Project Grant fundraising tips
Arts Council England team members offer advice on applying for National Lottery Project Grants
During June CBC held a ‘Fundraising Fellowship Scheme Arts Council England Advice Session’ which offered the opportunity for creatives and artists from across the Black Country to ask questions about applying for project grants.
We were lucky to be accompanied by four members of the ACE team, each with different specialisms, to support ideas and give one-to-one advice. We also had a cohort of creatives who made their way to CoLab Dudley so that some of the ‘Time Rebels’, who are currently in receipt of ACE project grant funding, could also benefit from the advice.
“We’re here to say we want more project grant applications from the Black Country!”
It was great to hear that Arts Council England are looking to support and develop the arts infrastructure in the region and make a difference to cultural activity in the area. The Black Country is a ‘priority area’ for Arts Council England which means that the team are keen to see more people take part in arts and culture helping them to deliver their investment principles and Let’s Create strategy.
Top Tips
The team offered a handful of great TOP TIPS for anyone wanting to apply for a project grant.
Pay yourselves properly
- ACE explained while they don’t offer direct guidance on fees, but (don’t need) it is important to position yourself based on artform and experience.
- They urged applicants to make sure they don’t pay themselves or others under the living wage.
- Arts Council England will be less likely to fund your project if you aren’t paying yourself and the people that you are working with properly.
Apply for what you need
- Robustly cost your project out so that you can apply for what you need.
- ACE will fund up to 90% of a project which means that you should look for 10% match (this can be in kind).
- Don’t put a false ceiling on your budget.
Be specific about your project
- Lots of applications generalise so you need to try to be as specific to your project as possible and use the guidance to make it relevant to your project. For example try not to say ‘my project will engage everybody’ aim to give examples. Who specifically do you want to reach and what impact do you want to have / what need are you addressing.
If you are unsuccessful - try again
- Funds are limited so if you don’t get the grant then you can ask for feedback. Arts Council team are happy to give more feedback to first time applicants to help you with pointers and ways to make your application stronger for a future submission.
- Also remember your project may good and still be declined as ACE need to balance aspects such as art form, geography, cost etc across the region and country.
Give your application to someone to read through
- Sharing your application with someone else before you submit is a good way to bid write. You can write your application in a word document first (before you submit to Grantium) so that you can then share it with someone else to have a read through.
Try to plan well in advance
- Set deadlines to get your application in as it takes time to get a decision. At the moment the wait times are 8 weeks for up to £30k and 14 weeks for over for over £30k. If you need to start a project at a certain time you need to factor this in.
- Another top tip is to NOT try to start your project as soon as you think you might receive the funding. Between application submission and decision things could change so give yourself some extra time to factor in.
Dealing with Grantium word counts
- Lots of people have issues with the restricted word/character counts so use any space to add further info about your projects. These are available in the budget and project partner sections. Here you can add extra information that might enhance your application / support your project.
- Make use of the attachments/supporting documents to add a document for images and additional info like support quotes.
Working with vulnerable people
- If your project includes working with vulnerable people or sensitive topics be aware that you need to include how you will make people safe and think about how you protect people.
- Think about the timelines - give yourself a good timescale and consider what might change
Depth and not Breadth
- ACE prefer a deeper cultural engagement than trying to reach everyone everywhere.
- They look at many applications and art investment collectively and don’t expect your project to reach all the people in your area.
- The preference is on meaningful depth and realistic goals, targets and ambitions.
Contingency and budgets
- Ideally contingency should be around 5 - 15 % of your overall budget and should be related to the project and risk mitigation.
- Relate the contingency to any risk you have identified earlier on in the application and explain it in the budget notes.
- Nothing can be funded retrospectively (unless it is around access support)
What support in kind can look like
A good example of supporting-kind can be:
- Someone giving you space to use
- A person you are working with giving you a discount on their fee
Your 10% match can be all support in kind
Don’t use your own fee / money / savings as support in kind
Addressing the investment principles
- You don’t have to address all of the outcomes (just one)
- Choose the principles that are relevant to your project only and ones that you can fully address
- Pick one outcome and do it really well
- Go through the 8 bullet points and address them
Next event:
Arts Council and CBC are hosting a session about National Lottery Project Grants (NLPG) https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/ProjectGrants
When: Thursday 13th July 2023
Times: 10.30am-1pm
Where: Wolverhampton Art Gallery
Who is it for: this is open to anyone, especially first-time applicants or first time through the newer process
Access: There will be BSL interpreters and the venue is accessible. Access support and requirements will be included in the booking process.
How do I book: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/learn-how-to-apply-for-arts-council-england-funding-tickets-662321851487