Emergency Grassroots Music Venues Fund

Guidance for applicants

July 2020

Administered, awarded and monitored by Arts Council England

The below is an outline summary of key information. Please see Section Three for

full eligibility criteria.

Summary of key information

What is the focus of the

fund?

The purpose of the fund is to provide

grassroots live music venues that were

financially sustainable before Covid-19 but are

now at imminent risk of insolvency, with the

funds to remain solvent until 30 September

2020.

Who can apply?

This funding is available to venues in England

whose main function is to present live music

events for a public audience in the grassroots

part of this sector (i.e. those working with new,

developing talent in grassroots venues). The

venue must have delivered at least one year’s

worth of activity to be eligible.

Examples of the kind of venues we could

support through this fund are

• Venues recognised as grassroots live

music venues (See the Music Venue

Trust’s guide to Defining GMVs for more

information on what we mean by a

grassroots live music venue.)

• Pubs, clubs, cafes or bars with a

significant live grassroots music

programme (the live music programme

must be mainly original material and

fundamental to the venue’s business

model). For example, other services

such as alcohol, food, merchandise are

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subsidiary or dependent upon music

activity.

• Nightclubs that regularly host DJ and

MC based events but also have a

significant live music programme

focusing on grassroots talent and

original material.

• Combined arts venues with a significant

live grassroots music programme (at

least 70% of overall programming

focuses on grassroots live music).

• Community venues or village halls with

a significant live grassroots music

programme (at least 70% of overall

programming focuses on grassroots live

music).

We welcome applications from venues who

work with all musical types and genres.

We are keen to support venues that bring the

full spectrum of contemporary popular and

other music genres to live audiences. This

includes, but is not limited to:

• classical

• electronic, including house, electronica, drum

& bass, dubstep, experimental etc.

• folk

• hip-hop, grime, rap, R&B etc.

• jazz

• indie and alternative

• metal and punk

• pop

• rock, including blues, modern, post-rock etc.

• world/diasporic music

How much can be applied

for per application?

Between £1,000 – £80,000

3

What is the period that the

funding will cover?

The funding period relates to operational costs

incurred between 10 August and 30 September

2020

Minimum match funding

from other sources

There is no minimum match funding

requirement for this programme

When does the fund open for

applications?

12pm (midday), Saturday 25 July 2020

What is the deadline for

registering for an account on

Grantium (our grant

management system)?

12pm (midday), Thursday 30 July 2020

When is the deadline for

applications?

12pm (midday), Monday 3 August 2020

When will we make our

decision?

We will aim to notify applicants of our decision

no later than 6pm, Monday 10 August 2020

Assistance with your application

We are committed to being open and accessible and want to make the Emergency

Grassroots Music Venues Fund application process accessible to everyone.

We realise some people may find that there are barriers to applying to this fund,

and we want to help people with access requirements to apply. If you do have an

access support requirement, we may be able to offer you some additional support.

Please contact our Customer Services team on enquiries@artscouncil.org.uk or

visit https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/contact-us

We are currently producing this guidance in a range of alternative formats

including Easyread and Large Print. We will publish these as soon as possible. If

you have any access requirements please contact our Customer Services team

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Section one – introduction

Welcome

Thank you for your interest in the Emergency Grassroots Music Venues Fund.

On 5 July 2020, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport announced a

£1.57 billion package to protect the UK’s culture and heritage sectors from the

economic impacts of Covid-19.

The Emergency Grassroots Music Venues Fund is to support grassroots music

venues at imminent risk of insolvency before further government funding can be

distributed.

The criteria for this fund have been set by the Department of Digital. Culture,

Media and Sport (DCMS) and the grants are administered, awarded and

monitored by Arts Council England on behalf of DCMS. This guidance gives you

information on how to apply for funding to the Emergency Grassroots Music

Venues Fund.

About Arts Council England

Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture.

By 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is

valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a

remarkable range of high quality cultural experiences. Between 2018 and 2022,

we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from Government and an estimated

£860 million from the National Lottery to help deliver this vision.

www.artscouncil.org.uk

The Arts Council believes that the ambitions of this programme align with our

strategic vision, as set out in Let’s Create, of a country in which the creativity of

each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish, and where every one of us

has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences.

5

Advice giving

Relationship Managers, our Customer Services team and other Arts Council staff

will not be able to offer specific, one-to-one advice about how to write your

application or to read draft applications for this programme. We have designed this

application process to be as straightforward as possible, requesting only the

information we need.

Our Customer Services team can help you with how to use Grantium. On our

website you can find more information to help you make your application, including

frequently asked questions for this fund.

