ScottishPower Foundation: Art for Climate Fund

Overview

ScottishPower Foundation recognises the increasing demand for funding within the art and culture sector, further exacerbated by recent periods of austerity experienced in the UK.

Art and culture play a significant role in raising awareness, fostering empathy, and driving action towards climate change and sustainability. Through audience engagement, art can make complex environmental issues seem more tangible, encouraging reflection, change and a shift towards sustainability within the art world itself. 

The ScottishPower Foundation’s Art for Climate Fund will finance two multi-year projects that contribute towards the goal of building knowledge and capacity to meet climate change. 

Aligning with several UN Sustainable Development Goals, a two-year grant from this fund aims to increase the capacity of arts charities to design, develop and implement innovative solutions that respond to the climate crisis.

It is anticipated that the fund will award two grants of £100,000 administered over two years.

Proposed projects - which must take place in the UK should address the following criteria:

Criteria 

Specific Objective

• Cultural Initiatives: Using the arts to inspire evidence-based action for climate and to promote sustainable development, by increasing participation in the climate debate and fostering an understanding and appreciation of nature.

In addition to addressing the focus of the fund as stated above, all of the following statements must apply to your organisation:

• You have an active board of at least three unrelated trustees
• You have been registered with one of the UK Charity Regulators for at least three full years 
• You have at least three full years of published accounts that show as received on the relevant charity regulator website
• Your income in the last set of published accounts was greater than £130,000 but less than £10,000,000.
• The bank account into which the funding is to be made is not based in a restricted country (i.e. tax haven, high corruption risk or sanctioned country)

Funding Level

Two grants of £100,000 will be awarded from the fund. Grants will be paid in two tranches as determined by the successful charities, to a maximum of £70,000 in year 1, with the remainder paid on the first anniversary

The lead organisation, considered to be the organisation submitting the request for funding, will enter into a funding agreement with the ScottishPower Foundation for a period of up to two years with no possibility of funding for the same project beyond the two-year period

Applicant Notes

• Projects delivered by multiple partners will be eligible to apply. They consider a partner to be an organisation involved in planning, execution and monitoring of the proposed project.
  • For projects delivered in partnership, they may request supporting documents from all partners should you be shortlisted.
  • The lead organisation, considered to be the organisation submitting the request for funding, must be a charity registered with one of the UK Charity Regulators 
  • For partnerships with registered companies, there must demonstrable evidence of in-kind or financial contributions from the partner company 
  • Requests for funding are limited to one per partnership
• They provide funding that is restricted to the delivery of specific projects, and not for general unrestricted running costs. 
• You can apply for funding for salary costs, however, please note that funding is awarded for a set period and there is no guarantee of funding in subsequent years
  • They encourage applicants to pay their staff the Real Living Wage, and require that any post directly funded from their grant is paid at no less than the current voluntary hourly rate of pay recommended by the Living Wage Foundation