MIDDLEBORO — The Middleboro Cultural Council is scheduled to meet Dec. 1 to finalize how to distribute the grant money received from the state to support local cultural projects.

Each year the Massachusetts legislature earmarks a sum of money to be used to promote and support cultural activities around the state. They then divide that sum up among the cities and towns in the Commonwealth.

This year the Middleboro Cultural Council was allotted just over $18,000 for distribution. This year the council received 41 grant applications, which is about twice the amount of previous years. Those grant requests totaled more than $50,000.

Each community receiving their allotments has a Cultural Council, a small group of volunteers tasked with advising their community of the timing of the grant cycle and the total money available for distribution for the current year. 

During the grant cycle this year submittals were accepted between Sept. 1 and Oct. 19. 

An announcement of the awards will follow. A ceremony honoring the recipients is tentatively scheduled for spring.