Three Eastie Organization Receive Boston Cultural Council Grants

Three popular East Boston non-profits will receive a portion of the latest round of Boston Cultural Council grants totaling $489,000. 

Zumix, the Veronica Robles Cultural Center and Eastie Farms will join 150 other Boston arts and cultural organizations in sharing  $489,000 through the Boston Cultural Council grant program. 

Acting Mayor Kim Janey, together with the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture and the Boston Cultural Council (BCC), made the announcement last week. 

Janey said these grants support the organizations’ general operating expenses, with the goal of enhancing the quality of life in Boston through the arts.

“The arts are integral to ensuring our city is a culturally vibrant place where everyone is able to thrive,” said Janey. “These organizations have done incredible work over the past year to engage our communities during such a difficult time, and we are proud to support them as they continue to carry out this much needed work.”

Over at Zumix, Eastie popular music and performing arts program on Maverick Street, Director of Advancement Kim Dawson said the neighborhood non-profit is planning to use the money to help reinstate community arts events – particularly the Summer Concert series this year and Big Worlds concert series come next fall/winter.  

“We are very much looking forward to bringing back these events and the opportunity for our community to be joyful through music,” said Dawson. 

For the second year in a row, grant amounts were determined by budget size. Organizations with budgets under $2 million received grants between $2,000 and $5,000. This funding strategy aims to better support small- to medium-sized organizations. Organizations were evaluated on a series of criteria, including diversity of the organization, service to historically underrepresented populations, benefit to the public, and reflection of the goals and ideas of the Boston Creates cultural plan.

A virtual reception celebrating this year’s grantees will be livestreamed to the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture’s Facebook page (@ArtsinBoston) on May 20, 2021 from 6-7 p.m. 

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