Tips for LCC/PASS Applicants

• Local criteria and funding priorities vary by town. Contact your LCC before applying.
  Interested applicants (artists, cultural and community-based organizations and schools, residing or organized in Massachusetts) are strongly encouraged to contact each LCC to inquire about any relevant local guidelines before sending in an application. LCCs have a fair amount of autonomy and can determine particular funding guidelines or priorities based on the specific cultural needs of their community. In fact, LCCs receiving $20,000 or more from the MCC are now required to develop local guidelines. It is the applicant's responsibility to investigate how the application process may vary from town to town.
  
  A list of LCC contact information is available online.

• Average grants tend to be modest ($200-$500).
  The MCC provides an annual allocation to each local or regional cultural council. The amount of regranting funds available in a community depends on the size (population) and tax-base of the municipality. A majority of LCCs have a total of less than $3,000 to regrant. Average grant sizes tend to be modest ($200-$500).

• The LCC application process can be quite competitive.
  Because of the large number of requests and the limited regranting funds available, many LCCs receive far more applications than they can fund fully or even partially. As an applicant, you should be prepared not to receive full funding and plan on securing additional financial resources. Documenting other resources in your application budget will help you compete more successfully.

• All LCC grants are reimbursement-based.
  You must complete the project for which funding was approved BEFORE requesting payment of the grant amount from the LCC. Grant recipients submit a reimbursement request form, accompanied with documentation that the project occurred (receipts, cancelled checks, program books), to the LCC awarding the grant. Once the LCC approves the reimbursement request, it is then forwarded to the appropriate municipal employee for payment. The earliest date that an applicant may request reimbursement is affected by the particular LCC's streamlined status.
  
  Some LCCs may be streamlined, which would allow them to receive their funds earlier than non-streamlined LCCs. (Streamlined LCCs receive their money in January. Non-streamlined LCCs receive their money in April.)

• To receive an LCC grant, you must demonstrate a public benefit.
  One of the cornerstones to the LCC Program is that all funded projects must demonstrate a public benefit component. This is particularly important for applicants approaching a community other than the one they live in. You must explain how your project will engage residents.

• Don't apply for activities that should be part of a town budget.
  The MCC provides criteria that LCCs must follow when awarding funds. One of these criteria is the "No Substitution" rule. Schools and libraries should pay special attention to this rule, which prevents LCCs from funding activities that should be paid for through the town budget, such as school bands, drama clubs, and newspapers, or books and audio/video supplies for libraries.
  
  For a full explanation of what constitutes substitution, as well as information on all criteria that LCCs must apply, see "Criteria For Awarding Funds" in the LCC Program Guidelines.

• Certain kinds of grant requests will require additional information.
  Some projects, such as scholarships and capital expenditures, must meet additional criteria to be eligible for LCC funding. Individuals may NOT submit LCC applications for scholarships. However, organizations may request support for scholarship programs and must provide evidence that they will ensure a public benefit component in which the scholarship recipient "gives back" to the community in the form of a lecture, exhibit, master class, performance, etc. Applications requesting funds for capital expenses must show a 2:1 match in the income section of the LCC Application Form and must include responses to supplemental questions.
  
  For more information on capital expenditure requests to LCCs, see the LCC Program Guidelines.