When Friends of Prescott, Inc. received general operating support from the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts, Executive Director Megan Donovan and her small team had an ambitious vision: to grow Prescott Community Center into a true regional destination for arts, culture, and lifelong learning. In 2025, that vision became reality, and then some.

The Prescott Community Center offered 425 courses totaling more than 1,100 individual classes last year, generating nearly 3,200 unique enrollments, a 40% increase over 2024. Those enrollments translated into nearly 8,000 visits to the facility, a testament to the kind of sustained engagement that sets Prescott apart from a simple drop-in program.

Arts and culture sit at the heart of the Prescott Community Center's mission. In 2025, 41% of adult programming and fully half of children's programming focused on arts education, and youth arts offerings alone grew by 38% over the prior year. The center also deepened its cultural presence in the broader community, installing the "Heart of Groton" sculpture by artist Ray Ciemny in Prescott Park, launching bi-monthly art receptions in a newly renovated studio space, and watching its monthly Open Mic nights evolve into a thriving network of collaborating musicians.

The numbers tell one story. The people behind them tell another.

Marc, a performer who lives with Parkinson's Disease, shared what Prescott's Open Mic community meant to him after returning to the stage for the first time in years: "I cannot express in words the support I got from this community center. They not only yelled for me to play another song, but when I was done, I received a standing ovation. The coming together of community is scarce these days — the Prescott Center is doing an exceptional job at keeping community alive."

Prescott's reach extended well beyond its home base of Groton in 2025, drawing participants from 82 towns across Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire — up from 75 towns the year before. Youth enrollment climbed 31%, and the center engaged 107 instructors representing a wide range of artists, educators, and subject-matter experts. Partnerships with organizations, including the International Institute of New England, the Town DEI Committee, and Lawrence Academy, deepened Prescott's role as a connector of people and communities.

CFNCM's grant provided more than programming dollars. It gave Prescott's leadership the capacity to step back, examine their data, and plan strategically. That process surfaced an important finding: the center's growth is outpacing its current organizational capacity. In response, Prescott's board has begun developing a three-year strategic plan focused on staffing, facility improvements, and long-term sustainability.

"The grant provided essential breathing room for Prescott to step back and evaluate its operations through a data-informed lens," Donovan wrote in the organization's interim report. The result is an organization that knows where it has been — and has a clear picture of where it's going.

With classes filling at an average of 58% capacity, room for growth remains. If 2025 is any indication, Prescott Community Center is only getting started.