House Increases Mass Cultural Council Budget

On Thursday, April 26, the Massachusetts House passed its budget plan and took a stand for arts, culture, humanities, and sciences. It voted to fund the Mass Cultural Council at $14.5 million in FY19. This represents a $500,000 increase over last year’s allocation to the Mass Cultural Council and the recommendation of the House Ways and Means Committee earlier this month.

Your advocacy effectively helped secure over 100 cosponsors (a majority) onto Representative Cory Atkins’ amendment to fund the Mass Cultural Council at $17 million. Backed by majority support on the amendment and an increase in funding from the House, the creative community is in a strong position to continue advocating for $17 million for the Mass Cultural Council from the Senate.

We thank Speaker Robert DeLeo, Chairman Jeffrey Sánchez, and Representative Cory Atkins for their leadership and choosing to step up its investment in the arts and cultural sector. We also thank the 103 cosponsors on the Mass Cultural Council amendment and Representative Stephen Kulik, an arts champion who cited the increase in funding for the Mass Cultural Council in his floor speech about the final House budget. To thank your Representatives for standing up for arts and culture, send them a quick email through our easy-to-use online tool here.

The Senate will release its budget in May. Once again, we'll need you to take action to send a clear message that arts matter and it’s time for increased support for creativity and culture.

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