The Local Cultural Council Program, the second largest grant program of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, is a grassroots complement to the agency's centralized grant programs. Allocations are made to all of Massachusetts' 351 cities and towns to support community cultural activities. The LCC Program is the most extensive system of its kind in the nation to support arts, sciences and humanities.

2,500 volunteers comprise boards in each community to review applications from individuals, schools, and organizations to fund field trips, afterschool programs, concerts and festivals -- programs that are part of people's everyday lives. LCCs also accept and review applications for a student ticket subsidy program, called the PASS Program.

Thanks to LCCs, cultural activities take place in schools, community centers, libraries, elder care facilities, town halls, parks and wherever communities come together.

How the LCC Program Works
Massachusetts Cultural Council has overseen the LCC Program since 1990. MCC receives funding from an annual state appropriation. Each year, the MCC distributes funds to LCCs; in turn, LCCs make grants to schools, organizations and individuals in their communities.

Distributions to each LCC are based on a local aid formula devised by the state. The formula takes into account population and property values, and is weighted to give larger distributions to poorer communities.

Local Values Govern Grantmaking
Local Cultural Council members respect and value local decision-making and allow local cultural values to govern their grant-making. LCC volunteers represent a cross-section of their communities; they are parents, teachers, librarians, business people, artists, lawyers and homemakers. LCC members are appointed by each community's highest elected official. LCCs have from 5 to 22 members who may serve up to two consecutive three-year terms.

LCC Facts and Figures

More than 9,332 grant applications were reviewed by LCCs in FY05. 4,034 grants were approved. More than $2 million in grants were awarded.

47 percent of FY05 LCC grant funds -- more than $900,000 -- were used to support educational activities for children in the arts, humanities and sciences.

More than $211,000 was distributed to schools in FY05 for field trips to cultural organizations through the LCC's PASS Program. This subsidized more than 51,000 tickets for young people to attend performing arts events and museum exhibitions.

To respond to the cultural needs of their communities, many Local Cultural Councils develop their own programs or performances. In FY05, 11 LCCs used a portion of their MCC funds for projects such as a lecture series in Ashfield where a local writer and visual artist discussed their work and how living in Ashfield has influenced their creative process.