Mass Cultural Council warns of possible $1 million FY26 gap as final NEA payment awaits Treasury transfer

At its Feb. 12 Executive Committee meeting, Massachusetts Cultural Council Executive Director Michael J. Bobbitt told members the National Endowment for the Arts has approved the Council’s final installment but Treasury had not yet released the funds, creating uncertainty for fiscal year 2026 planning.

Bobbitt said the Agency is covered for the current fiscal year and that the NEA payment represents a relatively small share of the Council’s budget; he added that, without federal funding in FY26, "we could face a shortfall of a million dollars." CFO Catherine Cheng-Anderson clarified that the NEA had approved the final installment and that Treasury documents were signed the prior day but that the cash transfer had not arrived.

Cheng-Anderson told the committee that the NEA typically sends funds in June and that she and Deputy Executive Director David Slatery planned to attend an NEA webinar the following week to get more clarity on timing and any implications for FY26. Committee members were told the Council is fully funded for FY25 in part by a $1.2 million NEA payment already allocated to the Agency.

Bobbitt and staff described contingency planning as an outstanding item: no formal contingency plan for FY26 had been adopted at the time of the meeting, and leadership said they would continue conversations with state budget officials as Beacon Hill deliberations proceed. The Chair said the committee will be kept apprised and that a Special Meeting may be convened to review benchmarking or fiscal developments.

The committee did not take a formal vote on funding contingency at this meeting; staff emphasized the issue as a planning risk rather than a final budget decision.