Creative Fund

The Creative Fund aims to further the charitable mission of the Theatre Royal Bath. The purpose of the Fund is to support the enrichment of local culture by offering financial support to creative projects happening within a 20 mile radius of Theatre Royal Bath.

Please note that competition for funding is likely to be intense and we expect to receive many more applications than we are able to fund. Before deciding whether your organisation is eligible to apply, please read these guidelines carefully.

1. What will the Creative Fund support?
The Creative Fund aims to support independent arts projects unconnected with the Theatre Royal Bath and in line with the Fund’s purpose. The Creative Fund construes ‘arts’ broadly and will consider projects involving theatre, dance, music, comedy, literature, sculpture, painting and the visual arts.
Applicants will be required to demonstrate how the project for which they are requesting funding will further those aims.
Examples of the kind of project which would be eligible include (but are not restricted to):
Productions in schools or community venues; Productions in local professional arts venues; Outdoor performances; Commissions for new works in performing arts disciplines (e.g. theatre, music, dance, puppetry, mime, comedy, spoken word); Commissions for new works of performance related visual art (e.g. artist-in-residencies, public art, photography or art exhibitions); Purchase of capital equipment relating to theatre/arts projects (e.g. sprung wooden floor/lighting equipment/flexible seating etc); Projects involving children and young people.

Projects must take place within a 20 mile radius of the Theatre Royal Bath, and will ideally be completed by the end of 2020.

2. What will the Creative Fund not support?
The Creative Fund will not consider applications from, or involving any of the following:
– Organisations planning an activity outside a 20 mile radius of Theatre Royal Bath
– Political organisation
– Sports, health and animal welfare organisations, unless planned activity is in an arts discipline
– Individuals
– Fundraising events for third parties
– Retrospective funding
– Sponsorship requests or requests for funding in respect of theatre, dance, art, writing or music school studies
– Organisations or projects which may bring the Creative Fund into disrepute

3. Who can apply?
Applicants must be a constituted group such as:
– a registered charity
– a not for profit voluntary organisation
– a not for profit community organisation
– a community interest company
– an educational establishment such as a university, school or college

If you are involved with an independent arts project, unconnected to the Theatre Royal Bath, and a member of a constituted group, you are eligible to apply.

Applicants must have a current bank account in the name of the group or organisation (with at least 2 signatories) and be able to submit no fewer than 6 months’ worth of bank statements.

4. How much can we apply for?
The amount to be distributed from this fund will vary depending on the nature of the project applied for and the availability of funds from TRB at any one time, with a minimum grant level of £500 to a maximum of £10,000.

5. Do we need to find additional support from elsewhere?
Matched or additional funding from another source is not compulsory. You can apply to the Fund as your sole source of funding.
However, if your project requires more funding than we can supply, or forms part of a bid for grants or funding from another source, we may be happy to become co-funders. You will need to state in your application any other source of funding requested and allow us to contact that source independently, to verify your application and to ensure that our aims are compatible with theirs. This is the case whether your application to the TRB Fund is made prior or subsequent, to an application from anyone else.

Grants made available for part funding of a project will only be made available by the Creative Fund to a successful applicant on proof of the availability of the balance of funding required for the project.

6. How do we apply?
Please contact the Creative Fund Co-ordinator via creativefund@theatreroyal.org.uk for an application pack.

Applicants must apply in writing using the Creative Fund application form.  The completed form together with the information described below should be returned by email to the Theatre Royal Bath Creative Fund Co-ordinator Graeme Savage at creativefund@theatreroyal.org.uk by 5pm on Friday 28th February 2020.

7. When can we apply?
Applications are being accepted now. The deadline is Friday 28th February 2020. Incomplete applications or applications received after this deadline will not be considered.
We would encourage you to contact the Creative Fund Co-ordinator prior to submitting your application. The Co-ordinator are there to help and support you through the application process. Your chance of success will be improved if you engage in dialogue with the Co-ordinator throughout the application process.

8. What happens next?
Safe receipt of all applications will be acknowledged by email by the Co-ordinator of the Creative Fund. All applications will be reviewed by the Co-ordinator against the eligibility criteria (see points 3 and 6 above) and then those that are eligible will be subject to scrutiny and evaluation by the committee of the Creative Fund.
Examples of the sort of documentation which may be requested for this purpose include: Constitution; names and addresses of signatories and project leaders; access to annual audited accounts; information on the background of the organisation; evidence of relevant insurance policies.
The amount of documentation required will be relative to the size of the grant requested.
A shortlist will be put forward by the committee to the board of the Theatre Royal Bath for a final decision to be made in respect of the application.
All applicants will be informed in writing of the outcome of their application. Applicants will usually be notified of the final decision within 2 months of the closing date for applications.

9. What happens if we are successful?
Depending on the size of the award payable, we will negotiate a payment schedule for you. This may take the form of an initial amount to get the project off the ground and instalments payable on successful completion of further stages. We anticipate that the projects applied for will vary in nature, so the specific nature of the payments will vary accordingly.

You will need to agree to a monitoring and evaluation process, including regular operational and financial updates to the Co-ordinator. You will also be asked to agree to be part of any press or publicity relating to the Fund and must acknowledge the Fund on any marketing material for your project both in print and via any social or electronic media distribution of your project’s publicity.

10. What happens when the project finishes?
After completion of your project, you will be asked to submit a written report and a final budget statement, together with photographic or recorded documentation of the project, together with a signed release form allowing us to use material for future publicity of the Fund if we so wish.