6

Section two – purpose of the Emergency Grassroots Music Venues Fund

Grassroots live music venues are vital to England’s music ecology, developing

music and audiences as well as supporting talent development. Grassroots music

venues are where many musicians and music professionals develop their skills

and their craft, testing out new approaches and developing audiences, as well as

gaining vital experience of live performance. Grassroots live music venues are

important, and in some cases the only, cultural spaces within their communities,

providing opportunities for people from all backgrounds to experience live music,

both as audience members and as participants or performers.

The purpose of the fund is to provide grassroots live music venues that were

financially sustainable before Covid-19 but are now at imminent risk of insolvency,

with the funds to remain solvent until 30 September 2020.

What we can fund

Ongoing costs involved in keeping the venue solvent until 30 September 2020 that

cannot otherwise be covered though grants, loans, &/or other UK Government

initiatives due to reduced income levels.

For example,

• overheads such as rates and utilities

• personnel and staffing costs

• mitigating losses

What we cannot fund

Any costs that are not solely required in order to keep the venue solvent until 30

September 2020.

For example

• Costs towards programming or other creative or educational activities

• Improvements to buildings or infrastructure such as asset purchase or

building / capital costs

• Contributions to redundancy processes

• Significant historic debt (i.e. debt accrued prior to 1 March 2020)

• Reflating reserves

7

• Covering costs/losses already supported through other sources, including

Arts Council England’s Emergency Response Fund and government

schemes

How much funding is available?

The total budget available for this fund is £2.25million from UK Government Grant-

in-Aid resources.

Rounds

There is one round of the Emergency Grassroots Music Venue Fund.

What is the difference between this fund and other funding offered by Arts

Council England?

The following table will tell you which funding programme, administered or run by

Arts Council England you could apply for.

Situation Programme

Are you a grassroots venue whose

primary purpose is presenting live

music and you require emergency

funding to remain solvent until 30

September 2020?

Consider applying for Emergency

Grassroots Music Venues Fund (this

fund is open to venues only)

Are you a grassroots venue or

promoter whose primary purpose is

presenting live music and you require

funding (up to £40,000) towards things

like programming, capital development

or asset purchase?

Consider applying for Arts Council

National Lottery Project Grants:

Supporting Grassroots Live Music

(link to website)

Are you a grassroots venue or

promoter whose primary purpose is

presenting live music and you require

funding (over £40,001) towards things

like programming, capital development

or asset purchase?

Consider applying for Arts Council

National Lottery Project Grants

(link to website)

Are you an artist, band, manager or

booking agent seeking funding to

Consider applying for Arts Council

National Lottery Project Grants

8

support a tour or other live

performances?

(link to website)

Section three – eligibility

Please read the eligibility requirements for the fund carefully. If you do not meet

any of these requirements, we will be unable to consider your application for

funding.

Who can apply?

This funding is available to venues in England

(including those run / managed by sole traders)

whose main function is to present live music

events for a public audience in the grassroots part

of this sector (i.e. those working with new,

developing talent in grassroots venues). The

venue must have delivered at least one year’s

worth of activity to be eligible.

Examples of the kind of venues we could support

through this fund are:

• Venues recognised as grassroots live music

venues (See the Music Venue Trust’s guide

to Defining GMVs for more information on

what we mean by a grassroots live music

venue.)

• Pubs, clubs, cafes or bars with a significant

live grassroots music programme (the live

music programme must be mainly original

material and fundamental to the venues

business model). For example, other

services such as alcohol, food,

merchandise are subsidiary or dependent

upon music activity.

9

• Nightclubs that regularly host DJ and MC

based events but also have a significant live

music programme focusing on grassroots

talent and original material.

• Combined arts venues with significant live

grassroots music programmes (at least 70%

of overall programming focuses on

grassroots live music)

• Community venues or village halls with

significant live grassroots music

programmes (at least 70% of overall

programming focuses on grassroots live

music)

We welcome applications from venues who work

with all musical types and genres.

We are keen to support venues that bring the full

spectrum of contemporary popular and other

music genres to live audiences. This includes, but

is not limited to:

• classical

• electronic, including house, electronica, drum &

bass, dubstep, experimental etc.

• folk

• hip-hop, grime, rap, R&B etc.

• jazz

• indie and alternative

• metal and punk

• pop

• rock, including blues, modern, post-rock etc.

• world/diasporic music

10

What activity can be

supported?

Ongoing costs involved in keeping the venue

solvent until 30 September 2020 that cannot

otherwise be covered though grants, loans, &/or

other UK Government initiatives due to reduced

income levels.

For example,

• Overheads such as rates and utilities

• personnel and staffing costs

• mitigating losses

Who cannot apply?

Individuals (excluding sole traders)

Venues outside of England.

Venues who have delivered less than one year of

work and/or whose primary purpose is anything

other than presenting live grassroots music for a

public audience.

