Community Festivals Fund

Guidance Notes for Applicants

  1. Introduction

The primary purpose of the Community Festivals Fund is to improve the capacity of community festivals and make them less reliant on public funding by providing support and training in addition to funding towards the cost of the events. The Fund enables community organisations to celebrate their cultural identity and to strengthen community relations. In 2008, the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) transferred funds to the 26 Local Authorities to administer to community festivals. Moyle District Council matches the funding from DCAL and has developed a Community Festivals Fund Grant Programme through which it can provide financial assistance to community festivals in the Moyle District.

A Community Festival is typically a series of different events with a common theme. The Festival must be initiated and led by a community organisation or a community led partnership. The community must play a strong part in the development and delivery of the Festival and the Festival should be open to and encourage participation from all sections of the community. There are two types of community that may apply:

  • geographical communities – villages, neighbourhoods, districts or rural areas
  • community of interest – a group of people with a common interest or concern
  1. What can be funded

Council has split the Community Festivals Fundinto 2 categories of event:

Small Festivals – one and two day Festivals.Fun day type events are eligible butshould be programmed to take place over at least 5 hours and have a range of activities.

Large Festivals – Festivals lasting 3 days or more and attracting at least 15,000 participants/ spectators overall. Applicants will be required to prove that their event has attracted these numbers of people.

Applications may be made for financial assistance towards events which may include performing arts, visual arts, cultural, recreational and sporting activities including workshops, displays, exhibitions, lectures, performances, competitions and other activities. A draft festival programme should be included with the application for funding.

Smaller events that do not meet the criteria of the Community Festivals Fund may apply for a Community Small Grant

Eligible costs may include:

Insurance, venue hire, performance fees, transport, equipment hire/ purchase, signage, advertising, marketing and media costs, printing, administration (stationery, postage etc).

The following activities/ costswill not normally receive funding:

  • Festivals taking place outside of Moyle District
  • Festivals of a commercial nature, organised to make a profit
  • Festivals that are primarily fundraising events or are heavily branded with charity branding
  • Awards ceremonies or industry events
  • Residential courses and associated events
  • Festivals that are social events for an organisation
  • Food and beverages.
  • Cash prizes
  • Core running costs
  1. How much can you apply for

There are 2 levels of award available based on the 2 categories of Festival detailed above:

Small Festivals

Organisations can apply for upto 75% of total eligible costs of festivals. It is anticipated that the maximum grant awarded will be £1,000.

Large Festivals

Organisations can apply for upto 50% of total eligible costs of festivals.

The level of grant awarded will depend on how the project meets the assessment criteria detailed below and on the final confirmed budget. There is no guarantee that successful applicants will receive the amount applied for.

  1. Who can apply

The applicant organisation must be a non profit taking voluntary or community organisation based in Moyle District Council area and the event must take place in Moyle District Council area.

The organisation must have a governing document (Constitution or Articles and Memorandum of Association) that has been properly adopted.

Membership of the organisation must be open to all regardless of age, gender, disability, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnic identity, religious belief, political opinion, marital status and with or without dependents.

The organisation must have a bank or building society account and keep a proper record of its accounts.

  1. General Principles

Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure General Principles:

The following general principles as laid out by Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure will apply to administration of the Fund.

  • The Community Festivals Fund is a competitive scheme and applications will be determined on the basis of merit.
  • Applications to this scheme will be open to all festivals that can meet the core criteria of the scheme irrespective of whether the proposal is for an established or emerging event.
  • Festival organisers will continue to be able to apply to other sources of public funding support, however will not be eligible to apply to other Council grant schemes to support the festival.
  • All festivals must demonstrate their commitment to promoting social cohesion, social inclusion, equality of opportunity, and good relations.
  • Festivals should contribute to the promotion of a positive image of Northern Ireland and organisers must take steps to avert anti-social behaviour.
  • Organisations in receipt of public funding must comply with all statutory obligations regarding the delivery of and access to their events.
  • Festival Organisers will make every effort to increase capacity within the community through e.g. skills training and volunteering.
  • Festival Organisers will be expected to make efforts to maximise income through ticket sales and sponsorship. They should develop a plan to improve their sustainability and reduce reliance on public funding.
  • It is a prime responsibility of Government to ensure the proper and efficient use of and the accountability of public monies. To this end, festival organisers will be required to provide relevant supporting information when applying for funding.
  • Festival Organisers will be required to demonstrate the effectiveness and impact of their festival and that public funding is put to good use and shows a positive and measurable impact on the local community or economy; a method of formal evaluation is therefore required in all applications.
  1. How will decisions be made

Assessment Criteria:

Festival organisers will be required to demonstrate how their event meets the criteria shown below. The responsibility to provide sufficient detail in any application for Council’s consideration rests with the applicant. Assessment of applications will be made using a system that measures and scores each of the criteria listed below out of a total ten points. Criteria will be weighted as indicated in brackets.

