Big Yellow School Bus

Application Process

One impact of a late FY21 state budget is that Mass Cultural Council’s spending plan for the coming fiscal year will also be delayed. Grant application processes that normally open in the early Fall will be paused until we are able to develop a FY21 spending plan, which is dependent upon our state budget appropriation.

To receive updates on our FY21 grant application processes, sign up to receive e-news updates from  Mass Cultural Council.​

Big Yellow School Bus provides $250 grants to help schools meet the travel costs of student cultural field trips to places and programs in Massachusetts. The places and programs must be in the arts, sciences, or humanities and run by a non-profit cultural institution. Examples: art and science museums; historic sites; and, music, theater and dance performances.

How to Apply

Questions? Contact Diane Daily, Program Manager, at 617-858-2709.

FY20 Program Guidelines

Eligibility

• Any Massachusetts school (public, charter, parochial, or independent) serving grades K-12 can apply.
• The field trip destination must be in Massachusetts.
• A school may receive only one grant per school year.
• Eligible trips are to places and activities run by a non-profit cultural institution in the arts, humanities, or interpretive sciences,
• Types of trips that DO NOT qualify for funding are trips to sporting events, amusement parks, and for-profit movie theaters.
• Trips to performances and exhibits by students only are not eligible

Application Deadline, Notification, and Payment

There is no application deadline. We review applications on a “first-received, first-funded” basis until all available funds are gone.

The application is online. Within two weeks after you submit your application, we will send you an email telling you if the application has been approved or not. Make sure your email is set to receive email from diane.daily@art.state.ma.us.

We do not accept incomplete, faxed, or e-mailed applications.

If your application is approved, the email will give you a link to a simple, one-page contract. You must complete and mail the contract to Mass Cultural Council within 30 days of receiving your approval email.

Within 30 days after we receive your completed contract, your $250 payment will transferred electronically:

• Public schools: grants are transferred to the town treasurer. You must contact the town treasurer to access your funds. Please keep a copy of your signed contract. Your town or city treasurer may need it to help them get your school’s grant.
• Charter schools, schools within a regional school district, parochial, or private schools: grants are transferred to the school or school district.
• Boston Public Schools: grant payments are transferred to BPS and processed through the normal grant process. Contact Bennett Griesmer.
• Worcester Public Schools: contact Linda Nowosacki at the WPS Grant Office at 508-799-3112.

Please note: Grants for field trips also may be available through Mass Cultural Council’s Local Cultural Council Program.