PAST ACTION: THE CREATIVE SECTOR’S FY26 BUDGET REQUEST LETTER TO GOV. HEALEY

Written By Kelsey Rode

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Image features, from left to right: Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Gov. Maura Healey speaking at Creative Sector Day at the State House in 2024.

 

The Mass Cultural Council’s annual operating and grantmaking budget is approved each year through the state budget. The Mass Cultural Council’s budget is also the single largest public appropriation each year that is directed towards arts and culture in Massachusetts. In FY25, our coalition successfully advocated for a budget increase and the Mass Cultural Council was funded at $26.9 million.

 
 

This year, in a continuation of our campaign to increase the agency’s budget to $35 million or $5 per capita, the MASSCreative Action Network circulated a sign-on letter urging the Healey-Driscoll Administration to increase the Mass Cultural Council’s FY26 budget (0640-0300) to $28 million and the Massachusetts Tourism Trust Fund’s budget to $17 million.

Within a few days, we received support from nearly 700 individuals and cultural organizations. We submitted the attached letter with those signatures to Gov. Healey, Lt. Gov. Driscoll, and Executive Office for Administration and Finance Sec. Gorzkowicz on Friday, January 17, 2025.


You can read the creative sector’s FY26 Budget letter to the Healey-Driscoll Administration below.

 
 

On January 22, 2025, Gov. Healey filed her budget and proposed $26,045,152 for the Mass Cultural Council in FY26, essentially level-funding the agency. Budget considerations and negotiations will proceed with the House’s FY26 Budget in April, followed by the Senate’s Budget in May, and a Conference Committee report in June.

Thank you for taking the first step in advocating for strong Mass Cultural Council and Massachusetts Tourism Trust Fund budgets by signing on to the Healey-Driscoll Administration letter. The MASSCreative Action Network will continue advocating for these priorities in the House FY26 Budget.

 
Resources
A Guide To Hearing And Giving Testimony

An important part of the governing process is public hearings. These occur on all levels of government (Federal, State, and Local). Understanding the hearing process and how you can participate will make you a more effective advocate for a more equitable and inclusive creative sector.

INSIDE THE STATE BUDGETING PROCESS

Maintaining and increasing public investment in the creative community requires constant and broad grassroots activism throughout the annual budget process.

NonProfit Organizations & Advocacy

There is a lot of misinformation on what a nonprofit can and cannot do when it comes to advocating for its interests and the needs of the communities they serve. Check out our Nonprofits and Advocacy Resource on how your organization effectively and confidently advocate for a more equitable and inclusive creative sector of all residents in the Commonwealth.

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Kelsey Rode
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