Arts Activity Grants

Applying for an Arts Activity Grant

Please ensure you read these notes carefully before applying for an Arts Activity Grant, as they include both useful and important information.

The Arts Service is committed to maintaining its support for local arts activity through a variety of ways, including grant giving. The Arts Activity Grant scheme provides funding support for groups to organise arts activities that benefit the people of Hampshire.

Arts Activity Grants cover a broad range of activities, you could apply for, for example; a one off arts project, an arts festival, a one off or series of performances or a series of workshops.

Included in this pack you will find information detailing eligibility for application, information on the grants scheme and how decisions are made, advice on what you need to tell us in your application and guidance notes referring to the questions on the form.

Before making an application to the scheme, we ask that you first discuss your proposal with the Grants Administrator (phone: 01962 846966, email: arts.office@hants.gov.uk) to provide a basic overview of the activity you intend to apply for. This will ensure that the activity meets the criteria and may also provide you with extra information.

If you do not have access to a computer, we are happy to send a hard copy of the application form, although you could also consider using the People’s Network at your local Hampshire Library. (All Hampshire libraries have People’s Network PCs, where you can surf the net, e-mail and make documents etc, for free. You can also benefit from the library staff’s knowledge and assistance.)

The following notes include information on

• Who can/can’t apply?
• What activities we do/don’t fund?

When to apply?

• What happens next?
• Other sources of income
• Filling in your application form

Who can apply?

To be eligible for support the applicant must:

• be an organisation and not an individual
• be a non profit making group/organisation
• have approached or actively sought local or district, borough, town or parish council funding

Who can’t apply?

We cannot fund

• individuals
• profit making organisations

What activities do we fund?

To be eligible for support the activity must:

• benefit Hampshire people in Hampshire
• contain a community focus
• be a non profit making activity
• not be part of the curriculum and not part of the normal school day, if taking place in a school or involving school children

It is also preferable that activities should

• be of an innovative or developmental nature
• where appropriate, involve Hampshire based professional artists, musicians or performers

What we can’t fund

We cannot fund

• capital schemes - i.e. buying musical instruments, equipment or mending a roof
• activities that are primarily fundraising activities for a third party
• travel and performance costs for Hampshire arts organisations performing outside of the county
• setting up an organisation e.g. a play scheme
• further or higher education, personal development or training for individuals
• production or rehearsal stages for films or performances unless it contains high quality outreach work that is of genuine benefit to the piece and the participants
• ongoing organisational costs unless they are part of the costs of running the activity
• activities taking place outside of the county, e.g. in Southampton or Portsmouth

NB Partnership projects where Hampshire County Council is taking a lead role should check with The Arts Office that their project is eligible for funding before applying.

When to apply

There are two decision days per year for which you can apply for an Arts Activity Grant, the diagram below details the procedure for 2009/10.

Round 1	Event happening between April 2009 - March 2010	15 September 2008 application deadline	13 Nov 2008 decision day	Apr 2009 payments made from
Round 2	Event happening between September 2009 - March 2010	23 Mar 2009 application deadline	22 May 2009 decision day	May 2009 payments made from

Approximately two thirds of the grant fund available will be allocated in round 1 and one third allocated in round 2. Essentially, by reserving money in the budget for round 2, we hope to be able to support more organisations and have a more even spread of applications.

What happens next

Once your application is received it will be processed by the Arts Administration Assistant, who will then pass a copy of your application and a summary report to the Head of Hampshire’s Arts Service.

The Head of Hampshire’s Arts Service will then look at all the applications received in the round and make a recommendation of award based on how closely the activity fits with the County Council’s Corporate Priorities and also the current size of the grant fund. This recommendation is presented with a summary report to the Executive Member for Recreation and Heritage, who then agrees a final decision. An award may come in a variety of forms, for example, you may be offered an outright grant, a guarantee against loss or a conditional award.