The Revere Cultural Council voted Dec. 11 to provisionally allocate $43,747 in grant funds to 24 of 51 applicants, after nearly two hours of deliberation over priorities and budgets.

Chair Rocky Graziano told applicants and viewers that the council faced “really difficult decisions” because request totals — about $209,000 — far exceeded the council’s $44,600 budget. He said the panel used the Mass Cultural Council scoring toolkit to filter and rank submissions, advancing projects that scored at or above 60% into discussion and automatically approving those above 80%.

The council prioritized school-based and youth-oriented projects while trying to preserve support for larger community festivals. Jaime Jimenez, vice chair and the council’s numerical tracker during deliberations, recapped provisional line-item amounts before the final vote. After a voice vote the panel approved the allocation as discussed; council members noted the awards are pending official approval letters and a 15‑day appeal window for declined applicants.

Several notable allocations and outcomes included:
• Ramadan Iftar dinner — applicant Asma Abufoda described the annual community dinner (limited seating, heavy food and venue costs) and said outreach flyers are translated into Portuguese, Arabic, Spanish and Haitian Creole. The council moved the Ramadan Iftar from its “maybe” list to the approval list and provisionally awarded $500 as a partial grant.

• Youth and school programs — multiple school-centered projects received priority funding. Examples include an African storytelling residency at Augustine School (provisional partial award of $2,000), field trips to the Massachusetts State House (bus funding discussed and later listed at $1,000), and in‑school arts projects and workshops that the council emphasized as top priorities.

• Community festivals and performances — larger requests were trimmed or partially funded. Revere Bridal Month (the top‑scoring application) and Revere Pride were discussed at length; council members negotiated between $4,500 and $6,000 figures before settling allocations as part of the final package. The council declined several items, including a small Community Magic Show and Shirley Ave Ciclovia, noting limited available funds.

During the meeting Rocky Graziano emphasized the volunteer nature of the council’s work and the need for transparency: “There is absolutely no way that we can approve all of those with a budget of $44,600,” he said as the members discussed cuts and partial awards. Applicant Asma Abufoda said the Ramadan dinner “brings our entire community together, Muslim and non‑Muslim,” and urged support for continued programming.

The council also voted to reserve $1,000 from the budget for a recognition event for grant recipients, to be planned in the coming year. Jaime Jimenez said he would circulate a detailed spreadsheet of the approved allocations to council members after the meeting.

What happens next: the awards authorized at the meeting are pending. Declined applicants have a 15‑day window to appeal; the Mass Cultural Council will review procedural compliance as part of the post‑decision process. The council asked approved recipients to provide an event report and photos for social media and noted that final, formal award letters will issue after the appeal period and any state review conclude.

Meeting adjourned at 7:51 p.m.