Twenty-three cultural non profit groups in Massachusetts have received $1.350 million in grants from the National Endowment for the Arts through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.  The awards were announced on July 1, 2020. Among the Massachusetts organizations receiving funds are Boston Symphony Orchestra/Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Boston Lyric Opera Company, Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell, Tupelo Press in North Adams and the Cinema Arts Center in Amherst.  See full list of recipients. Nationwide, 855 organizations—located in every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico—are receiving a total of $44.5 million in non-matching funds to support staff salaries, fees for artists or contractual personnel, and facilities costs. About the National Endowment for the Arts Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the Arts Endowment supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit arts.gov to learn more.