ARTS ORGANISATIONS

ARTS GRANTS SCHEME

2017 / 2018

GRANT CRITERIA

INFORMATION NOTES

ARTS ORGANISATION ARTS GRANTS SCHEME

2017 / 2018

CONTENTS

1. Introduction & Purpose of the Fund::Page 3

2. Funding Limits::Page 4

3.General Funding Principlesof the Fund::Page 4

4.Eligibility Criteria::Page 5

5. What We Do Not Fund::Page 7

6. Scoring Criteria::Page 9

7. Before Submitting Your Application::Page 14

8. How to Apply::Page 16

9. Assessment Timetable::Page 17

10. What Happens Next::Page 17

-Successful Applications

-Unsuccessful Applications

11. Definition of the Term Arts::Page 19

12. Definition of a Professional Artist/Arts Organisation ::Page 19

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF COMPLETED APPLICATIONS ARE PUBLISHED ON THE COVER OF THE APPLICATION FORM

(ALL PROJECTS MUST HAVE A MINIMUM LEAD-IN TIME OF THREE MONTHS FROM THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

BEFORE THE PROJECT IS DUE TO START)

A HELPLINE is available for those seeking advice on completing an Application Form by contacting Lynda McCord, Arts Administration Assistant, on T: 028 92 509509 or E: .

  1. INTRODUCTION & PURPOSE OF THE FUND

The importance of the arts and creative activities to the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities is a key part of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council’s Community Support Plan and in support of this, the Council’s Arts Organisation Arts Grants Scheme has been designed to support the amateur and professional arts sector in the delivery of arts events, projects or activities, which take place in the Council area through the provision of direct grants or guarantees against loss.

The Aims and Objectives of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council in supporting properly governed Arts Organisations through this grants scheme are:

  1. Sustainable Arts that develop and strengthen creative partnerships in order to promote and deliver innovative thinking, concepts and projects, by:
  • Facilitating access to finance, training, networking and showcasing opportunities for established and emerging artistic talent;
  • Promoting the importance of the arts for community development, to enhance quality of life, nurture a shared civic identity and sense of belonging throughout the Council area;
  • Working in partnership to maximise economic growth and vitality of the Council area in order to attract corporate and visitor investment.
  1. Accessible Arts that seek to reach out, include and positively impact upon those who would benefit most, by:
  • Improving access to the arts and create opportunities for individuals, groups and communities regardless of experience and ability, to participate in and enjoy a diverse range of arts activity; and
  • Ensuring people-centred arts services, communication and delivery, based on the needs of the arts, cultural, education, business, health, community and voluntary sectors.
  1. Quality Arts services and facilities that enhance the creation, performance, participation, experience and enjoyment of the arts, by:
  • Promoting artistic excellence, innovation and leadership in creative programming, education, participation and collaboration; and
  • Providing an efficient, effective and value for money service.
  1. FUNDING LIMITS

Grants ranging from£1000-£3000 are available for any one organisation in each financial year.

  1. GENERAL FUNDING PRINCIPALS OF THE FUND

The following principles and conditions will apply to all grants scheme applications;

  • This is a competitive scheme and applications will be determined on the basis of merit.
  • Projects must take place in the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council area between the date of their signed Terms & Conditions being received and 31 March 2018.
  • Applications to this scheme will be open to all groups from within the Lisburn & Castlereagh Council Area or those where the project location & beneficiaries are within the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council areathat can meet the core criteria of the scheme irrespective of whether the events are established or emerging.
  • Allow a 3-month lead-in-time from the deadline for submission of the application and the date of the commencement of the project for the panel to assess the application and allow adequate timelines for marketing the project.
  • Applicants can apply to other sources of public support, outside of the Council, but must declare this in their Application Form and show how the additional funding will add value to the project.
  • All applications should contribute to the promotion of a positive image of Northern Ireland and organisers must take steps to avert anti-social behaviour.
  • Applicants in receipt of a grant must comply with all statutory obligations regarding the delivery of and access to their project, including Health & Safety and licensing requirements.
  • Applicants must make every effort to increase capacity within theirarts organisation through e.g. skills training and volunteering.
  • Applicants will be expected to make efforts to develop a plan to improve their project’s sustainability, and reduce reliance on public funding, in future years.
  • It is a prime responsibility of Council to ensure the proper and efficient use of, and accountability for, public monies. To this end, applicants must forward all supporting documentation along with the application. The Council will be unable to assess applications without all supporting documentation being received.
  • Applicants will be required to demonstrate the effectiveness and impact of their project, and adequately show how it will have a positive and measurable impact in arts development in the Council area.
  • Successful applicants will be expected to ensure invitations to the event are extended to his Worshipful the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Chairman of the Council’s Leisure & Community Development Committee.
  • Those organisations based outside the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council area may be awarded funding for projects as long as the entirety of the project takes place within the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council area.
  1. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

