Power of Culture Blog
$7.2M Invested in Cultural Organizations Statewide
394 unrestricted grants have been awarded through our Cultural Investment Portfolio and Operating Grants for Organizations programs
Bethann Steiner, Communications Director
The Mass Cultural Council is happy to report that in early 2020 a new grant program, the Gaming Mitigation Program, will go live, due to recent legislative action.
First envisioned eight years ago in 2011, when the state Legislature approved casino gaming in Massachusetts, it was determined that 2% of the revenue would be directed to the Mass Cultural Council to support not-for-profit and municipally owned venues who would find themselves operating in a disrupted marketplace, in direct competition with casino venues.
Since Plainridge Park Casino opened to the public in 2015, followed by MGM Springfield in 2017 and Encore Boston Harbor earlier this year, almost $3 million in revenue has been collected for this purpose by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. However, the Mass Cultural Council could not access these funds without an additional step: legislative authorization to create the Massachusetts Cultural and Performing Arts Mitigation Trust Fund.
For months the agency has been working with our legislative partners, the Administration, and arts and culture stakeholders to develop this language and secure its approval on Beacon Hill. Last week the Legislature included the language in its FY19 final deficiency budget bill, H. 4246. And on December 13, Governor Baker signed the bill – and our language – into law!
What does this mean? We expect to open the application process for the Gaming Mitigation Grant Program in the first quarter of the New Year. The Program aims to mitigate a direct threat to the sustainability of nonprofit performing arts centers in Massachusetts by providing capital to preserve their ability to compete in a new, unbalanced marketplace. This is important because performing arts centers:
Mass Cultural Council is excited to launch this new program in 2020. More information about the program and eligibility will be available in coming weeks. We are thankful for the leadership of our legislative partners who helped us reach this moment: members of the Conference Committee Senators Michael Rodrigues, Cindy Friedman, Don Humason and Representatives Aaron Michlewitz, Denise Garlick and Todd Smola; our Tourism, Arts & Cultural Development Chairs Sen. Ed Kennedy and Rep. Paul McMurtry; and longtime cultural advocates and leaders Sen. Adam Hinds and Rep. Mary Keefe. We also acknowledge and appreciate the support and advocacy from our partner MASSCreative who helped raise awareness of the import of this legislative action.
