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Bedford Cultural Council narrows FY26 grant language, plans April reception and community survey
Summary
At its Jan. 21 meeting the Bedford Cultural Council reviewed FY26 grant guidelines and priorities, proposed removing a requirement about partial funding, agreed to a late-April/early-May community survey, and discussed an April reception for grant recipients.
The Bedford Cultural Council reviewed proposed changes to its FY26 grant guidelines and priorities and moved to prepare outreach and events tied to the current award cycle.
Chair Barb Purchia called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. and the council accepted the Dec. 11, 2025 minutes on a motion from Ellen Hurley with a second from Carol Epple; the vote was recorded as 8 Ayes and the chair will sign and forward the minutes to the Town Clerk.
In a brief treasurer's report, Treasurer Annemarie Creason said FY25 reimbursements are complete and FY26 reimbursements have begun. Member Deb Edinger reported she has mailed 37 grant award letters as part of the FY26 awards process.
On the substantive agenda, members reviewed FY26 priorities and local guidelines and discussed edits intended to make expectations clearer for applicants. Council members proposed removing a sentence in guideline #2 that said events must be able to proceed with only partial funding of the requested amount. The council also discussed rewriting the priority statement to emphasize projects that provide public benefit to Bedford residents.
Members noted that prior community input survey responses skewed toward older residents and discussed ways to broaden participation to middle-aged Bedford residents. The council agreed the community input survey should be aligned with the FY26 priorities; Deb Edinger and Chair Barb Purchia will begin work on the survey, with plans to distribute it in late April or early May.
The council also discussed outreach and promotion: members recommended using social media to highlight grant recipients and asked for volunteers to support and manage those communications efforts. For a grant recipient reception, members reported visiting the Barrett Sotheby office, which indicated willingness to host; the group suggested an open-house format and discussed scheduling the reception in April 2026.
The council set its next meeting for Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, via Zoom at 7 p.m. Heather Cooprider moved to adjourn; Mike Albert seconded and the meeting was adjourned at 7:47 p.m.
