What is the Westport Cultural Council and where do they get funding for grants?
The Westport Cultural Council is a town-appointed volunteer group of citizens who manage two cultural grant programs in the community. One grant is awarded in the fall (the Local Cultural Council grant that comes from the Massachusetts Cultural Councils annual allocation to the Town of Westport), and the Helen Ellis Charitable Trust Grant awarded in the spring and supported by funds that the Westport Cultural Council applies for annually from the Helen E. Ellis Charitable Trust Fund. Historically, the Massachusetts Cultural Council funding is much smaller than the Helen Ellis Trust funding, and the size of the individual grants for each program reflects the overall money that the council has to award.
