The Mass Cultural Council is excited to announce the 2026 Local Cultural Council Program.
Donor Name: Mass Cultural Council
State: Massachusetts
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: All Time
Size of the Grant: Less than $1000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
LCCs provide arts and cultural grants to every community in Massachusetts through the efforts of more than 2,500 volunteers. They fund some 7,500 public projects annually that include everything from field trips to lectures, festivals, and dance performances.
In Massachusetts, public funding for the arts, humanities, and sciences is provided through a central state agency, Mass Cultural Council, and through a network of LCCs that serve every city and town in the state. LCCs also receive support for programs from donations, fundraising events, and their local municipality.
Mass Cultural Council receives funding from the Massachusetts Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts and distributes these public funds through two channels:
- Direct grants to individuals and organizations, available through statewide competitive grant processes; and
- Distributions to LCCs, which then regrant funds to individuals and organizations in their own communities.
Funding Information
The Agency strongly encourages granting no less than a minimum of $250 to each approved application.
Uses of Funds
All LCC monies must be used as the LCC directs, to support programs in the arts, humanities, or interpretive sciences in Massachusetts. This includes locally-raised funds, which at the LCC’s discretion, can be used to cover LCC grants, administrative expenses, Council Programs, etc.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must reside or be located in Massachusetts. LCCs can prioritize eligible applicant types or limit which types of applicants they fund; if they do so, they must publish these details in their local guidelines before the LCC application opens. All applicants must show that a public benefit results from their project. LCCs may accept applications from anyone included in the following list.
- Individuals: Individual applicants, including sole proprietors.
- Non-Profit Organizations
- Unincorporated Groups
- A group of individuals coming together for a common purpose (e.g., local community band, theater group) that do not have a formal legal status.
- For-Profit Organizations
- Tribal, federal, state, and municipal government organizations
- This includes any
- governmental entity such as public schools, libraries, other municipal agencies, and LCCs.
- Religious organizations
- LCCs 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 the purpose of benefiting the public, not the religious organization.
- LCCs 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
For more information, visit MCC.
