Tribal Cultural Council Program

Application Process

As part of our work to promote equity, in 2024 Mass Cultural Council worked with a task force of Native American and Indigenous leaders and the Massachusetts’ Commission on Indian Affairs to establish a regranting program – fashioned after the Local Cultural Council Program – for Tribal governments in recognition of their inherent Tribal sovereignty and right to self-determination.

This new Tribal Cultural Council (TCC) Program supports projects that advance the Commonwealth’s creative sector and address cultural needs specific to their communities. Contact your TCC to apply for a grant.

How to Apply

Questions about the TCC Program in general or application requirements for TCCs? Contact us.

About the TCC Program

Mass Cultural Council distributes funds to Tribal Cultural Councils, who then regrant funds to arts, humanities, and science projects in their own communities. The program is administered by Tribal government appointed volunteers serving statewide.

A hallmark of the TCC Program is the emphasis on local autonomy and decision making. TCCs are free to make funding decisions that best meet the particular needs and priorities of their community within the parameters of the broad state guidelines. Each TCC determines its own local eligibility requirements based on a community input process and these are incorporated into their local priorities and published to their Council Profile.

The TCC application process can be quite competitive. Because of the large number of requests and the limited funds available for regranting, many TCCs receive more applications than they can fully, or even partially, fund. TCC grants vary by council and are determined by each TCC. Mass Cultural Council strongly encourages TCCs make awards of no less than a minimum of $250 to each approved application. Average grants tend to be modest ($500-$750) and are either reimbursement-based, meaning the applicant expends their own money, and if approved for a grant, then submits paperwork for reimbursement or directly-granted, meaning funding is provided up front to approved applicants and requires the applicant submit a W-9, grant agreement, and final report. Each TCC stipulates whether they provide reimbursement or direct grants on their Council Profile.

Applicants complete their applications online and submit them directly to the TCC to whom they are applying through the online system by the TCC’s posted deadline. While all TCCs use the same basic application form, some may require supplemental materials from their applicants. These can be uploaded and attached to your online application. Before submitting an application, applicants should read the TCC’s local guidelines and priorities for additional instructions.

Unless a Tribal Cultural Council prohibits the practice, it may be possible to submit more than one application to an TCC. However, because the demand for TCC funds far exceeds the supply, applicants should first contact their TCC to discuss whether or not it makes sense to submit more than one application or to prioritize the applications.

If an applicant feels that a program will provide benefit to more than one community, they may submit an application to more than one TCC.

Guidelines Overview

In order to apply for an TCC grant, applicants must meet all eligibility and criteria requirements of the TCC Program. TCCs make funding decisions that best meet the particular needs and priorities of their community within the parameters of the state guidelines and local priorities. Key aspects of the eligibility requirements for TCC grants and criteria for funding are discussed below, as well as the few restrictions that Mass Cultural Council imposes on state funds. For more detailed information, please refer to the full TCC Program guidelines (PDF).

ELIGIBILITY

Application deadline: All applicants must submit completed applications by the TCC’s posted deadline. Late applications cannot be accepted.

Types of grants: A TCC may approve grants for a broad range of projects and programs, such as operating support, ticket subsidies, field trips, artist residencies, public art, fellowships, community events/programs, site specific projects, and other activities, based on local priorities. Each TCC determines its own local eligibility requirements based on a community engagement process.

Program eligibility: Applicants may apply for grants for programs that take place during an 18-month window of eligibility between July 1, preceding the application deadline through December 31 of the following year. This means that applicants may apply for projects that have already happened or which happen prior to TCCs’ grant announcements, with the knowledge that funding is not guaranteed. TCCs are authorized to establish a smaller window of eligibility; if they chose to do so, the date range will be posted in their local priorities.

Applicant eligibility: Applicants must reside in, be located in, or have ties to the land that is currently known as “Massachusetts”. If applicants currently reside or are located outside the geographic boundaries of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, ideally their project or program would take place within Massachusetts. TCCs may accept applications from anyone included in the following list. TCCs are authorized to prioritize eligible applicant types or limit which types of applicants they fund; if they do so, they must publish the eligibility in their local guidelines:

• Individuals. Individual applicants, which includes sole proprietors, must show that a public benefit results from the project for which they are applying.
• Incorporated nonprofit organizations. Organizations incorporated as nonprofits with the Secretary of the Commonwealth. 
• Unincorporated associations. A group of individuals coming together with a common purpose (e.g., local community band, theater group) that do not have nonprofit status.
• Incorporated for-profit organizations. For-profit organizations incorporated with a Tribal government or the Secretary of the Commonwealth. This includes corporations, partnerships, and Limited Liability Companies (LLC). Applicants must show that a community benefit results from the project for which they are applying.
• Tribal, federal, state, and municipal government organizations. This includes any governmental entity such as public schools, libraries, other municipal agencies, and the Tribal Cultural Council itself. 
• Religious organizations. TCCs cannot fund activities that are “inherently religious” such as religious worship, instruction, and proselytization. Religious organizations or groups with a religious affiliation are eligible to apply for funding for a project or program that:
  • Is available to the general public.
  • Has purpose of benefiting the public, not the religious organization.

CRITERIA

Tribal Cultural Councils use the first three rules listed below in the review of all funding decisions. All three rules are equally important. Additionally, TCCs have the option of developing local review criteria and may decide how to weigh their importance:

1. Arts, Humanities, and Sciences
2. Community Benefit
3. Non-Discrimination
4. Local Priorities

Arts, Humanities, and Sciences
TCC funds may only be used to support programs in the arts, humanities, and sciences in Massachusetts. This definition includes the study, pursuit, performance, exhibition, and appreciation of cultural activities in the broadest sense.

How does Mass Cultural Council define the arts, humanities, and/or sciences?

