Grant proposals increased in number from 23 in 2003 to 52 in 2019, with a peak of 63 in 2014. Similarly, monetary requests increased from $52,891 in 2003 to $170,392 in 2013, with about $123,000 requested in 2019. The graphs on the left illustrate these trends.

As the graphs also show, the number of grants that we have been able to approve has remained fairly steady, ranging from a low of 7 to a high of 15, even though the number of proposals has increased significantly.

Similarly, the amount of funding that we have provided has hardly changed in the past 15 years, remaining at around $12,000 to $14,000 each year. Thus, whereas in 2003 we were able to fund close to 23% of the requested monies, in 2017, that percentage dropped to 7.6%. In 2018 and 2019, the Board decided to increase the grant amount to increase the fraction to about 11% of the amount requested.

Grant Quality

The quality of grant proposals that we receive has been consistently high. In 2017, for example, of the 44 proposals we received, the grants committee felt that 25 deserved our support. However, because of limited funds we could fund only 11. Those 11 asked for funding in the amount of $37,160, yet we were able to provide only $13,000, less than half the need.

Requests have ranged from support for commissions, to performances of rarely-performed pieces, to New England premieres, to scholarships for children attending music camps, to support for administrative improvements. A brief summary of recently funded proposals funded is included later in this document.

Grant recipients are required to send in project reports once the funded work is complete, in part to ensure that the work has been carried out as intended. Many include remarks indicating the importance of the funding we were able to provide.