Grant And Award Applications
Mike de Sousa, Director,
AbleStable
Making
effective grant and award applications is a crucial
area that can generate valuable income and recognition
for creative people. We present the kinds of questions
and issues that arise in grant and award applications
so creative people can more fully prepare for what
may often be experienced as an intimidating and
bewildering process.
The
Politics of Grants and Awards
Grants
and awards are provided for one of two reasons:
1. They form the basis of a governmental strategy
that has been put in place with the aim of encouraging
and supporting the artistic community, creative
endeavour, or to carry forward a particular government
policy (eg. web awards encourage businesses to explore
the opportunities of e-commerce and develop a particular
area of the economy which a government may wish
to stimulate); or
2. They are commercially run with the aim of promoting
and associating a company brand with a particular
activity and expertise. In addition the grant/award
making business will target their award to a particular
sector that may also potentially increase revenue
through increased interest in their product and/or
service.
Making an effective grant or award application is
therefore as much about ensuring you talk the same
language as those issuing the award as having a
deserving project. Researching and tailoring the
application specifically to the organisation or
business that is offering the grant or award will
ensure a much greater chance of success.
Grant
Applications for Artistic Work
Many
creative people apply for grants from government
arts institutions. Whatever the grant, always take
time to prepare your application thoroughly.
Apart from the obvious requirements like contact
details you'll be required to make statements and
to answer many questions on issues relating to your
proposed project. The following section draws heavily
on the grant application issued by the Arts Council
of England and provides a sound basis for preparations
creative people should make before approaching and
applying for an award.
You and your work
You may be asked to describe:
• What you want
to do
• What you want
to achieve, and how it fits in with your current
work and its future development
• Why your proposed
project is important to you or your organisation
• The names,
skills and experience of artists and the other main
people involved in your proposed project
• How you may
bring in and involve other artists or skills
You may also be required to attach a CV (curriculum
vitae) with your application.
Making it happen
You may be asked to describe:
• Any plans you
have already made
• How you will
manage and carry out the activity to achieve its
aims
• Evidence of
support from any partners, including funders
• Your past experience
of successfully managing a similar activity
• How you will
manage the main stages of the activity and what
each stage contains
Finances
You may be asked to describe:
• Your approach
to raising money from other sources for this activity
• Any effect
the activity will have on your long-term financial
position
• The financial
control systems you have in place
Benefits
You may be asked to describe:
• The benefit
it will bring to you, your organisation or other
people
• Details about
the people the activity will reach, for example,
the audiences, or people taking part or attending
• How you will
reach them, including marketing activity
• Any evidence
of demand for the activity
Evaluation
If an award or grant is given, the award/grant body
may ask you to evaluate your work and you may ask
you to describe how you propose to evaluate it.
The award/grant body may assess the information
in your written proposal and application form by
taking account of:
• The artistic
quality of the activity or its ongoing effect on
your artistic practice
• How the activity
will be managed and its ongoing effect
• How feasible
the activity is financially, and its future effect
• How the public
will benefit from the activity, immediately or in
the longer term
• The contribution
of the activity to meeting the aims of the award/grant
body
Example
Award Application Form
The following section provides an example award
application. Creative people should draft an application
and keep it handy in the event a grant or award
opportunity arises.
About You
Title:
First Name:
Last Name:
Position:
E-mail:
Describe any particular communication needs that
you or your main contact person have (for example,
communication by textphone, materials in large print
and so on).
Please say (in no more than 50 words) what you do
(if you are applying as an individual), or what
your organisation does.
Please provide a description (in no more than 50
words) of the activity you are requesting support
for:
How many people do you estimate will benefit from
the activity?
If possible, please also estimate how many people
benefited from your last 12 months’ activity.
If none applies, write ‘Not applicable’
or ‘N/A’. Please note that ‘taking
part’ means doing the activity. ‘Audience’ includes
people going to an exhibition or performance, and
people getting access to printed, recorded or
broadcast work, or work on the internet.
Where will this activity take place?
What are the age ranges of the people who will benefit
from your activity? Children under five | Children
(five to 11) | Youth (12 to 19) | Young adults (20
to 24) | Adults (25 to 64) | Adults (65 and over)
| All age ranges
Please give details of the expected result of your
activity: Number of performance or exhibition days
| Number of new products or commissions | Period
of employment for artists
Budget
The budget should be for the total cost of the activity
you are applying to do.
