Aims/priorities: The Culture Recovery Fund: Emergency Resource Support programme has been established to provide emergency funding for culturally significant organisations in England. Those which were financially sustainable before coronavirus (COVID-19) but are now at imminent risk of failure, having exhausted all other options for increasing their resilience, are being supported. Applicants must be able to demonstrate they are at risk of failure or ceasing to trade viably within 12 weeks of the point of application. They must also demonstrate plans to maintain their sustainability through the financial year 2022-23, without needing further emergency support.
Through the Emergency Resource Support programme, the Arts Council can support:
- Essential business expenditure, such as staff salaries and fixed/operational costs for the duration of the funding period.
- Costs for projects/activity that are/is essential to continued operations and that are/is related to the reopening of businesses in a COVID-safe manner and that will drive future income.
- Full or partial repayment or clearance of COVID-related debt incurred since 1 April 2020, not including affordable lending.
- Building reserves, up to a maximum value of eight weeks’ turnover (Local Authorities and Universities cannot include these costs).
- Proportionate redundancy pay-outs where decisions have been made to reduce the workforce.
- Running risk management and financial reviews and testing any identified actions to safeguard the organisation as needed.
- One off costs arising from organisational development including reconfiguring business plans, governance and activity needed to help safeguard the future of the organisation – in particular costs that will enable organisations to increase income.
- One off building/capital expenditure up to a maximum of 10% of the full grant request in order to adapt any existing activities and core business.
Who can apply? Applications are open to cultural organisations in England that are properly constituted with a governing document. They must be able to demonstrate, via cashflow forecast, they are at risk of ceasing to trade viably within 12 weeks of the point of application. The kinds of organisations that are eligible to apply include:
- Private companies (either limited by shares or guarantee) registered at Companies House.
- Community interest companies (either limited by shares or guarantee) (CICs) registered with the CIC regulator.
- Charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs) registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales.
- Charitable companies or charitable trusts registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales.
- Limited liability partnerships registered at Companies House.
- Partnerships established under a partnership deed/ agreement governed by the Partnership Act 1890 or the Limited Partnerships Act 1907.
- Community benefit and co-operative societies registered with the Financial Conduct Authority.
- Royal Charter bodies.
Statutory bodies and other public bodies including Universities and museums that run or maintain cultural services.
Grant amount: Generally, the minimum amount that can be applied for is £25,000 and the maximum is £3 million. For profit-making commercial organisations, the maximum is £1 million.
Application process: Applicants must first complete a ‘Permission to Apply’ form. These can be submitted between Thursday 8 July 2021 (12:00 BST) and Thursday 30 September 2021 (12:00 BST). The completed form must be emailed to ers@artscouncil.org.uk
Where permission to apply is granted (normally within five working days after submission), applicants will be invited to make an application on the Arts Council's online application portal, Grantium. Organisations that do not have a profile on the system yet will need to set one up as soon as possible, as it can take a few days to validate profiles. Applicants must apply through the Grantium portal within five working days of permission to apply being granted. The portal will open for applications on Thursday 15 July 2021 (12:00 BST) and close on Thursday 14 October 2021 (12:00 BST).
Guidelines and FAQ documents are available on the website of Arts Council England.
Deadline: Thursday 30 September 2021 (12:00 BST)
Contact information: Email ers@artscouncil.org.uk
Website address: Arts Council England