Revere Cultural Council opens grant cycle; applications due Oct. 16, council to vote Nov. 13

The Revere Cultural Council said applications for its 2025 grant cycle opened Sept. 2 and must be submitted by Oct. 16, with the council set to review proposals at a public meeting on Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. and to finalize funding amounts in December. "The applications for the grants, have opened on September 2," Council Chair Rocky Graziano said during the Sept. 11 meeting.

The deadline matters because the council operates as a reimbursement program and applicants must front project costs before receiving funds. "We are a reimbursement council," Graziano said in response to a member question about whether any projects are funded up front.

Council members said they will independently score applications before discussing them as a body and that the November meeting will determine which projects the council wants to move forward to funding; the monetary awards will be set at a December meeting. "We're going to independently review the applications on our own," Graziano said. He also told applicants that more detail in proposals helps the council make fair decisions: "Please, please, please, more information is better."

The council described the post-vote notification process and an opportunity to appeal. Members said denials will be entered into the system after voting and applicants will have a 15-day reconsideration (appeal) period; the meeting did not specify exact calendar dates for final denials. Council member Debbie West reminded applicants the Mass Cultural Council website and posted videos explain the timeline and procedures.

Council members also discussed internal steps to make evaluation consistent. Graziano said he will distribute a sample score sheet from the Mass Cultural Council toolkit to council members for feedback before the voting meeting. "I will share that via email to everybody so that we can take a look at it and provide feedback," he said.

Outreach and application support were emphasized throughout the meeting. Councilors reported tabling and flyer distribution at the Revere Beach Farmers Market, local libraries, schools and community events, and said the council will continue bilingual (English and Spanish) outreach. Vice Chair Jay (Jaime) Jimenez said the council’s Linktree and Instagram include links to the Mass Cultural Council application and the Revere Cultural Council’s guidelines and priorities.

No formal funding decisions were made at the Sept. 11 meeting; members urged applicants to attend the Nov. 13 meeting if they want to answer questions in person. "If you submit a project, I would highly, highly, highly encourage you to be here," Graziano said. "If you have a project that you really are really, really wanna make a play for it, that would be the time to to come in here, address us."