The income and ‘expenditure’ (costs)
for your activity should match.
Most grants to individuals are ‘taxable’.
You will need to speak to your own tax office if
you have any questions about this.
Income for your activity
Break down the income for your activity.
Private
income
Include any income from private sources, for example,
from you or your organisation, or donations or grants
from trusts and foundations.
Support in kind
Estimate the cost for any items or services given
to you that you would otherwise have to pay for.
Expenditure for your activity
Give details of all the items you will be paying
for as part of your activity.
Artistic expenditure: include the fees and wages
of, for example, actors, musicians, dancers, visual
artists, stage designers, directors, producers,
composers, writers, choreographers, stage managers,
lighting designers, curators and workshop leaders.
Include the costs of projects, events, commissions,
research and development, productions and residencies,
including any materials or equipment you need to
carry these things out.
For touring activity, please list fees and wages
as well as other costs. These may include costs
for creating and preparing a tour, and costs that
are the direct result of touring, for example, travel,
transport, accommodation and subsistence costs.
Organisational and professional development
Include the costs of organisational development
activity, including business planning, artistic
development, relocation, feasibility studies, support
from consultants and dealing with debts.
Include the costs of training, travel or other professional
development such as bursaries and fellowships.
Marketing
Include marketing costs run up as a direct result
of your activity, for example, design and print
costs, direct mailing, website design, photography
and fees to people supporting press and marketing
activity.
Overheads
The amount you apply for must relate directly to
the amount of time spent on the activity you are
asking us to support, so please explain how you
have worked this out.
Capital expenditure
If you are applying for a capital grant, you should
include the costs of equipment, vehicles, access
improvements, refurbishing arts buildings, public
art, buying property and leases.
About you or your
organisation
Select your organisation type: Arts organisation
– Amateur | Voluntary Arts Organisation –
Professional | Local authority | Community or Voluntary
Trust or Foundation Organisation | Educational Establishment
| Youth Group | Sole Trader | Partnership | Private
limited Company | Public Limited Company | Registered
Charity | Non-registered Charity | Not-for-profit
| Trade Association | Other
What year was your organisation formed?
How many people do you employ?
Are you a voluntary or community organisation? This
should be qualified in the award application as
there are many different definitions of voluntary
and community.
Does your organisation exist purely to sell products
and/or services online?
When did your organisation begin trading?
Determine your category: E-Business Start-up | E-Trading
| E-Business | Voluntary & Community
Describe your business
If you are a subsidiary, provide your parent organisation's
details:
Number of employees:
Company registration number:
Turnover (revenue) in your last financial year:
Profit before tax in your last financial year:
Estimate your revenue from e-trading last year (£
or %):
Do you accept credit card payments: Yes | No
How do you process credit card transactions?: on-line
| off-line
What percentage of your credit card transactions
do you process on-line?
Do you comply with the Consumer Protection (Distance
Selling) Regulations 2000?
Yes | No
Are you registered under the Data Protection Act?
Yes | No
How quickly do you respond to email queries (on
average)?
Do you have any web trading accreditations or certifications?
If yes, which ones?
General information
Your main website URL (if any):
Give an overview of your web site:
What are its strengths and weaknesses?
What are the benefits to your organisation of having
the web site?
What is the target audience (the users) of your
web site?
What are the benefits to your target audience of
using the web site?
How have you improved the quality of your product,
service or information delivery using the Internet?
What were your objectives in going online and did
you achieve them?
Describe how you ensure security of information
and/or access on your site:
Please provide the URL for your privacy statement:
If required, please provide a login for the judges:
What was the total cost of the implementation of
your website?
Describe the planning process involved:
What is unique and/or innovative about your approach?
Provide one example which illustrates your success
so far:
What have you learned?
What would you do differently next time?
What are your plans for the future?
Conclusion
After making a great application and offering a
deserving project as its focus you may still fail
to gain a grant or award. In the case of arts grants
this is often the result of a closed process that
is selective and biased to those matching the tastes
and whims of a few, but influential body of art
administrators.
Awards initiated by the business community tend
to be more open, however, there remain commercial
incentives that drive the awards process that must
be satisfied by the award winners, and your project
may not carry forward the companies underlying agenda.
Whether you're successful or not in your search
for glory and recognition there's one final thought
you should hold close: for every award winner there
are many more deserving alternatives. Awards are
opinions, and yours are as important as any others...
|
|
|
|
