creative county
grants
Through 2022, ECCF will invest over $400,000 in new collaborative placemaking and public art projects encouraging partnerships between the arts, municipal, business, and philanthropic sectors.
our goals for creative county grants
- Deepen engagement and investment in the creative sector
- Enhance the visibility, reputation and new funding avenues for the arts
- Inspire collaborative placemaking and public art projects by providing tools, templates, and best practices
- Increase capacity for cross-sector work and leadership development
2021 creative county grantees
past creative county grantees
In 2018 ECCF invested more than $300,000 in the 12 collaborative art and culture projects below. Learn more.

ECCF’s Creative County work is powered by the contributions of our generous community.
creative county grants map
news
ECCF Announces Next Cohort of Creative County ChangeMakers
Danvers, MA --- Essex County Community Foundation is excited to announce the second cohort of creative leaders who will participate in the foundation’s Creative County ChangeMakers program, set to begin March 28. Twelve artists, nonprofit and municipal heads will...
New placemaking project helps grow food and community
Creative County supports agriCulture, a new gathering spot in Gloucester By Michelle Xiarhos Curran Nonprofit Backyard Growers built the community garden at Willowood, a Gloucester Housing Authority development, in 2017, and they have managed it ever since. In the...
Column: Arts equity and opportunity the focus of latest work by Creative County
COLUMN IN THE SALEM NEWSBy Karen Ristuben SEE ORIGINAL COLUMN IN THE SALEM NEWS HERE. Artists will always make art. They will forever paint, play music, dance, create stories and bring those stories to life on stage. But now more than ever before, artists and arts and...
ECCF’s ‘ChangeMakers’ Spark Partnerships, Big Ideas for Arts and Culture in Essex County
ECCF’s ‘ChangeMakers’ Spark Partnerships, Big Ideas for Arts and Culture in Essex County By Michelle Xiarhos Curran Red Rock Park, located on Lynn’s eastern shore, is an expanse of green that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a little piece of paradise on the...
Essex County Creative Economy to Get Boost from State Grant
ECCF-led virtual platform will distribute and promote region’s digital creative content Essex County’s cultural organizations and artists will soon have a powerful tool to aid in their economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to a $230,000 grant from the...
get in touch

Karen Ristuben
Program Director
Creative County Initiative
k.ristuben@eccf.org
community voices
“The work of ECCF’s Creative County Initiative to illuminate the Ayer Mill Clock Tower, provide funding for the Lawrence Public Library mural project, and support Iluminaçion Lawrence overall is a powerful catalyst to celebrate the city’s spirit of resilience and incredible sense of community.”
– MAYOR DAN RIVERA, CITY OF LAWRENCE
how can we help?
We would love to hear from you.