The Hubbardston Cultural Council on Nov. 4 began detailed review of 36 grant applications and agreed to an individualized ranking process to prioritize awards after members noted requests far outnumber available funds.

Council members were told the council has $7,717 available this cycle while applicants requested about $59,850 in total. Rather than awarding funds in the meeting, members agreed each would rank all 36 applications, submit their ordered lists to an appointed aggregator, and use the combined scores to shape funding decisions at upcoming meetings.

Why it matters: The council’s decision shifts the exercise from a single meeting vote to a structured, auditable ranking process intended to reflect individual member priorities and speed decision-making. The method will produce an average score and vote counts used to identify consensus-funded items and those that require discussion.

How the process will work: Members will rank every application from 1 (highest priority) to 36 and send their lists to Connie (aggregator). Connie will compute average rankings and counts, prepare charts and a summary, and present the compiled results at the council’s Nov. 11 meeting at the senior center. The council scheduled a final award meeting for Nov. 20 at its regular venue. Council staff provided a worksheet that includes project location and requested amounts so members can weigh geographic and budgetary priorities when scoring.

Council discussion emphasized local preference and practicality: Councilors repeatedly noted that many requests propose events outside Hubbardston (Gardner, Winchendon, Templeton, Fitchburg and others) and said those should generally be lower-priority when using local funds. Repeat applicants and locally hosted activities—especially events that demonstrably serve Hubbardston residents or use local venues—were cited as higher priorities. Members discussed using a top-five/bottom-five shortcut but ultimately chose a full ranking to produce a clear aggregate ordering.

Next steps and deadlines: Members must submit their ranked lists to Connie by the Monday before the Nov. 11 meeting. Connie will aggregate the results Tuesday (Nov. 11) and present charts and an average-score ordering. Award decisions are expected to be finalized at the Nov. 20 meeting.

Context and budget: Council staff compiled application summaries and a worksheet showing project locations and requested totals to help members factor local impact and requested funding into their rankings. The council’s available grant balance and the large volume of requests mean most applicants will not receive full funding; members signaled they expect to use partial awards where appropriate.