Funding your festival or event

The aim of our Festival and Event Fund is to support the establishment and development of festivals and community based arts and cultural events in Allerdale which look to achieve the wider objectives set out below.

You can apply for funding by filling in an application form, a link to which is below. Please read this criteria and guidance and give as much detail as possible in your application form.

To support festivals and events that:

• are a completely new event/festival
• are an event/festival that is under 3 years old but are looking to include additional activity to
• improve event sustainability
• will develop the cultural offer within its locality or appeal more widely across West Cumbria
• will support the local economy
• engage people from the local community
• fill a gap in the tourist/cultural season
• develop the skills of volunteers
• maximise non-public sources of income, with a view to being sustainable and not dependent on funding

Applicants should:

• demonstrate that the festival/event will meet the objectives set out above
• demonstrate that the festival/event requires funding to:
  • Develop and deliver its activity or
  • Start a new venture to grow a new audience to make it sustainable
• show that the funding will support an inclusive, community event, enabling something new to take place in the community that is ‘needed’ (i.e. it will not duplicate another similar event)
• have a detailed budget breakdown in place and include with application, which includes a schedule of income/expenditure with evidence of match funding and any contingencies
• be a community group, charity or not-for-profit organisation, which does not give potential sources of income to charity and has appropriate governance in place (constitution etc.)
• show that the responsible organisation understand the requirements of organising a successful event and have the capacity to deliver what they plan to do
• have appropriate insurance, licenses and permissions in place.

Note:

• Events that have had three previous grants will not be eligible for further grants
• This fund will not cover costs for Christmas Lights switch-on events or carnivals.

1. Say in as much detail as possible how you will meet the council’s objectives and funding criteria.
2. Fill in the application form. It is important to apply well in advance of your festival or event as we do not fund retrospectively. Panel meetings take place monthly so we welcome applications at any time. Following the meeting, you will be informed in writing if your application is successful or not.
3. A completed Evaluation Report should be received by Allerdale Borough Council no more than four weeks after the project is completed.
4. Successful applicants will be awarded 90 per cent of their grant in advance.