Arts Council NI: New Small Grants Programme

Overview

They welcome applications from the widest possible range of organisations, representing all categories under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, and encourage first time applicants to our funding. In particular, they welcome applications from the local authority areas listed below as applications from these council areas are currently under-represented across their programmes for organisations: 

• Antrim & Newtownabbey
• Ards & North Down
• Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon
• Causeway Coast and Glens
• Fermanagh and Omagh
• Lisburn and Castlereagh
• Mid and East Antrim
• Mid Ulster
• Newry, Mourne and Down

Participating in the arts, and coming together as communities, can make a vital contribution to improving health and wellbeing, building confidence, and integrating communities. They want to encourage projects which facilitate greater participation in the arts across every section of our society.

Who can apply?

They welcome applications from the widest possible range of organisations. You will be required to provide proof that you have a legal constitution. 

• Formally constituted community and voluntary organisations 
• Registered charities and other organisations which cannot distribute profits 
• Groups of constituted organisations working together to deliver specific projects 
• Local Authorities on their own behalf or in partnership with one or more community/voluntary organisations (NB: partnership organisations must not fall under any of the restrictions set out in Who Cannot Apply below). 
• Arts Organisations 

For applications from 2 or more constituted organisations working together, a single organisation must be the lead applicant: that is, the group in whose name the application is submitted, to whom the grant will be awarded and who will be accountable for delivering the project and reporting on it to ACNI. You must clearly identify in the application form any organisation(s) you are partnering with. You may also chose to submit a signed Letter of Partnership using the template available on our website. This enclosure is not mandatory but its provision may help your application. You will be required to provide your governing document – such as a constitution - and your organisation must have a committee or board with at least two unrelated members - by unrelated they mean people who aren’t family members, such as siblings, parents and children, married couples or civil partners or people living at the same address.

How much can you apply for?

You can apply for an amount between £500 and £5,000 for a project. Please keep in mind that the amount of money available is limited and demand for funds is likely to be high. It is not usually possible to fund all applications that simply meet the criteria or to fund the entirety of any given request. 

You should be realistic in your expectations and budgets, and bear in mind that the Council may choose to fund specific elements of your proposal rather than the full proposal.

Timeframe

Projects can begin on any date on or after 1 September 2025 and must complete by 31 March 2026. All project expenditure covered by the grant must be incurred by 31 March 2026.

What you can apply for

You can apply for the following eligible costs, which are indicative and not limited to: 

• Costs of artists/facilitator/tutors (ie. fees). 

Important Points:

If you know which artists/facilitator/tutors you are hiring for the project and you are seeking costs for their fees, you should supply the CVs of those named individuals you intend to hire. 

The maximum contribution ACNI will make towards artists/facilitator/tutor fees are set at the following rates: 

£70 : Half Day 

£125 : Full Day for 3 days or less 

£545 : Full Week 

You should keep these rates in mind when you are costing your project and calculating your request amount. Remember that you may not receive the full range of your request. For example, you may seek fees for 5 weeks of programme delivery, but may only be allocated costs for 4 weeks or less. 

• Materials 
• Equipment hire 
• Volunteer expenses 
• Accessibility costs - any additional costs you are likely to incur through the involvement of Section 75 groups, e.g. carers costs, language translation, visual aids (e.g. Braille), sign language and hearing assistance. See also point below. 
• Accessibility-related transport costs within Northern Ireland - such costs must be integral to project delivery - for example, costs could be for vehicle hire to transport participants to courses/activities. (NB: Arts Council has a maximum allowance of 25.7p per mile in relation to fuel costs.) 
• Venue hire for workshops, training, rehearsals and performance

Please note: the above lists of eligible activity are not exhaustive, but please remember that your project must be arts-focussed. If you have a project idea and are unsure if whether it would be eligible for funding, please contact the relevant artform team at the Arts Council for guidance.