Since 1982, the Easthampton Cultural Council has provided funding to enhance the cultural vitality of Easthampton Massachusetts.
Our Mission
The mission of the Easthampton Cultural Council is to distribute funds made available through the Massachusetts Cultural Council. This funding supports innovative and diverse cultural programs and activities dedicated to enhancing and guaranteeing public access to the arts and humanities within the community.
The goal of the Easthampton Cultural Council is to raise awareness and provide outreach regarding the grant process and to encourage individuals, groups, and organizations to apply for funding of cultural activities that benefit and enrich the citizens of Easthampton.
Current ECC board (majority new in 2024):
Jo Cater, Website
John Casey Douglass, Chair
Steven Collicelli
Sean Collins, Secretary
Tracey Eller
Chandler Frantz
Felicia Jadczak, Co-chair
Nancy Natale, Co-treasurer
Michael Sjostedt, Social Media
The Massachusetts General Law that all LCCs adhere to can be found here:
https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleII/Chapter10/Section58
The Easthampton Cultural Council (ECC) is one of over 300 Local Cultural Councils (LCCs) throughout Massachusetts. We are an active, all-volunteer, board with an elected chair, secretary, and treasurer. We are appointed by the Mayor of the City of Easthampton and mandated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the Easthampton Home Charter.
Mass Cultural Council's LCC Program is the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation supporting thousands of community-based projects in the arts, humanities and sciences annually. Each year, LCCs award more than $3 million in grants to more than 6,000 cultural programs statewide. The program promotes the availability of rich cultural experiences for every Massachusetts resident.
Mass Cultural Council (MCC) distributes funds to us, ECC, your local cultural council and we then regrant funds to arts, humanities and interpretive science projects in the city of Easthampton and publicize our free public programming. ECC shares 1 board member with Easthampton City Arts (ECA) to create a more synergistic arts community in the city of Easthampton.
Currently, there are 329 local and regional councils that represent all 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth. The program is administered by 2,500 municipally appointed volunteers serving statewide.
A hallmark of the LCC Program is the emphasis on local autonomy and decision making. Councils are free to make funding decisions that best meet the particular needs and priorities of their community within the parameters of the broad state guidelines. Each LCC determines its own local eligibility requirements based on a community input process and these are incorporated into our council priorities and published on our council's profile on the MCC website here: https://www.mass-culture.org/Easthampton
Applicants may apply to the ECC for projects, operating support, ticket subsidy programs, artist residencies, fellowships or other activities, based on local priorities and needs. ECC may also choose to fund cultural field trips for children, grades pre-K through 12, by subsidizing the cost for children to attend programs in the arts, humanities and interpretive sciences including performances, educational tours, exhibits after school programs, concerts, festivals, lectures, theater, dance, music, and film. ECC projects take place in schools, community centers, libraries, elder care facilities, town halls, parks, and wherever communities come together.