Power of Culture Blog
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Acting Executive Director David Slatery's essay for Mass Humanities' “People’s Guide to the Revolution”
State Funding for Arts & Culture Reaches Record High
Bethann Steiner, Senior Director of Public Affairs
An update on the FY27 state budget and capital spending plan
Fiscal Year 2027 began on July 1 and just in time two issues of importance were settled on Beacon Hill: the FY27 state budget was enacted by the Legislature and sent to the Governor’s desk, and the FY27 capital spending plan was released by the Healey-Driscoll Administration.
Together, these two spending documents provide nearly $40 million in state public dollars for arts and culture through Mass Cultural Council’s operating account and the Cultural Facilities Fund – a record high!
FY27 State Budget
The FY27 state budget is a $63.4 billion spending plan that funds much of state government operations for the next 12 months. As an independent state agency, Mass Cultural Council, and its programs and services, are primarily funded through this document.
Governor Healey has until July 11 to review and act on the budget. In the meantime, state government operations are being funded through a 1/12 budget that will no longer be in effect once the FY27 budget is signed into law.
All throughout the FY27 budget building process (which began in January when the Governor released H. 2) policymakers cautioned that economic uncertainty meant difficult choices. And yet Mass Cultural Council saw unprecedented levels of state investment from the Governor, the House, and the Senate. We are incredibly proud and grateful to have such strong partners in our work on Beacon Hill.
The FY27 state budget funds Mass Cultural Council at a record high of $28,106,072. This figure – the highest ever state budget appropriation for the Agency – surpasses the previous high set in FY88 ($27,395,489). It breaks down to $27,323,072 for operations and $783,000 for 18 legislative earmarks.
Mass Cultural Council staff will now finalize a FY27 spending plan which will be presented to the governing Council during the August 27, 2026 business meeting. Once approved, Mass Cultural Council will launch its grant programs for the year.
Advocacy happens every day on Beacon Hill for countless good causes and constituencies. Mass Cultural Council wishes to thank its statewide partners in this work – MASSCreative and Mass Humanities, as well as our champions in the State House, namely Tourism, Arts & Cultural Development Committee Chairs Senator Paul Mark and Representative Sean Garballey – for helping to secure this historic level of funding. Ways & Means Chairs Senator Mike Rodrigues and Representative Aaron Michelwitz, and of course Senate President Karen Spilka and Speaker of the House Ron Mariano also deserve our thanks and recognition. Without their support and approval, the power of culture would not be so well funded this year!
FY27 Capital Spending Plan
Separate from the state budget, last week the Healey-Driscoll Administration released its FY27 update to the capital spending plan. Unlike the annual state budget, which is funded primarily through tax revenues, the capital spending plan is funded through borrowed monies.
We are grateful that the FY27 capital spending plan invests $10 million into the Cultural Facilities Fund (CFF), a capital grant program the Agency administers in coordination with MassDevelopment, to ensure nonprofit and municipal cultural facilities are maintained in a state of good repair.
This news means that a FY27 CFF grant round will open in the fall! We appreciate the continued investment into CFF by the Healey-Driscoll Administration.