• Arts refer to the creation of work in the crafts and performing, visual, media, folk, design, literary, and inter-disciplinary arts. In addition, they also include the presentation and preservation of, and education about works in these disciplines.
• Humanities are types of learning that deal with human values and aspirations, human thought and culture, language, and creativity. Examples include, but are not limited to, history, social studies, philosophy, criticism, and literature.
• Sciences are limited to its cultural, interpretive, and educational expression and refers to types of learning that deal with nature, science, and technology in ways that explain how they relate to people’s lives. Some organizations that conduct this type of activity include aquariums, botanical gardens, nature centers, natural history museums, planetariums, and science centers.

Community Benefit
TCC funds must support activities that contribute to the cultural vitality of the community rather than benefiting any private individual or group. However, this does not mean that a large crowd of people needs to participate to satisfy the community benefit requirement. Whenever possible, activities funded by TCCs should be available to the community by exhibit, performance, demonstration, reading, or other means. An important component of community benefit is advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. Programs do not need to be in-person to provide community benefit. Virtual and remote programming are also effective ways to make programming available to the community.

In looking at the requirement of applicants to offer benefit to a community, TCCs should look towards responses from their community input process to better inform their local priorities.

Non-Discrimination
In accordance with state law, TCCs may not discriminate against applicants on the basis of race, gender, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, sexual orientation or age, nor may they fund projects that discriminate on the basis of these attributes.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that persons with disabilities have access to public programs or services on an equal basis with the rest of the general public. Furthermore, federal law mandates that any programs or service that receives federal or state funding must be accessible to persons with disabilities and there must be reasonable accommodation made to provide an accessible environment. Therefore, all events and programs funded by the TCCs must consider access for persons with disabilities, including the facility or event location as well as the content of the program. To ensure equitable access, an applicant’s first step is a candid assessment and identification of barriers (physical, virtual, cultural, communication) followed by a bold and innovative plan for improvement.

If an applicant puts forward a proposal for a project with strong potential for public benefit, but the Tribal Cultural Council has concerns about access for persons with disabilities, the TCC may choose to award a conditional approval (see page 15 of the TCC Program guidelines). This would allow the applicant the opportunity address the concerns and improve access as a condition of receiving the grant.

Local Priorities
TCCs are authorized to develop additional criteria and may give different weight to their criteria in order to reflect local concerns and community cultural needs. Local priorities will be posted on this web site prior to their grant cycle opening for applications.

TCCs have the authority to determine their own local priorities and criteria each year.

RECONSIDERATION

An applicant may request reconsideration of an TCC decision on his or her application if the applicant can demonstrate that the TCC failed to follow published state guidelines and local priorities. Dissatisfaction with the denial of an application or with the amount of an award does not constitute grounds for reconsideration.

Reconsideration requests should be made via email. The request must be sent to Mass Cultural Council at our email address (communities@mass.gov) within 15 days of the notification date on the disapproval letter (timestamp on email). Business days, weekends, and holidays count toward the 15-day limit. The applicant should also send a copy of the request to the TCC. The request should include:

• The TCC’s disapproval notification to the applicant.
• The applicant’s reason for requesting reconsideration stating how the TCC failed to follow published state guidelines or local criteria.

Within 15 days of receiving a reconsideration request, Mass Cultural Council will determine if the applicant has grounds for reconsideration, and will notify both the applicant and TCC of its decision via email.

If Mass Cultural Council determines that the applicant has grounds for reconsideration, the TCC must convene a quorum of members and review the application, as if for the first time. Following all published state guidelines and local priorities, the TCC must decide whether to approve or deny the grant request and must notify the applicant of the final determination in writing.

Grant Payment

Read more about the Reimbursement and Direct Grant payment processes in the full TCC Program Guidelines (PDF).

Tax implications to grantees. TCCs and grantees should be advised that grant payments can be considered taxable income depending on a variety of factors. Most recipients of grant payments will be required to complete a W-9. Recipients should discuss the impact of any grant payment on their tax filings with a tax professional. Individuals who are the recipient of income-based benefits should not receive payment without first contacting the agency or agencies providing the benefits as one-time payments can disrupt benefits.

FY25 Timeline

FY25 marks is the launch of the Tribal Cultural Council Program. As a result, each TCC will have different timelines. Please see each TCC’s Council Profile for more information.

Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribal Cultural Council (HWPTCC):

• September 12, 2024: Local Guidelines and Priorities Published
• November 1, 2024: Application Deadline
• January 2025: Decisions finalized and announced

Grants Management System

All applicants should submit their applications through the online system.

To access Mass Cultural Council’s grants management system, a user account using a unique email address (your username) with a secure password is required. Each user also completes a personal profile (“My Profile”).

If you are a TCC applicant and have not applied to any other Mass Cultural Council programs, or are applying for an TCC grant for the first time, you do not have a record in the new system. Click “Register” to create a new user account/password and then select a profile type (individual or organization) to register.

• Register as an Individual if you are applying for a grant for yourself or a project you are leading. In this case you will be considered the applicant and grantee.
• Register as an Organization if you are applying for a grant on behalf of an organization, school, town, or other group. In this case the organization is the applicant and grant recipient and you are the primary contact for the application.​

Start typing your organization’s name, select your organization from the list, and then complete your contact information. If your organization is not listed, follow the directions to add your organization information and your contact information to register your organization manually.

Applicants who have previously applied for LCC grants AND other Mass Cultural Council grants are likely to have a record in the new grants management system.

To see if you already have a record, go to the grants management system and click “Forgot password?” Enter your email address. If the email you entered matches the one in our system, you will be sent an email from “masscultural_noreply@smartsimple.com” with instructions for resetting your password.

Proceed to the Online Application