The Arts Extension Service has been at the forefront of creative climate action for over a decade. From Director Dee Boyle-Clapp’s trailblazing course Leading Sustainable and Resilient Organizations (currently being renamed from Greening Your Arts Nonprofit Organization), developed in 2009-2010, to the Creative Women Leading Climate Action Symposium (2020-21) and Creative People Leading Climate Action Exhibit (2021), AES has continued to call attention to the need for arts and cultural engagement in the movement for climate justice, and has developed resources, trainings, and pathways for organizational success.
Thank you to the Fine Arts Center for their collaboration in their recent Art Sustainability Activism Series. Watch Director Dee Boyle-Clapp's panel on Clean Energy in the Cultural Sector here:
AES offers consulting services for arts and cultural organizations, serving as planner, connector, facilitator, and advocate for the specific needs and realities of partner organizations and the larger sector. AES’s approach embraces the whole picture of an organization, helping staff and board plan strategically for clean energy and climate action and build momentum all the way through to funding and implementation.
AES’s innovative Culture for Climate Action trainings and workshops support organizational leaders in realizing the unique potential of their organization to engage staff and board members, shape programming and community outreach, and/or transform policies and facilities so that the organization is climate-ready and contributing actively to the readiness of their town, city, region, state, and beyond. Through this work, AES is helping organizations evolve their internal cultures toward equitable and inclusive sustainability and resilience and in the process shaping the future of the sector as a whole.
Past Speaking Engagements
Creative Culture, Vienna University (virtual), The Role of the City in Culture. January 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018
How Can Arts and Culture Address Climate Change? Full day workshop. February 29, 2020
Oneida Nation, Oneida, WI.
Recent:
Culture for Climate Action Rhode Island
In collaboration with the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, Culture for Climate Action RISCA, is a free virtual webinar series designed by the Arts Extension Service and Culture Climate Strategy to empower Rhode Island arts and cultural organizations to develop, fund, and implement creative climate actions that align with their unique organizational mission, values, and priorities. The three-session series is created for staff and board members from Rhode Island’s arts and cultural sector who own or lease facilities for their organizations and each session will feature a guest presenter from an Rhode Island arts organization who will share the work they are doing to address climate work. Virtual sessions will be held from noon to 1:15 p.m., as follows:
November 20: Evaluating Your Facility and Operations
November 6: Strategies for Organizational Resilience and Sustainability
October 30: Creative Climate Action for a Just Transition
Registration is limited to Rhode Island arts and humanities organizations.
Culture for Climate Action Vermont (Winter-Spring 2024)
AES created and facilitated a virtual workshop series designed to help Vermont arts and cultural heritage organizations plan for and mitigate the climate crisis and utilize their own programming and facilities to enhance organizational and (where possible) community resiliency. Offered in partnership with the Vermont Arts Council and Vermont Arts and Culture Disaster and Resilience Network (VACDaRN), Culture for Climate Action Vermont empowered participating organizations to develop, fund, and implement creative climate actions that align with their unique organizational mission, values, and priorities.
EmPower Massachusetts Innovation and Capacity-Building Grant ($50,000, FY23-24)
AES works with the UMass Clean Energy Extension to provide strategic and technical assistance to partners Double Edge Theatre, Ohketeau Cultural Center, and Paper City Clothing Company to assess their facilities, operations, programming, and other opportunities for clean energy and climate action in alignment with each organization’s unique vision and priorities. Together the project team will map out implementation pathways, identify funding and financing opportunities, and document the process, outcomes, and participant experiences for future outreach and education across the sector, emphasizing small to medium sized organizations for whom this work is often most challenging to undertake.
Culture for Climate Action Convening (coming Fall 2024/Winter 2025)
The Culture for Climate Action Convening will create a platform for organizations and individual artists to share ideas, gather inspiration, and highlight examples of successful climate action in the arts and culture sector in New England. In the process participants will support the development of a vision for climate action across the sector that responds to the unique needs and strengths of the region so that together we can engage in equitable, inclusive, transformative climate action.
Council on the Uncertain Human Future - UMass Amherst (2022-present)
AES Director Dee Boyle-Clapp participates in the UMass Amherst Chapter of the Council on the Uncertain Human Future, a convening of faculty and staff from across campus designed as “an intentional practice through which we acknowledge the climate and ecological breakdown underway‚ and the socio-political forces driving (and being driven) by it” and took part in the virtual, monthly, council meetings focusing on climate, climate grief, and practices to address them.
