Capacity-Building Grants 2026

Status: open until April 20 at noon

The Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts (CFWM) is excited to launch its next round of Capacity-Building Grants. This grant opportunity is funded by the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts’ ValleyCreates program and is administered by Assets for Artists (A4A). The focus is a capacity-building and sustainability initiative for artists who currently live or have studio space in Franklin, Hampshire, or Hampden counties in Massachusetts. 

The program pairs a $2,500 grant with coaching, workshops, business/career building, personal financial literacy resources, and artist community-building. After being accepted into the program, grantees complete a brief onboarding call to learn more about the resources available to them. 

Program Resources

When selected for the program, artists will receive:

• A $2,500 unrestricted grant
• A combination of self-directed and group professional development for artists of all disciplines 
• Individualized support and resources from A4A staff and trainers in service of artists’ creative professional goals    
• Planning tools to help explore what’s next in your artistic career  
• Cohort events for connection and peer learning 
• Priority access to A4A’s professional development workshops 
• Up to 3 hours of one-on-one coaching sessions with an A4A trainer in support of artists’ goals  

Please note: In most cases, the Capacity-Building grant is not regarded as income for tax purposes, and will not result in a 1099 being issued.

More questions?

Program Timeline for 2026

Application opens: March 9, 2026 
Application deadline: April 20, 2026 at noon (12 p.m. EST)
Decisions Announced: by June 9, 2026
Welcome phone calls: June 2026   
Welcome kick-off event: July 9, 2026 
Planning workshop: September 12, 2026  
Mid-way check-ins with grantees:  October 2026 
Artists’ work slide-share: October 29, 2026
Graduation/Field trip: December 5, 2026
Final check-in call: December 2026 

Eligibility

• Eligible applicants are artists aged 21+ of any discipline (painters, sculptors, installation artists, new media artists, craft artisans, designers, filmmakers, photographers, performers, writers, musicians, thespians, dancers, etc.) who live OR have a studio address in Franklin, Hampshire, or Hampden county.
• These funds are intended to support individual artists only (the Community Foundation has other funding opportunities that support nonprofits and fiscally-sponsored organizations). 

Funding cannot support the following:

• Artists who are recipients of previous ValleyCreates Working Capital/Capacity Building or ValleyCreates Project Evolution grants. 
• Programming or operations of a 501(c)(3) organization.

Funding Prioritization:

• Artists historically under-resourced; artists working in rural or geographically isolated communities; artists whose communities, including BIPOC communities, have faced systemic barriers to access, including, but not limited to, funding, visibility, and space. 

Artists that are in the mid-stages of their career are especially encouraged to apply.

Application Deadline

Monday, April 20, 2026 at noon (12 p.m. EST). Technical support is available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

Accessibility

To request accommodation during any phase of your application process, please reach out to Steph Reyes, ValleyCreates Program Officer, at sreyes@communityfoundation.org.

Application

The application components include: 

• Personal Information  
• Three Narrative Questions (Click here to review)
• Work Samples 

Work Samples

You will be required to submit samples of your creative work in one of the formats listed below (you only need to select one option).  

• Images: Submit 5 images of your work or, 
• Text-based work: Submit up to 10 pages total or, 
• Video/audio: Submit 3–5 short videos/audios or one video/audio up to 15 minutes long. (We only accept links to videos, not uploaded files.) or, 
• Combination of formats (images, text, audio and/or video): Please submit 5 total work samples across all formats combined. 

If artificial intelligence has been used as a tool to support your work in some way, please include an explanation. Works purely generated through AI are not eligible. 

Application Review

Applications will be reviewed by staff and community members of the creative sector based in Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties. All applicants will be assessed based on the following criteria:  

• Applicants’ strength and dedication to their artistic practice.  
• Applicants’ clarity on future goals and growth. 
• Applicants’ demonstration of how they will benefit from the program. 

Questions?

For programmatic support, please contact Steph Reyes, ValleyCreates Program Officer, at sreyes@communityfoundation.org. For technical support, please contact grants@communityfoundation.org.

Grants are administered by

Assets for Artists (A4A) program

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