As a non-profit community media center, Brookline Interactive works to support local residents in their creative endeavors each and every day by providing affordable access to production equipment, educational opportunities, and talented staff who can provide well-informed guidance throughout the creative process. Recognizing that creative work is still, indeed, work, we also provide direct financial support through our Multimedia Production Grant initiative. Through this initiative, BIG was able to fund one project submitted by a self-described BIPOC applicant and support creators from other underrepresented communities.

Our 2021 Grant Committee (composed of two BIG board members and three BIG staff members) had the challenging task of selecting grant recipients from a number of thoughtful and diverse project ideas. It is always a challenge to make these decisions and the factors considered were numerous; from the proposed topics to the overall impact BIG’s contribution would have for the creators, our committee members thoughtfully pored over the applications and discussed the proposed projects before making their final decision. 

Throughout the decision making process, committee members lamented not being able to award funding to all of the creators who submitted project proposals. Though our budget did not allow for this, we were able to extend complimentary annual memberships to BIG to all of our applicants this year. This will allow us to provide assistance to these projects via the resources the we offer all BIG members. Without further ado, here are the proposed projects that received grants for our 2021 funding cycle:

Lynne Blaszak – Our Children, Our Town: Fostering in Brookline (Working Title)
A podcast series detailing the ins and outs of fostering children in Brookline. Featuring both practical information and personal anecdotes, this podcast is sure to be a wonderful resource for those interested in supporting local children through fostering.

Kristen Chin – Snow Money
A video documentary featuring Joe, a local show plow operator whose business and future financial security is being impacted by wetter winters and less predictable weather. This character-driven piece provides a personal lens through which audience members can examine the impacts of climate change at the local level.

Klara Kaufman – Exploring Digital Worlds: “K…Cool”
A podcast series exploring the subversive ways in which people make meaning online and the friction between our “real” and digital worlds. This thoughtful examination of digital culture from Kaufman will shine a critical light on this important topic from a youthful perspective.

Congratulations to our awardees and many thanks to all who took the time to share their creative vision with the grant committee! The staff at BIG is excited to assist all of you in making your projects a reality!