Offaly County Council announces Arts Act Grants 2021 (Ireland)

Deadline: 20-Jan-21

Offaly County Council Arts Office is calling out to communities to make an application to the Arts Acts Grants for 2021. The Arts Acts Grants are an annual funding scheme which provides support to communities wishing to engage in a range of arts activity and projects within the community context such as workshops, projects, presentations, or events.

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The aim of the scheme is to stimulate public interest in the arts, promote the knowledge, appreciation and practice of the art and assist in improving the standards of the arts. The Arts Act 2003, from which this scheme derives, includes in the definition of the “arts”, music, literature, film, video, community arts, drama, and dance, visual arts, architecture, applied arts.

Funding Criteria

Priority will be given to art projects that:
Present a high-quality complete application and fully prepared budget;
Are innovative and ambitious and show contingency planning if required to change to online presentation due to Covid 19 restrictions;
Produce maximum community impact;
Provide quality and professional art experiences to the intended participants;
Prove to make the best use of public money.
Applications can be made for on-line or physical programming or a combination of both
Applications for funding for arts events and activities should not be undertaken without great thought to the above goals.
Individual artists may apply for projects that demonstrate innovation in their approach to engaging particular community groups.
Schools may apply, however projects are not for the purpose of supplementing the curriculum, rather projects should be additional and provide alternative art experiences for the students.
A panel nominated by Offaly County Council will make the recommendations to the Elected Members of the Council. Funding recommendations will be made to members of Offaly County Council for final approval.
Funding will Not Cover

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Festivals and Parades.
Projects that include:-Website development & maintenance, franchise projects or commercially viable and home craft projects.
Capital equipment/costs (including instruments, Laptops, projectors etc.)
Heritage projects that do not involve an artistic outcome (i.e. a historical factual book).
On-going revenue costs or cover of loans/deficits, annual budgeted on-going programmes, capital costs and charity fundraising events.
Events competitive in nature.
Individual Artists- Training, development of own work.
Who can apply?

Applications are sought from voluntary, amateur community organizations participating in arts activity or arts groups who are proposing arts projects within the community.
Applicants should be based in County Offaly and undertake an arts project/event within Offaly.
Funding Conditions

The Arts Act Grants funds 70% of the total project cost up to a maximum of the award given. Groups must demonstrate a financial and/or in-kind contribution to the project. A limited number of grants will be awarded. You should show on the budget how your contribution will be funded. The average grant is between €400 – €800, exceptional projects can be funded up to a maximum of €2,000. (one or two per year).
Offaly County Council’s own Child Safeguarding Policy requires that any project involving young people has the appropriate Child Safeguarding Policies and/or certificates in place, they are unable to fund projects that do not have this assurance, therefore, it is the organisation’s responsibility to ensure that any person hired by them has the appropriate Child Safeguarding Training.
Their finance section has strict criteria – All groups/ individuals awarded must have a valid Tax Clearance Number/access number, a bank account in the name of the group and e-mail contact. If these are not obtained, then any grant monies awarded cannot be paid.
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/2VXv32J