The Worcester Arts Council (WAC) is seeking community input on arts and culture in Worcester through its 2022 Funding Priorities Survey. 

The online survey is open now through August 8, 2022, and can be completed at: https://tinyurl.com/WACSurvey2022. Responses to this brief survey will help determine WAC’s funding priorities for its 2023 grant cycle, which opens in September 2022.

“You can help shape arts and culture in the city by taking the Worcester Arts Council’s Funding Priorities Survey. Your responses directly influence where our annual grant funds go,” said Worcester Arts Council Chair Jennifer Riley. “Plus, the survey takes less than 5 minutes to complete, and you could win a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses just for completing it!”

Those who complete the survey also have a chance to win a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses of their choice, worth up to $300. WAC is offering this raffle prize to encourage survey participation.

Last year, WAC saw its highest Funding Priorities Survey participation ever, with over 2,000 responses. This year, the Council seeks to build on that success to gain even more participation, and broader demographics among survey respondents.

“It’s very important that these survey responses represent a wide variety of perspectives, lived experiences, and voices from across Worcester. We have extensive outreach plans again this year, and will be distributing the survey to community members all around the city,” Riley said.

Because WAC is responsible for distributing public dollars, the Council seeks community input about how to best distribute those funds through its Funding Priorities Survey each year. Like most Local Cultural Councils across the state, WAC typically receives more grant requests than can be funded. Strong priorities based on community input help guide its grant-making decisions.

“WAC deeply values the community input we receive each year,” said Riley. “The annual funding priorities we establish are based directly on these survey responses. We prioritize grant applications that align with what the Worcester community tells us is most important to them. This is an opportunity to have your say — and your voice truly matters!”

WAC also intends to publish a report with the survey results again this year, and will share the report with other local arts and cultural organizations.

The Worcester Arts Council is part of a statewide network of 329 Local Cultural Councils supported through the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC). The Local Cultural Council (LCC) Program is the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation, supporting thousands of community-based projects in the arts, humanities, and sciences. This program assists the Worcester community in the development of local projects and adds to the cultural vitality of the city.

The current Worcester Arts Council members are Jennifer Riley (Chair), Lisa Malo (Vice Chair), Brandon Lewis (Secretary), Christopher Rich (Treasurer), Silvana Boaheng, Sean Brennan, David Filar, and George Sedares. 

About the Worcester Arts Council:

The Worcester Arts Council (WAC) is a municipal body consisting of nine members appointed by the City Manager. The Council is charged with promoting the cultural affairs of the City of Worcester and allocating funds received by the Council for cultural projects and programs. The mission of the Worcester Arts Council is to promote excellence, access, education and diversity in the arts, humanities and interpretative sciences to improve the quality of life for Worcester residents and contribute to the economic vitality of our City. The Worcester Arts Council is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. For more information visit: www.worcesterma.gov/cultural-development/worcester-arts-council

About the Massachusetts Cultural Council:

The Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) is a state agency that promotes excellence, access, education, and diversity in the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences to improve the quality of life for all Massachusetts residents and contribute to the economic vitality of our communities. The Council pursues this mission through a combination of grant programs, partnerships, and services for nonprofit cultural organizations, schools, communities, and artists. For more information visit: http://www.massculturalcouncil.org/about/about.asp

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A Letter from the Worcester Arts Council – July 27, 2020

Hi Everyone –

We want to give you an update on our upcoming 2021 grant cycle.

Typically, the Commonwealth’s operating budget is set by July 1 each year, and the Mass Cultural Council (MCC) releases its spending plan in August. However, the MCC’s planning for Fiscal Year 2021 is delayed due to the economic impacts of COVID-19. The Legislature’s budget process is delayed this year as policy-makers work to understand the current revenue picture and potential federal aid. The State government is currently operating on a month-to-month basis.

Because of all of this, the Mass Cultural Council is delaying the Local Cultural Council (LCC) grant cycle timeline by one month. This means our local grant applications will now open on Thursday, October 1st. The deadline to submit your application will now be Monday, November 16th. 

This timeline is based on the hope that there will be a state budget in place by mid-November. If there is no budget in place at that time, the MCC may need to further adjust this timeline.

The grant allocation for Worcester will be determined after the FY21 State budget is signed into law, and the governing Council approves the Agency’s FY21 spending plan. We have no way of knowing the amount of our allocation for FY21 at this time.

We hope to have more information in September. In the meantime, we are continuing to prepare!

We’re still gathering community input through our Funding Priorities Survey. We are extending the survey deadline as well, so it will now close September 7th (Labor Day). The answers directly impact how we allocate these grant funds in Worcester, so it’s super important. It only takes about 3 minutes to complete, and you could win Bose headphones just for taking it! If you haven’t yet, you can take the survey HERE.

The Worcester Arts Council will vote on and announce our FY21 funding priorities in September.

We also have one open seat on the Council! We would love to welcome a new member in time for our grant cycle. If you’re interested or know someone who would make a great addition, find out more or apply HERE.

Finally, thank you for all your support and patience as we work together during this extraordinary year to ensure that the Worcester Arts Council can continue to help enrich our local neighborhoods with arts and culture.

If you have any questions, please get in touch any time.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

The Worcester Arts Council

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COVID-19 has changed our way of live indefinitely. The cultural sector has been deeply impacted, and arts organizations are feeling the financial stress like never before. Read on for details on local, state-wide, and national effects to culture, and for ways to take action to ensure creative workers and institutions aren’t left behind as budgets are reevaluated and funds distributed.