The following eligibility criteria must be demonstrated within your Application Form or through your supporting documentation. If your organisation does not meet the eligibility criteria we will not consider your application for funding. Council Officers will perform an initial eligibility check on all applications to ensure that the application meets the eligibility criteria:

  • Evidence that the applicant is from a formally governedarts organisation i.e. ‘it has a primary purpose of promoting the Arts’(a copy of the Constitution, Memorandum Articles of Association, etc. must be submitted with the application and evidence must be provided that it has been adopted at a public meeting of the group’s membership).
  • Evidence that the applicant group’s governing document is open and accountable and has a fair and equitable ethos in accordance with Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act (1998).
  • Evidence that the applicant group has proper financial management systems by submitting with their application an independently signed set of annual accounts, in accordance with their governing document.
  • Evidence that appropriate policies and procedures have been adopted in relation to the protection of Children & Vulnerable Adults.
  • Evidence of Public Liability insurance cover of a minimum £5 million for the activities of the group, including the proposed project, or confirmation from a broker that this can be produced.
  • Evidence that the group is based with the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council area or that the project location & beneficiaries are within the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council area.
  • Evidence that the activity is not of a commercial nature or organised on a profit / commercial basis.
  • Evidence that the activity is not for normal running costs of the applicant’s organisation.
  • Evidence that the application is not for trade or professional conferences / conventions.
  • Evidence that the application is not primarily fundraising for charitable purposes, or deploying potential sources of income to an external charity.
  • Evidence that the project is not a duplication of other activities.
  • Evidence that the application is not for a social event that has no community benefit.
  • Evidence demonstrating support and level of involvement if applying for grant aid to work with other Artist Organisations.
  • Evidence that the group has submitted a SAG (Safety Advisory Group) Notification Form.
  1. WHAT WE DO NOT FUND

Organisations that are:

  • not formally governed, in other words, they do not have a Constitution or Memorandum and Articles of Association.
  • not operating on a not-for-profit basis (taken from the Constitution or Memorandum and Articles of Association) as we cannot support commercial projects or projects that could be carried out commercially. If, in the reasonable opinion of the Council, the organisation applying for funding is a de-facto commercial organisation, whatever the legal make-up of the organisation, then the Council shall not fund that organisation. The decision of the Council shall be final, in this regard.
  • able to share out profits not deemed to further other ‘community benefit’ activities (taken from the Constitution or Memorandum and Articles of Association).
  • not prepared to share learning from their project with the Council and other relevant groups.
  • Local authorities or public-sector organisations.

Projects that:

  • take place outside of the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council area.
  • provide no potential benefit to the public, either in the short or long term or that are social events for an organisation.
  • are of a commercial nature, organised on a profit / commercial basis.
  • are aimed at funding the normal running costs of a community organisation.
  • have already taken place or are already under way at the time of the assessment.
  • duplicate what already exists.
  • are party political in intention, use or presentation.
  • promote a particular religion.
  • are primarily fundraising events, for charitable purposes, are heavily branded with charity branding or deploy potential sources from the project to a charity.
  • are contrary to any Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council policies.
  • are primarily tourism events where the organisation cannot demonstrate significiant arts sector involvement.

In addition to the above, the following are considered ineligible for all grants:

  • Application forms that are not completed.
  • Projects by individuals/sole applicants.
  • Contributions towards general appeals.
  • Funding towards campaigning around a single issue.
  • Areas of statutory responsibility or where such funding has been withdrawn.
  • Retrospective payments or the repayment of loans.
  • Awards ceremony or industry events.
  • Holiday schemes.
  • Residential courses and/or associated events.
  • Organisations that are in poor financial health or cannot show effective financial control.
  • Organisations who have previously received a grant from either Lisburn City Council, Castlereagh Borough Council or Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council that was not managed satisfactorily or was not completed. This includes if you did not send us the Monitoring and Evaluation Forms within the agreed timescales or if you did not seek approval for changes to your project.
  • Overheads allocated or apportioned at rates in excess of those used for any similar work you carry out.
  • Building/capital costs.
  • Costs which are not clearly linked to the project.
  • Costs that are poor value for money, or procured outside of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council’s procurement guidelines (services or items over £1500 require 3 written quotes).
  • Costs that are already covered by other funding or income sources.
  • Costs related to private or unfunded pensions.
  • Amounts for gifts and donations.
  • Reclaimable VAT.
  • Alcohol.
  • Prizes and trophies.
  • Funding towards uniforms.
  • Equipment costs unless they have an on-going use throughout the project and are essential and necessary to complete the project.
  • Grants under this scheme are not given to individuals or projects that are underway at the time of assessment. Individuals/Artists should apply to the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council Arts Grant Scheme for Individuals/Artists. Formally governed Community Organisations should apply to the Making Art in Communities Arts Grants Scheme.
  1. SCORING CRITERIA

In order to deliver the fund’s Aims and Objectives, applicants will need to clearly demonstrate within the scheme Application Form, how their project addresses the scheme assessment criteria, as outlined below.