Learn more about the UMass Amherst Chapter.
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Past:
Creative Women Leading Climate Action (2020-2021)
In the Fall of 2020 and Spring of 2021 the Creative Women Leading Climate Action engaged women and nonbinary people in building an intergenerational network with a shared goal of creative climate action. This virtual symposium highlighted artists and arts professionals responding to climate change and provides opportunities for students to both learn from arts leaders and forge their own network as they pursue leadership in arts and activism fields. The events were open to UMass and Five College students, faculty, and staff, as well as artists and professionals at large.
UMass Campus Climate Resiliency Plan Workshops (2021)
AES participated in a series of stakeholder workshops designed to inform the development of the UMass Amherst Campus Climate Resiliency Plan. The workshops considered the many ways in which UMass Amherst can better prepare for and respond to climate disaster events while building capacity for continuous implementation across the campus. The Campus Climate Resiliency Plan addresses the following five focus areas: social equity and governance; health and wellbeing; economy and society; infrastructure and environment; and leadership and strategy.
The following are grants and financing resource opportunities open to arts and culture organizations
Tax Incentives
Direct Pay (Elective Pay)
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5817.pdf
Eligibility: Tax-exempt organizations and others (see link for details).
Deadlines: Claimed on annual tax returns.
Project types: Solar panels, electric vehicles (EVs), EV charging.
Award: Up to 30% of the cost of installing solar panels and EV chargers; up to $40,000 back from the
purchase of commercial clean vehicles.
Match requirement: None.
Notes: For the first time, Direct Pay makes nonprofit entities eligible to benefit from tax incentives normally reserved for for-profit organizations. PennEnvironment has put together a user-friendly summary of available incentives for nonprofits.
Utility Programs, Rebates, and Incentives
Mass Save
https://www.masssave.com/en/business
Eligibility: Businesses (including nonprofits).
Deadlines: Rolling applications.
Project types: Free building energy assessments, rebates and incentives for energy efficiency.
Match requirement: None.
Notes: Mass Save provides technical assistance to support customers to access rebates and
incentives, as well as integrating clean energy into new construction or major renovation projects. Not all municipalities in Massachusetts are part of the Mass Save program. If your city or town has its own municipal utility (a.k.a. Municipal Light Plant or MLP), check with them to find out about their energy efficiency offerings. You can find a list of communities served by MLPs here.
Federal Grants
Climate Smart Humanities Organizations
https://www.neh.gov/program/climate-smart-humanities-organizations-0
Eligibility: nonprofit humanities organizations recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; accredited institutions of higher education (public or nonprofit); state and local governments and their agencies; federally recognized Native American Tribal governments.
Deadlines: September 17, 2025.
Project types: Eligible activities include energy audits, risk assessments, and meetings with
consultants. Projects will result in climate smart plans to help you establish goals and prioritize actions.
Match requirement: Yes, 1:1, third-party, non-federal gifts.
Regional Grants - New England
EPA Region 1 Thriving Communities Grants
https://environmentaljusticenewengland.org/grants/
Eligibility: New England community-based organizations, environmental justice organizations,
nonprofits, Tribal governments (both federally and state recognized), and other entities representing underserved, urban, rural, Indigenous, remote, and capacity-constrained communities. Projects must focus on at least one “disadvantaged community” as indicated on this map or make a case for why they propose a project outside this area. Seed Funds are specifically for capacity-constrained organizations (4 paid employees or less), Tiers 1-3 are general.
Deadlines: Applications accepted on a rolling basis, with quarterly reviews, until all the funding is awarded. Upcoming review deadlines: February 14, 2025; May 16, 2025. Additional funding rounds anticipated for August 2025, November 2025, January 2026, and April 2026.
Project types: All projects must seed and/or build capacity for a sustainable environmental justice movement to address environmental hazards, climate resiliency, and energy justice, and build livable and healthy communities. Projects can address, but are not limited to: Environmental health; Air, soil, and water quality; Healthy homes; Access to healthy food; Stormwater and green infrastructure; Clean-up projects; Emergency Preparedness; Environmental job training.
Match requirement: None.
State Grants - Massachusetts
Mass Cultural Council Cultural Facilities Fund
https://massculturalcouncil.org/organizations/cultural-facilities-fund/
Eligibility: Nonprofit cultural organizations, municipalities, and colleges or universities in
Massachusetts that own cultural facilities.
