The following section is excerpted from the contract your organization signed in order to receive a grant from the MCC. It explains the legal requirements for crediting the MCC. The MCC is referred to as" MCC" or as "the Council"; your organization is "the Contractor". Compliance with these requirements will be reviewed in grant reports and as part of future grant requests made by your organization.

1. ADVOCACY & LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT
   
   CIP Partners, Colleagues, and Peers are required to participate in advocacy on behalf of the nonprofit cultural sector. For details please refer to the Advocacy Requirement for Partners, Colleagues, and Peers.

   All other MCC Grantees are encouraged to participate in advocacy on behalf of the nonprofit cultural sector. See our Advocacy section for details.

   We also strongly encourage you to send personalized letters to the leadership of the State House and your state representative and senator, thanking them for MCC’s appropriation and your grant award. Find Your Legislator.

2. CREDIT
   
   a) MCC Credit Logo: The Council must be credited for the support it provides by using the agency's credit logo. The logo must be produced as a unit without alteration.
   
   b) Promotional Materials: Credit must be given by the Contractor to the Council regarding all activities to which Council funds contribute by using the credit logo in printed materials (including season and subscription brochures, newsletters, press releases and announcements), films/videos, etc. Any promotional material, regardless of length, prepared by the Contractor that credits an annual funding source, must also credit the Council.
   
   c) Online Materials: Use the credit logo prominently in online materials (including web sites, blogs, electronically distributed releases, and social media/networking channels) regarding all activities to which your grant contributes. The electronic logo should also link to www.massculturalcouncil.org. Please do not include the logo on surveys.
   
   d) Programs/Playbills: Credit must be given on the title page of all programs printed by a grant recipient in a type size not smaller than 7 point.
   
   e) Exhibition Signage: For any exhibition presented with funding from the Council, the wall text must include the Council listed with other major public, private and corporate sponsors, in proportional order of the size of contribution. If there is no sponsor list in the wall text, a placard must be placed at the entrance to the exhibit crediting the Council. Non-written announcements apply to such situations as radio broadcasts and audio descriptions for people who are hearing impaired.
   
   f) Educational Materials: Credit must be given to the Council in all educational materials distributed in association with any Council-funded program/exhibition, such as brochures, pamphlets, flyers, etc.
   
   g) Verbal Credit: When written credit is not applicable, such as there being no printed program, verbal credit shall be given prior to performances. If an announcement is not feasible, a sign must be placed in the lobby crediting the Council.

3. DONOR RECOGNITION
   
   Any wall plaques or advertisements that acknowledge the Contractor's annual or ongoing support from corporations and/or foundations must also acknowledge the Council.

4. COLLABORATORS
   
   Organizations that are official collaborators with the primary grant recipient must comply with these requirements. The Contractor is responsible for informing said collaborators of this policy and ensuring they fulfill these obligations.

5. CO-SPONSORSHIP
   
   Those programs that are "co-sponsored" will have additional, specific publicity requirements, dependent on the program at the time of negotiation. Under no circumstances may a Contractor state or imply that its programs and/or activities are "sponsored," "co-sponsored" or "presented" by the Council without expressed, written consent from the Council.

For more information about this policy, contact your MCC staff contact or the MCC Communications Director.

Publicize Your Grant

We urge you to inform the press about your grant. Please note that your legislators have already been notified of your grant, and often they will make the first announcements.

To help legislators understand the impact of public funds for cultural activities, you are strongly encouraged to contact your State House Senator and Representative for a quote to include in your own press releases relating to programs supported with public monies. Funding for the MCC is dependent on the support of the Governor and the Legislature. You may want to draft a quote for them to review and approve in your press release.

Remember: Although you are receiving an MCC grant now, a feature article may be best approached several months later about your organization or a particular program once it is up and running. Please acknowledge the MCC in these articles.

Sample press release about MCC grant

Date
Organization Contact Name
For Immediate Release
Contact Telephone Number

The (name of organization) has received a grant of $______ from the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), a state agency. This grant was awarded through the MCC’s ________ Program and it will support (summarize).

State grants are awarded through a competitive process. This grant signifies that (name of organization) provides a high level of public value through its programs and community service. [Describe in more detail the public programs and the numbers of people who will be served by this grant/your organization. Give the amount of private dollars this grant leverages.]

[Quote from legislator: Draft a quote for them to review and approve. For example, they could comment on how public support enables your organization to reach new audiences/foster community development/provide the highest quality programming/develop models for integrating the arts into the curriculum, etc.]

MCC has a budget of $11.2 million, including an appropriation of $9.5 million from the state of Massachusetts and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources. Its funds reach every community in Massachusetts. The mission of the MCC is to promote excellence, education, access and diversity in the arts, humanities and sciences in order to improve the quality of life for all Massachusetts residents and to contribute to the economic vitality of our communities. The not-for-profit cultural industry has a $4.2 billion economic impact in the state.

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