The Worcester Cultural Coalition (WCC) hosted a survey for Worcester cultural organizations. Respondents ranged from small volunteer efforts to large institutions, including the performing arts, museums, the sciences, visual arts, public radio, festivals, game development, and more. As of May 18, the 34 respondents reported revenue loss of $6.29 million, with a total expected loss exceeding $12.6 million. Thus far, 21% of organizations with paid employees have laid off or furloughed staff, over a third have reduced salaries and hours, and at least 70% have applied for financial aid through the PPP or SBA’s EIDL. View the data in a slideshow here. This survey was only open for 4 days to make the data available during a recent Town Hall with Congressman Jim McGovern hosted by the WCC and the MCC.

The Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) has completed two surveys of both arts organizations and individual creative workers in Massachusetts. In its first survey released March 24, 566 cultural organizations reported over $55 million in losses. Less than a month later on April 15, nearly 700 organizations reported losses exceeding $260 million, and over 15,000 jobs had been impacted by layoffs, furloughs, and reductions to work hours or pay.  More information, and links to these surveys, can be viewed at MassCulturalCouncil.org.

Americans for the Arts (AFTA) updates their national findings weekly. As of June 1, 2020, over 12,000 nonprofit arts and cultural respondents have reported financial losses estimated at $5.9 billion, with 67% expecting a “severe” impact on their organization, and 39% saying they are “likely” to have to reduce staff. Of course, these losses extend beyond the cultural sector itself – it’s estimated that $7.3 billion has been lost in event-related spending at local businesses such as restaurants, retail, and lodging. Of the 19,000+ individual artists who responded, 94% are losing income and 62% are fully unemployed, and 66% are unable to access supplies, resources, spaces, and people necessary for their work. Despite these foreboding numbers, the AFTA survey also found a tremendous resilience: 67% of organizations and 75% of artists are creating content to raise community spirit, improve morale, and create community cohesion.

In reviewing data gathered before COVID-19, the 2017 Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 study found that just in Worcester, arts and culture is a $125.7 million industry. This industry doesn’t just enhance quality of life, but its economic benefits reach far beyond the walls of its venues.

The data make it clear – for the arts to survive, action is needed. Many organizations are offering suggestions on how to advocate for the arts and cultural sector, including Americans for the Arts and MASSCreative, which lists ideas including contacting your elected officials, signing petitions, writing a letter to an editor, creating and sharing a self portrait, and ways to advocating for funding at the national, state, and local levels.

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The Worcester Arts Council (WAC) is seeking community input through its 2019 Funding Priorities Survey. This survey will help the Council determine its funding priorities for the upcoming 2020 grant cycle, which begins September 1^st, 2019.

The survey is an opportunity for the community to provide input on arts and culture in Worcester. The responses directly influence where the Council allocates grant funds. The survey takes about 3-4 minutes to complete.

The survey will be open through August 28^th, 2019 and can be accessed and completed via Google Docs.

Because WAC is responsible for distributing public dollars, the Council solicits and collects public opinion about how to best distribute those funds through its Funding Priorities Survey. Like most Local Cultural Councils, WAC typically receives more grant requests than can be funded, and strong priorities based on community input can help guide its grant-making decisions. All LCCs are required to conduct a community input process, and LCCs receiving more than $20,000 must develop funding priorities.

In the 2018-2019 Community Input Survey, participants said they’d like WAC to focus on Music, Children’s Programming, and Performing Arts. The Council gave projects and programs aligned with those priorities more weight when it reviewed and voted on grants. Overall, WAC awarded 46 grants totaling more than $127,000 for arts and cultural programs in Worcester last year, supporting programs and organizations including: “Worcester’s Got (African) Talent” with Crocodile River Music, The “Mindful Me” after-school program at Woodland Academy, a “Teen Arts Program” at Main IDEA, the “Youth Harmony Recording Program” with WICN Radio, the 16^th Annual Asian Festival, Art in the Park 2019, and many more. The 2019 grant allocation also included two $5,000 Artist Fellowships, which were awarded to musician Thomas Lubelczyk and artist Scott Boilard.

This year, WAC is seeking to gain more overall participation in its Funding Priorities Survey, and wider demographics among survey participants. “It’s important for us to ensure the survey respondents reflect Worcester’s diverse community. We hope to achieve that by widely distributing the survey and encouraging anyone who resides or works in Worcester to participate,” said Samantha Fiakofi, Worcester Arts Council Vice Chair.

The Worcester Arts Council is part of a statewide network of 329 Local Cultural Councils supported through the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC). The Local Cultural Council (LCC) Program is the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation, supporting thousands of community-based projects in the arts, humanities, and sciences. This program assists the Worcester community in the development of local projects and adds to the cultural vitality of the city.

The current Worcester Arts Council members are Meaghan Hardy-Lavoie (Chair), Samantha Fiakofi (Vice Chair), Stephanie Mireku (Secretary), Mitchell Perry (Treasurer), Thomas Conroy, Yasmin Goris, Lisa Malo, Gabriel Rollins, and Amanda Kidd Schall.

About the Worcester Arts Council:

The Worcester Arts Council (WAC) is a municipal body consisting of nine members appointed by the City Manager. The Council is charged with promoting the cultural affairs of the City of Worcester and allocating funds received by the Council for cultural projects and programs. The mission of the Worcester Arts Council is to promote excellence, access, education and diversity in the arts, humanities and interpretative sciences to improve the quality of life for Worcester residents and contribute to the economic vitality of our City. The Worcester Arts Council is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. For more information visit: www.worcesterma.gov/development/cultural-development/worcester-arts-council.

About the Massachusetts Cultural Council:

The Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) is a state agency that promotes excellence, access, education, and diversity in the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences to improve the quality of life for all Massachusetts residents and contribute to the economic vitality of our communities. The Council pursues this mission through a combination of grant programs, partnerships, and services for nonprofit cultural organizations, schools, communities, and artists. For more information visit: http://www.massculturalcouncil.org/about/about.asp

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