In this politically charged season, the Mattapoisett Cultural Council is looking to sponsor some nonpartisan partnerships and new projects with its annual cultural grants.

Chair Cheryl Belknap said the value of cultural projects in a community is what led her to join the Council.

“They give opportunities to be in a public setting in a non-confrontational way,” said Belknap. “We’re in a divisive time. This is a real positive force we can all organize ourselves around.”

For years, the Council, which is a local branch of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, has offered small grants to organizations such as the Mattapoisett Lions Club, the Friends of Old Rochester Drama and the Tri-County Music Association.

This year the group sought to encourage those in the humanities and sciences to think bigger. Members of the Council spoke with the schools, theater groups and others before releasing the new application criteria.

“What came back to us was most of all a lack of understanding about the potential,” said Belnap.

In response, the council made the application simpler, added a new focus and encouraged individuals and organizations to team up with other groups to multiply the cultural impact.

“We see wonderful applications for people who might not be served already, but that are representing a relatively small audience,” said Belknap. “We want to get the money to more than it might otherwise get to.”

In addition to partnerships, the Council is keeping an eye out for projects that fall into the “interpretive sciences” category defined as "engaging people of all ages in learning about nature, science and technology in ways that explain how they relate to people’s lives."

Although the Council has a modest granting budget of $4,191, Belknap believes a few hundred dollars could help new projects move to the next step.

“After years of doing this, you see the same ones again and again,” she said. “That’s not a criticism. We have wonderful things in our community we need to sustain over time, but part of our responsibility is to create that spark.”

Applications are available online at http://www.mass-culture.org/Mattapoisett and at the Town Hall.