Grants for new niche festivals in Birmingham

Birmingham City Council is inviting applications for grant support for new independent or niche festivals in Birmingham. This new funding stream is called the Emerging Festivals Fund

This is part of a programme of work to grow and support Birmingham’s festivals. Our ambition is to have a year round calendar of festivals.

Grants for new niche festival are available between £500 to £4,999.

The funding is being provided through the Birmingham Cultural Partnership which is part of Be Birmingham (Local Strategic Partnership). Birmingham City Council’s Art Service is administrating these funds.

The key objectives of the Emerging Festivals Fund are:
· To support emerging festivals (ie those which are new or in their second or third year of presenting a festival), where they can demonstrate the potential to become niche events which will contribute significantly to economic impact, visitor numbers or media profile for Birmingham by
· improved quality and quantity of artistic programme
· audience development especially amongst groups which are under-represented amongst arts festival audiences (ie black and minority ethnic audiences and disabled people, people living in Birmingham’s priority neighbourhoods)

An applicant organisation must:
· be constituted as a not-for-profit company;
· be based in Birmingham;
· provide high quality Arts based festival activity in Birmingham – music, theatre, dance, visual art, craft, literature, new media
· which is of more than one day’s duration
· have a turnover of no more than £49,999 (festivals larger than this can apply to Arts Council England’s Grants for the Arts, Birmingham City Council project funding or through the LAA programme for Challenge Funding
· have policies for Equalities and safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults which meet the minimum standards required by BCC;
· provide audited accounts for two previous financial years;
· submit the application and all supporting documentation required by 4pm on Thursday 4th February 2010

All applications must be sent to Julie A Sutton, Administrator, Arts Team, Birmingham City Council, BMAG, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham B3 3DH at (art.grants@birmingham.gov.uk) by 4pm on Thursday 4th February 2010.

Potential applicants are strongly advised to seek a surgery (1hr) with the Project Manager on Monday 25th January before submitting their project proposal.

Click on the links below for more information.

Background information - http://www.martinmullaney.co.uk/images-festivals/emerging-festivals-funding-prospectus.pdf

Funding guidance - http://www.martinmullaney.co.uk/images-festivals/emerging-festivals-funding-prospectus.pdf

Application form - http://www.martinmullaney.co.uk/images-festivals/emerging-festivals-fund-application-summary-sheet.pdf