The Partner-Up Fund

Overview

Take Note have joined forces with Collaborative Change and Footwork Trust to launch the Partner-Up fund, supporting and empowering high-impact arts collaborations for social change.

Funding

Groups of organisations with a shared idea for an arts-for-social-change project are invited to apply for one of two funding grants - up to £30,000 per project.

See case studies of previously funded projects here.

Strategic Support

Beyond the funding, successful groups will also receive Take Note’s additional programme of partnership support with access to tools and resources which help structure and strengthen the impact of your collaborative work. More information can be found here.

What do they mean by:

collaboration?

Two or more organisations working together to achieve a common purpose (for them, preferably across skill-sets / disciplines / sectors).

communities?

Groups of people who coexist in a physical (or virtual) space or who share a common interest or pursuit.

the arts?

They have a broad definition of ‘the arts’ and celebrate all creative endeavours, including but not limited to music, dance, theatre, literature, film, visual arts, circus, crafts, built-environment projects and design.

by social impact?

Work towards addressing the imbalances in our societies - building equality, tackling inequity, overcoming discrimination - to make things better for all.

What are they looking for?

For this funding opportunity, they are focusing specifically on:

• projects using the arts for social change
• projects where there is a collaboration between at least two organisations actively involved in delivery.
• projects that connect unlikely allies together including organisations that work outside the arts.

They are particularly interested in projects with significant social impact:

• work with communities that have limited access to artistic activity
• innovative responses to overcoming the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic
• opening up and reclaiming spaces (physical or digital) for creative, inclusive community activities
• accessible participatory artistic activity, culminating in an inspiring and ambitious final event (autumn/winter 2022).

Collaborations and Partnership Structures

They want each collaboration supported by Partner-Up to be:

• A collaboration where all partners are committed to the project and are invested in its outcomes and impact.
• A collaboration where the group is excited to share and learn from one another.
• A collaboration where the core group of partners are engaged with the additional offer of strategic partnership support from Take Note

They understand that partnerships can take many forms. For example, you may have a small number of core partners working together on every element of the project working alongside lighter-touch partners who only engage with specific parts of the project.

You may have a group of charitable arts organisations partnering with non-arts/non-charitable organisations.

You may have one or two organisations working with individual artists/producers/creatives/makers. (These are just examples)

For a £30,000 partnership project, they recommend no more than 3 - 4 partners to ensure everyone is fairly compensated for their time on the project (but are happy to discuss on a case-by-case basis).

Whatever the structure of your partnership project, they will ask that it fulfils the following criteria:

• There is one lead organisation named on the funding application. This organisation must be a UK-based registered charity or CIC.
• All other partner organisations receiving a proportion of the grant funding must be registered charities/CICs or be delivering work that directly contributes to the charitable activity of this partnership project. They actively welcome the inclusion of non-charitable organisations within projects - but they will need to review whether these organisations can receive a proportion of the grant on a case by case basis.
• Individual artists/producers/creatives/makers can be named partners in a project - and can receive funding. Ideally their involvement in a project will sit alongside two or more organisations.

How much can a group of organisations apply for?

Each group can apply for up to £30,000 for their project.

To be eligible to apply for this funding, partnership groups must have secured at least 10% of the total cost of the project from other sources.

This can include contributions from core organisational funding from any of the partners involved.

The total amount applied for should be split between the eligible partners. (This split does not have to be equal but they'll want to know that each partner is fairly compensated for their engagement and fully committed to the project.)