Deadlines: Annual, typically in the fall.
Project types: Acquisition, design, repair, rehabilitation, renovation, expansion, or construction of nonprofit cultural facilities, including clean energy projects.
Match requirement: 1:1 cash match requirement, non-State sources.
Notes: Although the Cultural Facilities Fund is a general fund that can be used for many project types, there is an enormous opportunity to integrate clean energy and sustainability into your organization’s visions and plans for renovation, expansion, or new construction.
EmPower Massachusetts
https://www.masscec.com/program/empower-massachusetts
Eligibility: MassCEC seeks a wide variety of applicants/participants, such as: Community-based organizations (CBOs), non-profits, and individuals; Federally Recognized and State-Acknowledged Tribes; Municipalities (including those with municipal electric departments/companies); Clean energy installers/implementers; Financial institutions; and more. All applicants that do not have a history of working with Priority Groups must apply with at least one partner that does.
Deadlines: April 3, 2025. Typically two funding rounds per year, one in spring and one in fall.
Project types: Clean energy. Two grant opportunities: Innovation & Capacity Building, and
Implementation. Innovation and Capacity Building Grants are "seed" funding for the exploration of innovative ideas for potential program models or projects, including the opportunity to build community or organizational capacity. Implementation grants provide funding to implement community-based programs or projects that increase access to the benefits of clean energy to and/or reduce energy burden on previously underserved population priority groups.
Match requirement: None.
Notes: Priority Groups are defined as meeting one or more of the following criteria: “Environmental Justice Populations” (as defined by the Massachusetts Department of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Environmental Justice Policy); renters (primarily residential); and/or communities or individuals disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, by the fossil-fuel based energy system, or other environmental hazards (e.g., air quality or heat).
Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Action Grants
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/mvp-action-grant
Eligibility: Massachusetts municipalities who have completed the MVP Planning Grant. As of writing, all MA municipalities are eligible except Alford and Phillipston. Although MVP Action Grants are only available to municipalities, many arts and culture organizations have now been involved in MVP-funded projects as paid community partners or liaisons. This can be a great way to support community-based work that your organization may already be doing, while making new connections to municipal climate initiatives.
Deadlines: Annual, typically late spring.
Project types: Climate resilience projects. Clean energy and nature-based solutions are strongly prioritized, along with projects that center equitable community engagement.
Match requirement: 10% match required from non-State sources. Some municipalities may be eligible for an exemption from the match requirement. See the Request for Proposals for more information.
Private Philanthropy
Frankenthaler Climate Initiative Grants
https://www.frankenthalerclimateinitiative.org/
Eligibility: Arts organizations with a clear visual arts focus.
Deadlines: Annual, typically in the winter.
Project types: Organizational decarbonization. Catalyst Grants support first actions, small spaces, or stand-alone projects with a quick turnaround; Scoping Grants help institutions understand their current emissions footprint through audits and assessments while identifying clean energy options; Technical Assistance Grants help institutions develop, specify, and accurately plan for ambitious, technically sophisticated projects; and Implementation Grants support holistic, transformative, and complex initiatives that address an institution’s climate impact at multiple levels.
Match requirement: None.
Grant Search Tools & Databases
Database for State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE)
Solidarity Economy Funding Library
https://neweconomy.net/fundinglibrary/
America is All in Federal Climate Funding Hub
https://www.americaisallin.com/federal-climate-funding-hub
America's Federal Funding Opportunities and Resources for Decarbonization (AFFORD)
https://cityrenewables.org/ffold
Other Resources
Green Energy Consumers Alliance
https://www.greenenergyconsumers.org/
Nonprofit based in MA and RI with a mission to empower consumers & communities to speed a just transition to a zero-carbon world through green energy programs, education, & advocacy.
Double Edge Theatre
Double Edge Theatre "is a cultural cooperative and ensemble collective" focused on performing arts and community organization (Double Edge Theatre, 2025).
Ohketeau Cultural Center
Paper City Clothing Company
Paper City Clothing Company was founded to inspire and spark creativity in young people, and to encourage them to "think critically about power and justice in the world" (Paper City Clothing Company, 2025).
Our Campus Partners & Affiliates
- UMass Clean Energy Extension;
- UMass Fine Arts Center;
- Augusta Savage Gallery;
- UMass School of Earth and Sustainability;
- UMass Energy Transition Institute;
- Women of Color Leadership Network;
- UMass Amherst Environmental and Social Action Movement (ESAM).