A panel comprising of Council Officers will review all grant applications received and will make recommendations to the Head of Cultural & Community Services on the overall demand for funding, the level of priority attached to the activity, the use of the grant and to what extent the criteria has been met.

Applications received shall initially go through an eligibility check based on the criteria being met. If eligible under the fund, the application shall then be scored - the scoring percentages are as follows:

  • Contribution to Aims andobjectives of the scheme 65%
  • Strength of the applicant organisation & capacity to deliver 35%

The indicative pass rate requirement is set at 40% and any group that does not score higher than this may not receive funding.

The fund is a competitive scheme and is limited by budget availability, therefore groups who score above the 40% pass mark can still not be guaranteed funding under the scheme or may be awarded a further reduced grant to ensure the scheme remains within the budget available.

If your organisation has met all of the eligibility criteria, we will use the criteria below to score your application.

To assist groups with the completion of Application Forms, the points awarded for each assessment criteria have also been included together with additional guidance on the type of information that we are seeking. You are advised to read carefully through the scoring questions.

Applications will be scored against the following criteria:

The arts and culture play an important role in promoting social and economic goals through local regeneration, attracting tourists, the development of talent and innovation and improving health and wellbeing of the local community.

A: Addressing Arts Development (20%)

Arts development aims to increase the number of people participating in arts activities and provide a wide range of quality provision.

Criteria / Weighting (%) / Guidance
Please detail how the project will target local area arts development. / 20% / How will this project increase the number of people participating in arts activities and provide a wide range of quality provision?
Total A. 20%

B: Contribution to the Aims Objectives of the Scheme (45%)

Criteria / Weighting (%) / Guidance
Facilitating access to finance, training, networking and showcasing opportunities for established and/or emerging artistic talent; / 7% / • How will this grant support your organisation’s art-form development in the Council area for established and/or emerging artistic talent?
Promoting the importance of the arts for community development, to enhance quality of life, nurture a shared civic identity and sense of belonging throughout the Council area; / 8% / • How will your activity enhance an understanding and appreciation of the arts by the local community?AND
• How will your activity enhance the effectiveness of the arts in supporting health, well-being and a sense of belonging in the local area?
Criteria / Weighting (%) / Guidance
Working in partnership to maximise economic growth and vitality of the Council area in order to attract corporate and visitor investment. / 6% / •How will your activity draw participant/audience members from within and around the community and increase the number of visitors to the Council area to help build economic and social capital?
Improving access to the arts and create opportunities for individuals, groups and communities regardless of experience and ability, to participate in and enjoy a diverse range of arts activity; / 6% / • How will your activity inspire people to become involved in the arts as a participant/audience member?
Ensuring people-centred arts services, communication and delivery, based on the needs of the arts, cultural, education, business, health, community and voluntary sectors. / 6% / •How are you creating an awareness of the importance of the arts to society by helping citizens and elected officials understand the many ways the arts enrich our lives and contribute to the health of our local community?
Promoting artistic excellence, innovation and leadership in creative programming, education, participation and collaboration. / 6% / • How will you use your Monitoring and Evaluation information to demonstrate that your activity is relevant, inclusive and professionally presented as well as being inspiring, challenging and engaging for participants/audiences members?
Criteria / Weighting (%) / Guidance
Providing an efficient, effective and value for money service. / 6% / • How is your activity suitably situated, resourced, planned and safe?
Total B. (45%)

C: Marketing Schedule (5%)

Criterion
Your application must show your marketing promotional strategy for this activity demonstrating how Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council will be acknowledged on such activity. (max score 5%) / Please detail how you will promote your activity through mediums such as photography, press releases, social media etc.

D:Strength of the applicant organisation and capacity to deliver (30%) This section does not directly relate to specific questions but the quality of the information contained throughout your application.

Criterion
Your application must show clear evidence that the proposed grant is meeting with artistic need. (max score 15%) / You will need to detail what the artistic need is, how you identified it and who the beneficiaries are.
Evidence must show that you have met the specific Aims and Objectives of the scheme. There should also be adequate Monitoring and Evaluation systems in place.(max score 5%) / You will need to demonstrate a clear link between the artistic need and the aims of securing a grant.
Criterion
Applications must show how and to what extent thatyou have demonstratedthe need for the grant and how the grant will complement the Council’s arts development initiatives in the local area. (max score 5%) / Detail the nature of the arts activity you are providing and its uniqueness. Look for examples of complementary work and how your activity will provide added value to the development of the professional arts sector within the Council area.
Applications must show how you have assessed potential risks and considered strategies to reduce or eliminate them.
(max score 5%) / Please detail all reasonable risks that could impact on your activity. Consider the date, venue and if the grant award is to be used to undertake an internal or external event.
Total C. (30%)
  1. BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION

Before submitting your application please ensure: