The Georgetown Cultural Council (GCC) is part of a system of 351 local councils under the sponsorship of the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) (for more information, go to: http://www.massculturalcouncil.org), which was created to promote excellence, access, education and diversity in the arts, humanities and interpretive sciences, in order to improve the quality of life for all residents and contribute to the economic vitality of our communities.

For more than 30 years, the MCC has invested in the cultural life of Massachusetts. The Mass Council receives an annual appropriation from the state legislature. It then makes thousands of grants to the local cultural councils, including Georgetown, as well as to other non-profit cultural organizations, schools, communities and individuals artists. These funding programs use the arts, science and the humanities to build strong, diverse, livable 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.

Massachusetts Cultural Council

What We Fund

The Georgetown Cultural Council has announced the award of 10 grants totaling nearly $5,000 for cultural programs in Georgetown. The grants were awarded from a pool of funds distributed to Georgetown by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency that supports public programs and educational activities in the arts, sciences and humanities.

“The system works because the state council allocates money to the local council, which has a better knowledge of the local needs. It’s due to the diligence of the town committee that make this grass-roots system work,” said Council Member Susan Madigan. “The Council must weigh the benefits of a number of projects and decide which projects to fund, either partially or in full. Thanks to them, the arts can be a part of people’s everyday lives.”

Statewide, $2.34 million will be distributed by local cultural councils in 2012. Grants will support a vast range of roots activities: concerts, exhibitions, video productions, field trips for schoolchildren, after-school youth programs, writing workshops, nature and science education programs and town festivals. Nearly one-half of LCC funds support educational activities for young people.

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