In the Fall of 2020, we were thrilled to announce that RIRJ Boston made 10 grants of $1,000 and 6 grants of $40,000! Originally, RIRJ was planning to award 15 grants in three amounts: 10 grants of $1,000; 2 grants of $25,000; 3 grants of $40,000. The RIRJ process has sought to be deeply responsive to our world - our challenges and our opportunities. Thanks to additional funding from our partner, the Surdna Foundation, we were able to increase the original funding of the awarded $25K applications to $40K. We were also able to make a 6th award of $40,000.

During the application process in the spring and summer of 2020, applicants with specific questions about proposal ideas, budgets, the application process, or anything else related to RIRJ were able to sign up for Office Hours. These were half hour time slots to review any questions about the grant process with a member of the RIRJ team.

All applications were reviewed by community-based panels made up of members who identify as BIPOC, and who represented a broad spectrum of ages, backgrounds, and experiences. Reviewers considered a range of factors in selecting artists and creatives for these grants: artistic medium, creative practice, age, cultural background, experience, imagination, connection with community, vision for justice, feasibility, etc.

The RIRJ team was thrilled to receive over 300 applications. In response to the amazing number of people who saw themselves in this opportunity, we felt it necessary to form two review panels, one for the $1K grants, and one for the large grants. Click here to see a list of reviewers for the RIRJ process.

• BIPOC artists, creatives, makers, and/or culture workers who live and/or work in Boston

• Artists / creatives at least 14 years old

• MA residents

• Collectives could apply. We respectfully requested one point of contact for the application(s).