The criteria for assessing applications are as follows:

  1. Duration of festival and range and quality of the programme (15%)
  2. Expected numbers attending and ability to attract visitors to the area (15%)
  3. Level of local community participation in planning and delivery of the festival (10%)
  4. Ability of the applicant group to effectively deliver the event (10%)
  5. Promotion of social inclusion and improvement of community relations (10%)
  6. Exploration of cultural traditions and reflection of local heritage (10%)
  7. Provision of opportunities for development – expanding or diversifying activities; developing links with other organisations/ events. (10%)
  8. Provision of opportunities for people and groups to improve skills and receive training. (10%)
  9. Demonstration of value for money and maximising non-public sources of funding (10%)
  1. When should you apply

It is anticipated that there will only be one call for applicationsfor Festivals taking place in 2014-15, however in the event of the funding not being fully allocated a second call may be made. The closing date for completed applications for festivals taking place from 1stApril 2014to31stMarch 2015 is no later than:

12 noon on Monday 31st March 2014

Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

  1. How to make an application

Before completing an application form you should make sure that youhave read the guidelines and are eligible to apply.

Please ensure that you have completed the application form in full, that it is signed by two members of your organisation and that you have enclosed additional information as outlined in the checklist at the back of the application form. Only applications completed on the standard application form with the appropriate enclosures will be considered.

Following completion of the initial checks and receipt of any additional information, if an application is considered eligible, it will be assessed by a selection panel, consisting of one Councillor from each of the three electoral areas, the Chair and Vice-chair and two relevant officers, who will make a recommendation as to whether or not the application is successful and the level of funding. The recommendation will then go for final approval at a full Council meeting.

  1. If you are successful what happens next

Letter of Offer

You will be informed in writing that your application has been successful. Included with this will be an acceptance form and the terms and conditions of funding. Before any grant can be paid, any pre-conditions of assistance must be met as stated in the letter of offer.

Government Funding Database

Please be aware we are required by DCAL to check the Government Funding Database (GFD) prior to making awards in order to avoid duplication of funding. If successful, then details of the grant awarded by Council will be inputted onto the Government Funding Database. If already registered on GFD please state your organisation’s Unique Reference Number (URN) on your application form to assist with this process. Otherwise groups should log on at to register as a Voluntary & Community Organisation.

Insurance

Appropriate and adequate insurance must be in place for the duration of the project or activity. It is the organisations responsibility to ensure that any individual or organisation it engages is adequately insured.

Risk Assessment

Any applicant who is successful in securing funding will be asked to provide a risk assessment before any payment is made. This indicates that measures have been considered and introduced to minimise any potential risks during the project.

Publicity

The organisation must acknowledge the support of Moyle District Council in all publicity material relating to the activity for which the grant was awarded.

Evaluation

When your project is finished, we will ask you to complete anEvaluation Form within 3 months of completion of the event. An Evaluation Form will be provided with the grant.You should provide documentary evidence that the project/event has taken place e.g. newspaper articles, photos, programmes etc. Successive year funding will be available at the discretion of Moyle District Council and will be dependent upon observation of funding conditions.

  1. What happens if your application is unsuccessful

An appeals system is available if an application is unsuccessful and consists of two stages:

Stage1:Applicants must appeal in writing within 10 working days of receipt of the written Council decision. At this stage you will be advised of the basis for the decision. A meeting with the relevant officer/ assessment panel will be arranged if further clarity is required.

Stage2:If you are still not satisfied, the matter will be referred to the Chief Executive.

Moyle District Council reserves the right to amend, for whatever reason, any of the criteria and application procedures.

If you have any queries when completing the application form, please contact:

Community Services Manager

Development Department

Moyle District Council

Sheskburn House

7 Mary Street

BALLYCASTLE

Co. Antrim

BT54 6QH

Tel: 028 2076 2225

Fax: 028 2076 2515


This document is available on request in a range of formats, such as large print, Braille, CD-ROM. It may also be downloaded from Moyle District Council’s website.

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