Concert image for Shout Syndicate

The Shout Syndicate Fund

The Shout Syndicate was formed in 2017 as a vehicle to develop new funders and supporters for Boston’s creative youth development ecology through the local for-profit performing arts sector and national field. This pilot grant program had the following objectives:

  • To provide grants to proven, high-quality creative youth development organizations in need of funding support for youth-centered programming.
  • To provide youth with the opportunity to create and produce artwork of their own making, with stipends provided so they can dedicate time during out-of-school hours.
  • Creative Youth Development organizations are those that “intentionally integrate creative skill-building, inquiry, and expression with positive youth development principles, fueling young people’s imaginations and building critical learning and life skills.” Creative Youth Development (CYD) programs see young people as active agents of their own change, with inherent strengths and skills to be developed and supported. 

The following specific characteristics are essential in quality CYD programs:

  • Provide safe and healthy youth spaces;
  • Are assets-based;
  • Foster the development of positive relationships and social skills;
  • Are youth-driven;
  • Set high expectations for growth and learning; and
  • Address the broader context in which creative youth development operates.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

To learn more about The Shout Syndicate, visit www.theshoutsyndicate.com.

The Shout Syndicate Advisory Council
Ami Bennitt
Josh Bhatti
Tanya Donelly
Rahn Dorsey
Justine Faucher
Jeb Gutelius
Ralph Jaccodine
Mark Kates
Adam Klein
Joyce Linehan
Malik Williams

Congratulations to our 2023 Shout Syndicate grantee partners!

The following organizations were selected as recipients of the 2023 round of grants.
They are:

Boston String Academy, Inc.
Cambridge Community Center, Inc.
Cambridge Community Television
Hyde Square Task Force, Inc.
Jo-Mé Dance Arts
Medicine Wheel dba SPOKE
OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center
Sociedad Latina, Inc.
Transformative Culture Project
Urbano Project, Inc.
ZUMIX, Inc.
Shout Syndicate ZUMIX

Grant Requirements 

  • 501c3 organizations located in Greater Boston;
  • Serving youth in high school, generally ages 15-21;
  • Artistic creation with youth at the center of the process;
  • Stipends based on minimum wage for participating youth;
  • Public sharing of work created at the conclusion of the program;
  • Programs will support both creative youth development and workforce development opportunities for youth;
  • Programs will work with a cohort of at least 3-5 youth;
  • Programs will operate from September to May or June but may propose continuing into the summer months;
  • Programs will provide programming for youth 6-8 hours per week over the 9-month period. However, programs can propose working with more youth for fewer hours per week or for fewer weeks (such as using a semester structure) to serve different groups of youth.

Funding Priorities

  • All disciplines (Theatre, Dance, Visual Art, Music, Literary Art, Media/Film);
  • Established CYD neighborhood-based organizations who prioritize working with youth who have had limited access to these types of out-of-school-time opportunities;
  • We seek organizations that work with a diverse set of recipients that reflect the population of the region.

An information session will be held online June 6 at 11am, EST. Please email Julia Gittleman for details at julia@mgaconsultants.com. 

Pilot Grantees

In September 2019, The Shout Syndicate, in partnership with the Boston Foundation and the Mayor's Office of Arts & Culture, announced the 10 organizations selected to receive the pilot round of grants from The Shout Syndicate Fund. Each grantee received a $20,000 grant, to be used to create youth-led arts programs across Greater Boston. The grantees included:

Grantees and Donors of the Shout Syndicate
Grantees and donors pose together at the announcement of the 2019 grantees from The Shout Syndicate, which was held at the House of Blues, September 12, 2019. (Photo: Suzanne Oulette) 
  • 826 Boston
  • Cambridge Community Center
  • Hyde Square Task Force
  • OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center
  • Raw Art Works
  • Sociedad Latina
  • The Theater Offensive
  • Transformative Culture Project
  • Urbano Project
  • ZUMIX 

Click here to read the grant announcement press release.

Partnership

Like its first, this new granting round is in partnership with Boston’s Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture’s Boston Creates long-term cultural plan. 

Donors

The Shout Syndicate thanks all of its donors including Live Nation New England, The Bowery Presents, Broadway in Boston, the Foundation to Be Named Later, the Boston Foundation, Judd Apatow, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Frank Turner, and Letters to Cleo.