Article: Anna Preedy | Image: © Arts Council England
The funding is open to all struggling from the impact of Covid-19, including National Portfolio Organisations, organisations outside the National Portfolio and individuals. Anyone interested in applying will need to have signed up to ACE’s Grantium platform by Friday 03 April.
Funding for organisations outside of the National Portfolio
£50 million available to organisations in the cultural sector, who are not National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs) or Music Education Hubs. They can apply for a maximum of £35,000.
This fund is to support organisations to get back on their feet, or to continue making work in the future that will mean they can contribute to delivering Arts Council England’s new strategy, Let’s Create.
There will be two rounds of this fund. You can apply to only one of these rounds.
If you apply to the first round you will not be able to apply to the second round, even if you are not successful in round one.
The budget will be split equally across both rounds. Please apply to the round that suits your circumstances best.
If you start an application for Round one but don’t submit it, you will be able to access it when the portal opens for Round two. You will then be able to submit it in Round two.
| Round | Open | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | 09 April 2020 | 16 April 2020 |
| Round 2 | 16 April 2020 | 30 April 2020 |
How to apply
When do applications open?
Round 1 opens for applications on 9 April 2020. Round 2 opens for applications on 16 April 2020.
Potential applicants will need to register for Grantium by 13 April and it can take up to 10 days to validate your profile during busy periods so we recommend that you do this ASAP. There will be support available for this.
Step 1: Read the guidance
Download the guidance for applicants, where you can find all of the information you need including the eligibility criteria, the application process and the questions posed in the application form.
Step 2: Register on Grantium
Before you can start an application you need to create a user account and applicant profile.
If you do not already have a profile on Grantium, please set one up before you need to apply. Please make sure that all the information in your Grantium profile is up to date before you apply. Use our Grantium guidance to help you.
Step 3: Begin your application
When the portal opens for applications, you will have seven days to make an application. Applicants will be told the outcome as soon as decisions have been made (approximately two to three weeks after the portal closes) – this means that some applicants will hear the result of their application before others, but all will be advised as quickly as possible.
More information on the fund and application process can be found on Arts Council England’s site
Funding for National Portfolio Organisations
ACE will be making £90 million available to NPOs.
Who is eligible to apply?
All organisations within the Arts Council’s 2018-22 National Portfolio of Organisations (including Bands 1-3, and Sector Support Organisations).
How can this money be used?
ACE are not yet clear about the extent of government support that will be available to help our sector, so they are retaining some flexibility in how organisations should use this funding. They hope the main focus of this fund will be helping NPOs to quickly reboot their programmes of creative work – but some may have to be used to support their ability to operate. A further update has been confirmed for before Easter.
NPOs who benefit from any such funding will be expected to show how they will support the freelance creative practitioners on whom they rely.
When do applications open?
ACE have confirmed they will be making this funding available to NPOs as soon as possible. All NPOs will be contacted with a timeline soon.
Is there any other support you should be made aware of?
Yes. Alongside offering this funding, ACE have already announced measures with immediate effect to support NPOs in the immediate term. More information can be found here.
More information can be found on Arts Council England’s website
Funding for individuals
Up to £2,500
Creative practitioners whose main work is focused on these artforms and disciplines:
- Music
- Theatre
- Dance
- Visual Arts
- Literature
- Combined Arts
- Museums practice
- Libraries (activity that helps deliver the Universal Library Offers)
This work includes: choreographers, writers, translators, producers, editors, freelance educators in the disciplines and artforms we support, composers, directors, designers, artists, craft makers and curators.
ACE are also exploring reasonable adjustments that will ensure applicants with access requirements have an equal chance of benefiting from this fund. This would include anyone ill due to Covid-19
There will be two rounds of this fund. You can apply to only one of these rounds.
If you apply to the first round you will not be able to apply to the second round, even if you are unsuccesful in the first round.
The budget will be split equally across both rounds. Please apply to the round that suits your circumstances best.
Please note that, since this is an emergency response fund, notice period for making and processing applications is much shorter than usual. Timelines may need to be adjusted depending on the volume of applications we receive.
If you start an application for Round one but don’t submit it, you will be able to access it when the portal opens for Round two. You will then be able to submit it in Round two.
| Round | Open | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | 09 April 2020 | 16 April 2020 |
| Round 2 | 16 April 2020 | 30 April 2020 |
How to apply
When do applications open?
Round 1 opens for applications on 9 April 2020. Round 2 opens for applications on 16 April 2020.
Potential applicants will need to register for Grantium by 13 April and it can take up to 10 days to validate your profile during busy periods so we recommend that you do this ASAP. There will be support available for this.
Step 1: Read the guidance
Download the guidance for applicants, where you can find all of the information you need including the eligibility criteria, the application process and the questions posed in the application form.
Step 2: Register on Grantium
Before you can start an application you need to create a user account and applicant profile.
If you do not already have a profile on Grantium, you will need to set one up before you apply. Please make sure that all the information in your Grantium profile is up to date before you apply. Use ACE’s Grantium guidance to help you.
Step 3: Begin your application
When the portal opens for applications, you will have seven days to make an application. Applicants will be notified about the outcome as soon as decisions have been made (approximately two to three weeks after the portal closes) – this means that some applicants will hear the result of their application before others, but all will be advised as quickly as possible.
More information can be found on Arts Council England’s website