For example

• Karaoke Bars

• Venues such as pubs, clubs, bars and cafes

for whom live music is not fundamental to

their business model

• Venues such as pubs, clubs, bars and cafes

primarily hosting cover bands and/or tribute

acts

• Arenas, stadiums, concert halls or large

music venues that do not fall within the

classification of a grassroots music venue

(See the Music Venue Trust’s guide to

Defining GMVs for more information on

what we mean by a grassroots live music

venue.)

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• Individual promoters, producers, bands,

artists, agents &/or managers

• Recording studios or rehearsal rooms

• Venues with limited live grassroots music

programmes (30% or less of overall

programming focuses on grassroots live

music)

What activity cannot be

funded?

Any costs that are not solely required in order to

keep the venue solvent until 30 September 2020

For example

• Costs towards programming or other

creative activities

• Improvements to buildings or infrastructure

such as asset purchase or building / capital

costs

• Contributions to redundancy processes

• Significant historic debt (i.e. debt accrued

prior to 1 March 2020)

• Reflating reserves

• Covering costs/losses already supported

through other sources, including Arts

Council England’s Emergency Response

Funds and government schemes

How much can be

applied for per

application?

Between £1,000 and £80,000

How much match funding

from sources other than

ACE is required?

There is no minimum match funding requirement

for this fund.

What is the period that

the funding will cover?

The funding period relates to operational costs

incurred between 10 August and 30 September

2020

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Section four – programme aims and priorities

The purpose of the fund is to provide grassroots live music venues that were

financially sustainable before Covid-19 but are now at imminent risk of insolvency,

with the funds to remain solvent until 30 September 2020.

We want to ensure our funding supports organisations that are providing relevant

cultural opportunities to the widest range of people. You should consider the

information below when telling us about your work as these factors will be taken

into consideration in our decision making.

• That you are located in a place where there is a relatively low number of

cultural organisations, and where the loss of your venue would reduce

cultural engagement opportunities for audiences, particularly for people

from underserved groups in society (e.g. D/deaf and Disabled people,

Black, Asian or other minority ethnic backgrounds or those from lower

socio-economic backgrounds), and for young people. Please tell us if you

operate in an area where there is limited cultural infrastructure, or you are

the only music venue within your area.

• That you are a vital cultural organisation in a place, well used and valued by

your community because of your role in supporting creative and cultural

opportunities for all (including with people from groups who do not tend to

benefit from such opportunities such as D/deaf and Disabled people, Black,

Asian or other minority ethnic backgrounds or those from lower socio-

economic backgrounds), the employment opportunities you provide, the

contribution you make to economic agendas such as tourism, your role in

supporting health and wellbeing and other social outcomes for local

communities, the important role you play in delivering local education

programmes, and/or your role in providing services important to the wider

cultural sector supply chain in the region.

• That you provide opportunity to, and support, a diverse range of local and/or

national grassroots talent to develop creatively and professionally, providing

opportunities for emerging artists, promoters and/or technicians to hone

their craft and develop a fanbase/their skills by providing them with

opportunities to perform/present original work.

• That you provide local or national training opportunities for creatives and/or

other roles involved in the presentation of grassroots live music. For

13

example, training programmes for sound and lighting engineers, promotors,

marketeers, creators and/or talent development.

• That your venue is fully accessible to both audiences and artists evidenced,

for example, by being a signatory to Attitude is Everything’s Charter of Best

Practice for grassroots music venues.1

1 http://www.attitudeiseverything.org.uk/the-charter-of-best-practice/grassroots-venue-charter

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Section five – how to apply

When to apply

The online application form on Grantium will open at 12pm (midday) on Saturday

25 July 2020. Applications must be submitted by 12pm (midday) on Monday 3

August 2020.

Application process

If you do not have a profile in our online application system (Grantium), you

will need to set one up. It can take up to one working day to validate profiles,

so please do this immediately.

If you have not submitted your applicant profile for validation before 12noon

on Thursday 30 July 2020, we will not be able to guarantee its validation in

time for you to apply to this fund.

You can find guidance on our website and if you need further support you can

contact our Customer Services team at enquiries@artscouncil.org.uk

1. Read this guidance carefully

This guidance gives you information on how to apply.

2. Check the information in your applicant profile on Grantium is

accurate and up to date

See the guidance on our website.

3. Prepare and submit your application

You must apply through our online application portal. You can only submit

one application to this fund.

How to apply

The application form will ask you four questions and ask for a set of mandatory

attachments.

We have kept the questions as straightforward as possible so that you can provide

us with the information we need to make a decision. Some questions have

prompts we’d like you to consider when providing your answer.

15

The application will firstly ask for some Basic details including: the amount you are

requesting from us.

