Our Commitment to Racial Equity
Working to invest financial, programmatic, and informational resources equitably.
As part of the Agency’s equity work , we’ve launched a Racial Equity Plan outlining some of the internal and external steps we will take to support and encourage an anti-racist cultural sector in the Commonwealth.
Racial equity and decolonization is the primary focus of this plan due to its connection with economic survival in this country and inequities deeply rooted in systems of education, health, home and landownership, disparities, etc.
For the purposes of this plan, we will use the term BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color). We recognize that language is fluid and the intersectional justice movement is redefining terminology regularly.
This plan is the continuation and deepening of Mass Cultural Council’s response to the world’s demands for change. The Agency has learned much in the creation of this plan and will continue to learn. Track our progress using our equity journey map .
A word version of the plan is also available.
What the Racial Equity Plan means for our constituents
Read our Racial Equity Statement .
Read our FAQs about the plan .
Cultural Organizations Close Open The following action steps are designed to support applicants (organizations) receiving grants and services from program areas such as Cultural Investment Portfolio and Gateway ; Cultural Facilities Fund ; Universal Participation Initiative ; Gaming Mitigation Fund ; and CultureRx .
Goal: To center racial equity, build relationships, trust, and sustained investment in the most marginalized and historically underfunded BIPOC applicants, Mass Cultural Council will: July 1, 2021-June 30, 2022
Create an outreach plan, utilizing BIPOC Outreach Coordinators, to engage, connect, meet, welcome and reach prospective and current BIPOC applicants who are not presently or are insufficiently supported by Mass Cultural Council programs by Fall 2021.
Review and revise all steps of the grant-making process with a racial equity lens by Winter of FY22 and implement the new process for FY23 grant cycles.
July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023
Establish procedures to identify, investigate and repair instances of racism, discrimination, or exclusion in our granting by Summer 2022.
Develop capacity building grants, with Council approval, to fund operational infrastructure & professional development costs for BIPOC applicants by Summer 2022.
Ensure that all internal grant review panels have at least equal representation of BIPOC people/non-BIPOC people by Summer 2022.
July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024
Require applicants to provide an annual statement of recent or ongoing anti-racism/racial equity and/or intersectional justice training, policies, reparative processes, or actions by Summer 2023 grant cycle(s).
Design and implement programs which promote the participation of BIPOC applicants to help align our constituents with the Commonwealth’s racial demographics by Summer 2023.
Ongoing
Continuously assess the Agency’s historic and current funding practices using a racial equity lens by conducting annual evaluations and revisions.
Design a process that engages BIPOC cultural workers in the ongoing assessment of our grant making.
Double our grant making to marginalized BIPOC applicants by 2026.
Goal: To perpetuate a culture of anti-racism/racial equity in the cultural sector, Mass Cultural Council will: July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023
Provide, promote, and upgrade our technical assistance and translation services by Summer 2022, with a focus on reaching new BIPOC communities.
Launch a base-level anti-racism/racial equity training program (workshops, seminars, series, etc.) curated by BIPOC authors/creatives/consultants/facilitators and partners to the field by Summer 2022.
Develop a toolkit of best practices for creating and implementing organizational Racial Equity Plans for the cultural sector by Summer 2022.
July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024
Work with a consultant to design, build and launch a complimentary self-administered Cultural Equity Index to diagnose and recommend corrective suggestions as an aid for applicants wishing to build capacity for equity and decolonization by Summer of 2023.
Artists/Individuals Close Open The following action steps are designed to support applicants (artists and cultural workers) receiving grants and services from program areas such as Artist Fellowships and Traditional Arts Apprenticeships .
Goal: To center racial equity, build relationships, trust, and sustained investment in the most marginalized and historically underfunded BIPOC applicants, Mass Cultural Council will: July 1, 2021-June 30, 2022
Create an outreach plan, utilizing BIPOC Outreach Coordinators, to engage, connect, meet, welcome and reach prospective and current BIPOC applicants who are not presently or are insufficiently supported by Mass Cultural Council programs by Fall 2021.
Review and revise all steps of the grant-making process with a racial equity lens by Winter of FY22 and implement the new process for FY23 grant cycles.
July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023
Establish procedures to identify, investigate and repair instances of racism, discrimination, or exclusion in our granting by Summer 2022.
Require applicants to provide an annual statement of recent or ongoing anti-racism/racial equity and/or intersectional justice training, policies, reparative processes, or actions by Summer 2023 grant cycle(s).
Develop capacity building grants, with Council approval, to fund operational infrastructure & professional development costs for BIPOC applicants by Summer 2022.
Ensure that all internal grant review panels have at least equal representation of BIPOC people to non-BIPOC people by Summer 2022.
July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024
Design and implement programs which promote the participation of BIPOC applicants to help align our constituents with the Commonwealth’s racial demographics by Summer 2023.
Ongoing
Design a process that engages BIPOC cultural workers in the ongoing assessment of our grant making.
Communities Close Open The following action steps are designed to support applicants (organizations and municipalities) receiving grants and services from program areas such as Local Cultural Councils , Festivals , and Cultural Districts .
Goal: To center racial equity, build relationships, trust, and sustained investment in the most marginalized and historically underfunded BIPOC applicants, Mass Cultural Council will: July 1, 2021-June 30, 2022
Create an outreach plan, utilizing BIPOC Outreach Coordinators, to engage, connect, meet, welcome and reach prospective and current BIPOC applicants who are not presently or are insufficiently supported by Mass Cultural Council programs by Fall 2021.
Review and revise all steps of the grant-making process with a racial equity lens by Winter of FY22 and implement the new process for FY23 grant cycles.
July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023
Establish procedures to identify, investigate and repair instances of racism, discrimination, or exclusion in our granting by Summer 2022.
Develop capacity building grants, with Council approval, to fund operational infrastructure & professional development costs for BIPOC applicants by Summer 2022.
Ensure that all internal grant review panels have at equal representation of BIPOC people/non-BIPOC people by Summer 2022.
July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024
Require applicants to provide an annual statement of recent or ongoing anti-racism/racial equity and/or intersectional justice training, policies, reparative processes, or actions by Summer 2023 grant cycle(s).
Design and implement programs which promote the participation of BIPOC applicants to help align our constituents with the Commonwealth’s racial demographics by Summer 2023.
Encourage significant racial diversity on Local Cultural Councils by Summer of 2023.
Ongoing
Design a process that engages BIPOC cultural workers in the ongoing assessment of our grant making.
Continuously assess the Agency’s historic and current funding practices using a racial equity lens by conducting annual evaluations and revisions.
Double our grant making to marginalized BIPOC applicants by 2026.
Goal: To perpetuate a culture of anti-racism/racial equity in the cultural sector, Mass Cultural Council will: July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023
Provide, promote, and upgrade our technical assistance and translation services by Summer 2022, with a focus on reaching new BIPOC communities.
Launch a base-level anti-racism/racial equity training program (workshops, seminars, series, etc.) curated by BIPOC authors/creatives/consultants/facilitators and partners to the field by Summer 2022.
Develop a toolkit of best practices for creating and implementing organizational Racial Equity Plans for the cultural sector by Summer 2022.
July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024
Work with a consultant to design, build and launch a complimentary self-administered Cultural Equity Index to diagnose and recommend corrective suggestions as an aid for applicants wishing to build capacity for equity and decolonization by Summer of 2023.
