What's the Deal?
Arts funding: Does it really exist? Who really gets it? Does anyone? Francesca Gavin scans over what's out there. (This article first appeared on Channel 4's the Ideasfactory)
So you've got an idea for a creative project. All you need is the money to make it happen.
Although there are funding bodies out there with the cash, getting it out of their pockets is easier said than done. It's all about taking a breath, doing your research and filling out a lot of applications.
First Port of Call
The breadth of projects they have supported since their inception in the 1960s is impressive: spoken word poetry nights, theatre productions for the deaf, screen-based dance works, visual art exhibitions, talks about performance art, even a maze in the gardens of Kielder Castle, Northumberland.
Although a lot of the Arts Council's cash does go to big institutions, there are still plenty of small grants for creative individuals.
One person or small group can source grants between £200 - £100,000. Applicants have to submit a written proposal about the activity:
350 words for applications up to £1,000
1,000 words for £1,000 - £5,000
2,500 words for over £5,000.
Responses come within 6 working weeks for applications of £5,000 or less and 12 working weeks for over £5,000.
Another door
The Arts Council, however, are not the only funding body supporting creativity. Sometimes they recommend people to approach The Crafts Council (this is also an Arts Council Funded organisation) or if it is a commercial film, The Film Council.
An alternative is to approach NESTA, another source of lottery cash. The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts was set up in 1998 with three core programmes:
Invention & Innovation (open access via their website)
Fellowship (nomination only)
Learning (soliciting submissions/proposals from key organisations).
Their funding comes from a £250 million endowment from the National Lottery which is invested in government bonds - they can't touch this fund but survive off the annual interest, around £12 million.
The "majority of what we do is supporting individuals and helping them to develop new ideas", Communications Manager Hannah Daws explains.
Anything goes
The Invention and Innovation programme, has become the UK's largest source of seed funding for early stage ideas, investing £15,000 to £150,000 in any one project.
"Our funding is more like an investment and we negotiate some sort of stake, which could be royalty-based or an equity deal, with each project." Daws notes.
Recent NESTA projects vary from dental reconstructive surgery, investing in a new method to literally grow teeth, to Carnesky's Ghost Train, a touring burlesque Ghost Train which hits Trafalgar Square this autumn.
NESTA has also just established a new programme, Creative Pioneer Programme, which is aimed at graduates from art and design courses who are looking to set up new creative businesses and need help in this area.
Do the legwork
Unlike other funding bodies, NESTA covers both arts and science. They don't have quotas to support each discipline, and the programmes cater for all. A lot of the projects also cross the boundaries between the two.
Other cross disciplinary funding bodies, again supported by the lottery, include Awards for All, a community based scheme that gives grants between £500 and £5,000 to art, sport, heritage, education and community projects.
Then there's Visiting Arts, for UK promoters wanting to bring over art from a specific 'other' country; the National Foundation for Youth Music (NFYM), which develops music opportunities for young people up 18 years old, and performing arts funders Pulse.
When it comes to arts funding there isn't a pot of cash you can dip your hands into without any work. Along with filling out the application forms, phoning and forming a relationship with people at the funding bodies makes a huge difference.
Ask questions and make sure you fill out every aspect of the forms the way "they" want you to.
It is also very important to find the right body to suit the right project and to keep applying. The internet is invaluable and many of the funding bodies have online applications.
Rejections do not necessarily mean that you never will get approval. It's like asking someone out for a date - perseverance never hurts when it comes to getting what you want.
Article written by Francesca Gavin for Channel 4 website Ideas Factory http://www.ideasfactory.com (Website will open in a new window)
Funding for the Arts