Looking for help with your ACE application?
If you are thinking of, or planning to put together an application to the Arts Council’s new COVID-19 emergency funding and would like some advice then we’re happy to discuss your ideas and help you with your application.
We’re happy to offer advice and guidance with your idea, how to answer a particular question if you’re stuck, or advice on which funding strand is most suitable for you. We can also help you to reach wider networks and share your project with our audiences.
There are two strands of funding available Funding for individuals (up to £2,500) and Funding for organisations outside of the National Portfolio (up to £35,000).
We know that competition for these funds will be very high so while we can offer guidance we can’t guarantee that you will be successful in your application.
You MUST be registered with the Arts Council’s GRANTIUM portal to be able to apply for any of these funds and there are certain criteria for applying. You can see the criteria at the links above.
We suggest that you read ALL guidance available to you and register with the GRANTIUM portal before contacting us for help to make sure that you are ready.
The turnaround for this funding is much tighter than usual - we’ve popped some key notes below for each fund but you’ll find ALL of this info and much more over at https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19
If you’d like to chat to one of the team please email your name, contact details and the area of the Black Country* that you are based to: info@creativeblackcountry.co.uk with ‘ACE emergency support’ in the title and we’ll get back to you.
*Please note that this support is only available to people living in the Black Country (Dudley, Sandwell, Wolverhampton, Walsall).
Funding for individuals - Grant range - Up to £2,500
Eligibility
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.
We 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
Key dates
There will be two rounds of this fund. You can apply to only one of these rounds.
Round one opens for applications on 9 April 2020 and applicants will need to register on Grantium by 13 April in order to make an application before the deadline of 12pm (midday) 16 April.
Round two opens for applications on 16 April 2020 and applicants will need to register on Grantium by 27 April in order to make an application before the deadline of 30 April.
If you apply to the first round you will not be able to apply to the econd round, even if we are unable to offer you a grant in the first round.
We will split our budget equally across both rounds. Please apply to the round that suits your circumstances best.
Please note that, since this is an emergency response fund, our notice period for making and processing applications is much shorter than usual. We may need to adjust our timelines 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 one: OPEN - 09 April 2020 / CLOSES 16 April 2020
Round two- OPEN - 16 April 2020 / CLOSES 30 April 2020
Funding for organisations outside of the National Portfolio - Grant range - Maximum of £35,000
Eligibility
Organisations with a track record in publicly funded culture. NPOs, Music Education Hubs and Creative People and Places lead organisations are not eligible to apply to this fund.
Key dates
There will be two rounds of this fund. You can apply to only one of these rounds.
Round one opens for applications on 9 April 2020 and applicants will need to register on Grantium by 13 April in order to make an application before the deadline of 12pm (midday) 16 April.
Round two opens for applications on 16 April 2020 and applicants will need to register on Grantium by 27 April in order to make an application before the deadline of 30 April.
If you apply to the first round you will not be able to apply to the second round, even if we are unable to offer you a grant in the first round.
We will split our budget equally across both rounds. Please apply to the round that suits your circumstances best.
Please note that, since this is an emergency response fund, our notice period for making and processing applications is much shorter than usual. We may need to adjust our timelines 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.