The lottery once funded local cultural councils. Here, Alberto Alvarado of Haverhill collected his $1 million Grand Prize last November in the Massachusetts State Lottery’s “Silver, Gold and Platinum 8s” instant game. He purchased the ticket at Market Basket, 2 Water St., Haverhill.
Area cultural councils, funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, recently awarded $51,587 to area local, non-profit arts and cultural groups.
In WHAV’s coverage area, Haverhill granted nearly $24,000, while Methuen gave nearly $17,000, Andover, nearly $6,000 and Groveland, nearly $5,000. Projects include E. Philip Brown’s Haverhill Trivia Book 375th Anniversary Edition and work at the Shoeworkers Memorial Plaza in downtown Haverhill. A complete list of recipients appears below.
According to the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), the Local Cultural Council 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, local councils award more than $2 million in grants to more than 5,000 cultural programs statewide. The program promotes the availability of rich cultural experiences for every Massachusetts citizen.”
Original Funding Came From Gambling—Not Taxpayers
MCC was formed in 1990 through the merger of the Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities and the Massachusetts Arts Lottery Council. It is funded by appropriations from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts. Earlier, the Massachusetts Arts Lottery used proceeds from the sale of what would become “Megabucks” lottery tickets to pay for programs.
The idea of an arts lottery came from Jacqueline O’Reilly in 1971. Governor Edward J. King eventually appointed her the first chairwoman of the Massachusetts Arts Lottery Council in 1979. In 1983, the New York Times reported, “The news was stunning. In six months’ time, public gambling had earned $10 million for the arts in Massachusetts. That is almost twice as much as the state had budgeted for arts support in the whole fiscal year that ended in June. It is a payoff that has been 10 years in the making, and once seemed to be a failure.”
The lottery was not successful until it was rebranded as Megabucks. Later State House budget shortfalls took the gambling proceeds to help the state’s general fund.
“The MCC distributes funds to local and regional cultural councils, who then regrant funds to arts, humanities, and interpretive science projects in their own communities. Currently, there are 329 local and regional councils that represent all 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth. The program is administered by 2,400 municipally appointed volunteers serving statewide,” the council says, adding, “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.”
Haverhill Grants
| Actors Studio of Newburyport | Panther & Jaguar Workshop Production | 900 |
|---|---|---|
| E. Philip Brown | Haverhill Trivia Book 375th Anniversary Edition | 1950 |
| GHCCAEF dba: Creative Haverhill | Movies by the River | 1950 |
| GHCCAEF dba: Creative Haverhill | Winter Poetry Slam | 400 |
| Greater Haverhill Arts Association | Student Art Exhibit | 562 |
| Hands on History - 7th Mass Regiment | Hands on History The Amer. Revolution | 720 |
| Haverhill Cultural Council | Haverhill !POPz! | 2500 |
| Haverhill High School Fine Arts Department | Newport Preservation Society, Newport, RI | 147 |
| Haverhill High School Fine Arts Department | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY | 265 |
| Haverhill Historical Commission | Shoeworkers Memorial Plaza | 3000 |
| Haverhill Public Library | Summer Reading Celebration | 480 |
| HHS, Amy Jones | Global Youth Leadership Initiative Institute | 393 |
| HHS, E. Philip Brown | Buttonwoods, Historic New England, Firemens Museum | 276 |
| Pentucket Lake School, Patricia Shaw | Bamidele Dances and Drummers | 556 |
| Public Media of New England, Inc. d/b/a/ WHAV | Haverhill Heritage Series Phase II | 3000 |
| Smyth, Brendon & Jeremy | Haverhill Experimental Film Festival | 2700 |
| Steve Lyons Memorial Fund, Inc. | Performances at Haverhill Spring Festival | 2700 |
| Tracy Fuller | All Hands Drumming | 520 |
| Treble Chorus of New England, Inc. | My Own Voice | 450 |
| Walnut Square PTO | Strawbery Banke Museum | 511 |
| 23980 |
Methuen Grants
| Comprehensive Grammer School | Boston Children's Theatre | 2437 |
|---|---|---|
| Greater Lawrence Educational Collaborative | AppleSeed, AppleSauce Magazines | 1500 |
| Methuen Arlington Neighborhood | Safe Haven | 670 |
| Methuen High School Multicultural Club | Multicultuaralism At MHS 2015 | 2500 |
| Methuen Historical Society | History of Genealogy of Methuen Immigrants | 1500 |
| Methuen Memorial Music Hall, Inc. | Music hall Days 2015 | 1275 |
| Methuen Village | First Woman Doctor of the West | 188 |
| Methuen YMCA | Music Clubhouse | 1000 |
| Morley, Sharon | Color your world with Pastels | 400 |
| Nevins Memorial Library | An Arabian Adventure | 750 |
| North Regional Theatre Workshop | Choral Festival | 4083 |
| Rull, Tommy | Musical Journey Through The years | 225 |
| Treble Chorus of New England, Inc. | My Own Voice | 500 |
| 17028 |
Andover Grants
| Addison Gallery of American Art | Addison Gallery Family Programming | 387 |
|---|---|---|
| Andover Choral Society | Andover Choral Society 2015 concerts | 300 |
| Board of Trustees of West Parish Garden Cemetery | Passages | 450 |
| Collaborative for Regional Educatinal Services and Training | AppleSeed, AppleSauce, ApplePi Literary Magazines | 150 |
| Daviso, Jessica | Adire Textiles: An Exploration of Nigerian Art | 300 |
| Doherty Middle School | Shakespeare Now's A Midsummer Night's Dread | 250 |
| Essex Chamber Music Players | Life & Poetry of Anne Bradstreet | 350 |
| Fraser, Kerrie L. | World Premiere at West El | 250 |
| Mistral | Young People's Concert | 400 |
| Morimoto, Monique | Celebrating Women through Rhythm | 350 |
| Museum of Printing | 11th Annual Printing Arts Fail | 100 |
| New England Classical Singers | Concert: Contrasts in Light and Dark | 250 |
| Northeast Youth Ballet | Youth ballet production of "The Nutcracker" | 200 |
| Root, John | Edible Perennial Gardening and Landscaping | 250 |
| SHED Children's Campus | LEAP Community Days | 375 |
| Smith, Dr. Susan H. | A Living Legacy: How Do You Want to Be Remembered | 450 |
| Stories in the Streets | Stories in the Streets/Andover festivals | 375 |
| Treble Chorus of New England | My Own Voice | 450 |
| 5637 |
Groveland Grants
| Bagnall School PTA | Tony Vacca Percussionist workshops | 1500 |
|---|---|---|
| Groveland Council on Aging | Two to Tango | 475 |
| Groveland Historical Society | Pines Speedway Reunion | 1067 |
| Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra | 54th Season | 400 |
| On Stage Inc | Spring 2015 Panto Production | 400 |
| Pentucket Arts Foundation | Mayhem Poets Workshop | 400 |
| Pentucket Regional High School | Paul Revere Bell Project | 700 |
| 4942 |