FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 25, 2007

Contact: Gregory Liakos, Communications Director 617-727-3668 x343
or Rob Watson, Communications Coordinator 617-727-3668 x268

CULTURAL FUNDING SUPPORTS ORGANIZATIONS, COMMUNITIES AND EDUCATION

The Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) today announced nearly $8 million in new funding for organizations, communities, and schools across the Commonwealth. These grants support arts and culture in public education, stimulate economic activity, and expand access to the arts, humanities, and sciences in every community in Massachusetts.

In July the Massachusetts Legislature ratified a budget that boosted the MCC’s appropriation by $147,000, to $12.3 million. This small increase has allowed the MCC to maintain level funding for its core grant programs.

“Our state’s continued investment in arts and culture this year allows us to sustain our support for organizations, local cultural councils, and education,” says Anita Walker, MCC’s Executive Director. “These grants will help Massachusetts keep a competitive edge by strengthening our arts and cultural institutions and investing in young minds.”

The grants are awarded after a competitive peer review process in the following programs:

Organizational Support, $4 million
Organizational Support provides unrestricted operating funds to nearly 400 arts, humanities, and science organizations with track records of excellence, education, and community service. These organizations allow Massachusetts children and adults to experience everything from theatre and music to visual arts and dance, and learn about history and nature, new languages and cultures. These three-year grants must be matched one to one, and range from $2,500 to $62,500.

Local Cultural Council Program (LCC), $2.65 million
The LCC Program is the most extensive cultural funding system of its kind in the nation. This grassroots network provides funding to every Massachusetts city and town through 329 LCCs and 2,500 volunteers. The councils support projects that explore local arts and history, expand education and accessibility, and celebrate diversity. This year allocations range from $4,000 for the smallest towns to roughly $89,000 for Worcester and $160,000 for Boston, according to a formula that reflects the state’s local aid system.

Creative Minds for a Creative Economy, $1.1 million
This wide array of grants, services and advocacy programs seeks to fuel the growth of our state's economy by promoting an educational infrastructure that nurtures creativity and innovation in the next generation of workers.

• Creative Schools, $406,180
  The Creative Schools program funds schools and districts working to integrate arts and culture into the curriculum, many in partnership with cultural organizations and artist-educators. This is the second year of two-year grants for 35 Creative Schools.


• YouthReach, $451,680
  MCC’s nationally renowned YouthReach Initiative supports partnerships between cultural and community organizations that integrate rigorous out-of-school arts opportunities for youth at risk of failure because of poverty, illness, crime, or neglect. The grants will fund 37 YouthReach programs across the state.


• Other Creative Minds Initiatives, $250,000
  These initiatives include Poetry Out Loud, an NEA-sponsored poetry recitation contest for high school students; Explorations in Puerto Rican Culture, a multi-year partnership with the Springfield Public Schools to integrate Puerto Rican arts and culture into classrooms; and Creative Teaching Partner Fellowships, grants to support residencies of master teaching artists in schools.

About the Massachusetts Cultural Council
The Massachusetts Cultural Council is a state agency that promotes excellence, access, education, and diversity in the arts, humanities, and sciences, to improve the quality of life for all Massachusetts residents and contribute to the economic vitality of our communities.

The MCC pursues this mission through a combination of grants, services, and advocacy for nonprofit cultural organizations, schools, communities, and artists. MCC's budget for the current fiscal year is $13.4 million, including $12.3 million from the state of Massachusetts and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Wallace Foundation, and other sources.

For more information, please visit www.massculturalcouncil.org or call 617-727-3668.