application deadline, ECCF follows a structured internal review timeline: applications are grouped and reviewed during the first week of each month, with panel decisions and feedback compiled and shared by the third week. If selected, grant payments will be disbursed within four weeks of confirmation. Funds can be paid either directly to the nonprofit or via a fiscal sponsor with 501(c)(3) status. For assistance with application development or questions about project alignment, prospective applicants may contact Sabrina Boggio, Program Assistant for CCI, via email at [email protected]. Additional information, including guidance on other CCI programs, is available at creativecounty.org/grants.