Newry, Mourne and Down District Council: COVID Recovery Support Programme for Tourism & Arts Events
Overview
The Council’s overall vision for financial assistance is to maximise the impact of its work across the Council area for the benefit of residents. Council will use financial assistance in a way which is:
- Strategic and helps Council deliver its objectives in line with its statutory responsibilities.
- Transparent and accountable.
- Fair and equitable – funding allocation will be based on merit and no other factor.
- Needs based – funding will only be provided where there is a clearly demonstrated need.
- Efficient use of funding/value for money.
- Able to show tangible outcomes.
- Outcomes that can be measured.
- Able to engage the community.
Theme
COVID Recovery Support Programme for the Tourism & Arts Events projects must complement the programme aims and objectives as outlined below.
The Council will only consider one application per organisation for the COVID Recovery Support Programme for the Tourism & Arts Events.
This call is open to both the private, public and voluntary and community sector.
Funding
£5,000 - £15,000; 75% match funded by Council; the applicant needs to provide evidence of 25% match funding.
Examples of match funding below:
- Total requested amount from Council is £15,000 minimum match fund required is £3,750
- Total requested amount from Council is £5,000 minimum match fund required is £1,250
Match funding may include a letter of offer from another funder, letter of intent from sponsor or funding in the applicants account ringfenced for this activity. Projected income generation at the point of delivery will not be considered as match funding.
Aim
The fund will support tourism event organisers, groups and artists to engage with visitors, communities and audiences through events, productions and performances hosted outdoors or in suitable venues (where Government regulations permit).
Objectives:
The fund will support events, productions and performances that:
- Positively showcase the District as a unique tourism and cultural destination. This would include generating positive media coverage both pre and post event.
- Showcase the arts, culture, heritage and/or tourism offering of the District to local audiences and visitors from outside of the District.
- Create new and innovative ways to deliver arts, heritage, cultural or tourism content to audiences.
- Support the District becoming one of the premier tourism destinations on the island of Ireland and must fit with the Council’s Tourism strategy which can be downloaded from their website.
- Funding will be considered for applications that are not already part funded by Council or other agencies/funding organisations.
- All applicants must clearly demonstrate how events / performances / activities will be delivered in strict adherence to Government guidance on the ongoing COVID response in event management plans, risk assessments and public liability insurance, etc. Successful applicants will have to have these documents on file and available for review, if requested.
- Council contribution to any project will not exceed £15,000 relevant costs or 75% of total project costs, whichever is the lesser value. Applications require evidence of 25% match funding, these can be from applicant’s accounts or other funders but not from income generation at the point of project delivery.
Eligible costs:
The following list of costs is not exhaustive:
- Marketing Costs – Advertising / PR activities / Flyers / Posters / TV or video production / Signage / Media Monitoring / Programmes / Merchandising / Dispatch of brochures / Performance fees
- Health & Safety Costs – First aid / Stewards
- Venue Costs – Venue Hire / Venue preparation / Marquee hire
- Production Costs – Staging / Sound / Lighting / Equipment hire / Communication (radios) / Ancillary costs / Volunteer accreditation and/or training costs / Security costs / Event evaluations or research costs
All project activity MUST be completed by 31st March 2022 with no possibility of extension.