The coming year promises a pretty grim parade of economic news, as political leaders on Beacon Hill and here in Belmont wrestle with the continuing fall out of the recession. But there’s a rare bit of economic good news from the Belmont Cultural Council, which is expecting to have more money to distribute to worthy Belmontonians this year than last, according to Treasurer Juliet Jenkins. [Editor’s Note: While BCC typically has around $4,000 to distribute, it expects to have more this year, but the specific dollar amount won’t be clear until this fall.] The surplus funds will likely come from grants from prior years that were never claimed by the grant recipient, and that are now available to be used to sponsor cultural events in town.
Jenkins said the deadline for post marking applications is October 15, 2009. Belmont Cultural Council “seeks to fund activities in community centers, elder care facilities, libraries, parks, schools, town halls – wherever Belmontians come together – to improve resident’s lives.” Belmont Cultural Council is appointed by the Board fo Selectmen and is part of the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Local Cultural Council program – a grassroots complement to the agency’s centralized grant programs. Funding allocations are made to all of Massachusetts’ 351 cities and towns to support community cultural activities. The Local Cultural Council Program is the most extensive system of its kind in the nation to support arts, sciences and humanities and comprises 2,400 volunteers across the state, who review applications from individuals, schools, and organizations to fund field trips, after school programs, concerts and festivals that “promote excellence, access, education and diversity in the arts, humanities and interpretive sciences.”
For more information or to download an application, please visit the website of the Massachueetts Cultural Council or email Julia at belmontculturalcouncil(at)yahoo(dot)com.