Asian Community Fund Narrative Change Grants: FY2026 Application
Applications close: Wednesday, February 11 at 5:00 p.m.
About the AAPI Arts & Culture Collaborative
The AAPI Arts & Culture Collaborative is a key initiative of the Asian Community Fund that convenes and catalyzes the AAPI arts and culture ecosystem across Massachusetts to take collective action and drive policy and systems change.
Since its inception, the Collaborative has engaged 280+ AAPI arts leaders, creatives, and allies across the state, and mobilized 70 individuals to participate in working groups focused on three strategic pillars:
- Asset Mapping—understanding and lifting up the full landscape of AAPI arts and culture
- Narrative Change—shifting how AAPI stories, histories, and contributions are seen and valued
- Advocacy & Funding—strengthening access to resources and public investment
About this Application Cycle
This pilot grant program is intended to support ongoing, expanded, or new artistic projects or community engagements that elevate the narrative change pilot theme of Building, Becoming, and Belonging.
The Asian Community Fund
The Asian Community Fund (ACF) at the Boston Foundation is the first and only philanthropic fund in Massachusetts dedicated to activating, convening, and supporting the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Launched in 2020, ACF is a permanent resource designed to galvanize and unite the diverse ethnicities within our community, incubate new partnerships, and build a stronger advocacy voice.
Pilot Theme: Building, Becoming, and Belonging
AANHPIs are taking control of our own narratives by building our identities, becoming and inhabiting space as Asian, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and American, and carving out our own places of belonging.
AANHPIs have vibrant, varied, and powerfully moving stories to tell. Our histories may be those of those immigrants, refugees, or their children; of families who have been here for generations, or of the indigenous stewards of ancestral lands––one consistent throughline is our resilience, adaptability, strength, and joy.
When we bring our histories and shared strengths together and act collectively, we boldly and bravely create spaces in which we genuinely belong. In strengthening our solidarity, we increase power for our communities and reshape our society together.
Through this grant opportunity, ACF will prioritize projects that work within the Building, Becoming and Belonging theme to achieve ongoing impact through at least one of the following outcomes:
- Amplifying diverse AANHPI stories, creative expression, and community dialogue through artistic and cultural practices including visual, performing, literary, film, digital arts, etc.;
- Creating opportunities by deepening collaborations and intersections among artists, cultural organizations, and/or nonprofit partners;
- Expanding audiences and fostering cross-community understanding by providing new perspectives;
- Strengthening resilience and connectedness across communities through the lens of arts and culture.
Applications must be submitted by Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at 5:00 p.m.
Eligibility Criteria
To apply for this grant:
- The lead applicant must be either:
- An individual artist based in Massachusetts, or
- A 501(c)3 nonprofit organization or an organization that has a qualifying fiscal agent with 501(c)3 status based in Massachusetts.
- The project must be artist-led and meaningfully engage artists, cultural workers, and community members to uplift AANHPI stories.
- Applicants are required to submit a detailed project budget, including other funding sources and information on how funds from this particular grant opportunity will be spent.
Funding Considerations
Proposals will be evaluated based on the depth and reach of the proposed activities, alignment to the AANHPI narrative change pilot theme and priority impact outcomes, and the applicant’s demonstrated track record and the impact and feasibility of their project.- Priority consideration will be given to projects focused on elevating underrepresented AANHPI experiences and/or geographies across Massachusetts.
- Grant amount will range between $5,000-$15,000, and be paid out in one payment at the start of the grant period.
- All activities supported by this grant funding must be completed during the one-year grant period: April 1, 2026 through March 31, 2027.
- Organizations that received funding may be asked to provide a brief update on their experiences and how the funds were spent via a phone call and/or brief survey.
Applicants will be notified of funding decisions by late March 2026, and invited to participate in a public AANHPI narrative change showcase event in May 2026 to showcase their proposed project plans.
How to Apply:
- Visit our Grants Portal to create and/or verify your user account. The Boston Foundation recently updated our grant management system, so we encourage you to activate your account well in advance of submitting your grant.
- Please first try using the "Password Reset" link to access the system, as you may already be in our database. You should receive a password reset email after 10 minutes, with additional prompts and instructions.
- If you do not receive this email, click the "Register" button underneath the Login box and follow the prompts to create a new account.
- For detailed instructions on how to activate your account, please review this guide. If you have any difficulty logging in, please reach out to jobelle.mesa@tbf.org.
- Once in the grant portal, follow the instructions to open the Funding Opportunities and select "ACF Narrative Change FY26".
- Fill out the application, and don’t forget to attach your Organizational Operating Budget (in any format you have it).
Note: Please complete the application on a computer (do not attempt to complete on a hand-held device).
For additional information, please visit tbf.org/acf. If you have any questions about this grant opportunity, please contact Jobelle Mesa at jobelle.mesa@tbf.org.