We will then ask applicants to provide answers to the following questions:

1) Tell us about your organisation’s work and how it is considered to be

significant in the grassroots live music ecology across England. You

should respond to the prompts below that are relevant to you.

(up to 4,000 characters including spaces, approximately 700 words)

• Tell us how long you have existed as a Grassroots Music Venue

• Tell us about your venue’s location in a place where there is a

relatively low number of cultural organisations, and where the loss of

your venue would reduce cultural engagement opportunities for

audiences, particularly for people from underserved groups in society

(e.g. D/deaf and Disabled people, Black, Asian or other minority

ethnic backgrounds or those from lower socio-economic

backgrounds), and for young people. Please tell us if you operate in

an area where there is limited cultural infrastructure, or you are the

only music venue within your area.

• Tell us about how you are a vital cultural organisation in a place, well

used and valued by your community because of your role in

supporting creative and cultural opportunities for all (including with

people from groups who do not tend to benefit from such

opportunities such as D/deaf and Disabled people, Black, Asian or

other minority ethnic backgrounds or those from lower socio-

economic backgrounds), the employment opportunities you provide,

the contribution you make to economic agendas such as tourism,

your role in supporting health and wellbeing and other social

outcomes for local communities, the important role you play in

delivering local education programmes, and/or your role in providing

services important to the wider cultural sector supply chain in the

region.

• Tell us how you provide opportunity to, and support, a diverse range

of local and/or national grassroots talent to develop creatively and

professionally, providing opportunities for emerging artists, promoters

and/or technicians to hone their craft and develop a fanbase/their

16

skills by providing them with opportunities to perform/present original

work.

• Tell us how you provide local or national training opportunities for

creatives and/or other roles involved in the presentation of grassroots

live music. For example, training programmes for sound and lighting

engineers, promotors, marketeers, creators and/or talent

development.

2) Tell us how a grant from this fund will enable your organisation to

trade through to 30 September 2020, taking into account all relevant

Government guidance in place as of 20 July 2020. Please also detail

the measures you have already put in place or would like to explore to

ensure the viability and resilience of your organisation.

(up to 4,000 characters including spaces, approximately 700 words)

You will need to demonstrate to us:

• That your organisation was financially viable before the Covid-19

pandemic took hold

• That your organisation is at clear risk of insolvency before 30

September 2020

• That you have taken full advantage of other Government schemes

and measures which have been introduced since the pandemic

began

• That you have reduced your organisation’s core costs in order to

ensure your organisation is more financially resilient

3) Have you discussed with landlords/other creditors whether a reduced

payment might be allowable to support you to remain viable to 30

September? If yes, what level of payment would meet your immediate

needs?

(up to 2,000 characters including spaces, approximately 350 words)

• Please detail the discussions you have had with landlords and other

creditors about payments and payment terms – please break down

by each supplier.

4) Is your venue fully accessible to both artists and audiences?

(up to 2,000 characters including spaces, approximately 350 words)

17

• Please detail your disability access provision (e.g. list relevant

facilities or provide evidence such as being a signatory to Attitude is

Everything's Best Practice Charter for grassroots music venues).

Attachments

Please go to our website to download and complete the two mandatory

attachment templates:

• A completed cashflow template covering 1 March 2020 – 30 September

2020.

• A completed budget template covering 1 March 2020 – 30 September 2020.

o The income section of the budget needs to detail any other

emergency funding or income that they are reasonably expecting to

receive from other sources up until 30 September 2020. The types of

income we expect to see are: Earned Income; Other public funding

and/or donations.

o The expenditure section of the budget needs to detail how the

amount requested will be used. The type of expenditure we expect to

see are: Staffing costs; overheads; Covid-19 debt payments.

We will use the information you give us in your application form and in any

attachments to decide whether we will offer you a grant. If your application does

not contain the information we need in the format we ask for it to be in, we may not

be able to consider your application.

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Section five – how we will make our decision

We will aim to notify applicants of our decision no later than 6pm, Monday 10

August 2020.

We will conduct an eligibility check within two working days of the deadline for

applications.

If your application is not eligible, this means that we cannot process it any further

and it will not be considered for funding. If your application is not eligible, we will

write to you to let you know, and will explain our decision.

If eligible, the application will then be considered at a decision meeting.

Decision Meeting

We will make decisions based on the information you provide in the application

form, the information held in the applicant profile on Grantium, and our knowledge

and expertise as the development agency for creativity and culture.

We anticipate a high level of demand for this fund and, unfortunately, we are

unlikely to be able to award funding to all organisations that apply or make awards

at the full level requested. This is likely to mean that we will offer some

organisations funding below the requested level. In deciding the level of funding to

be offered we would use our judgement (based on the information provided) to

determine the minimum requirement to assist the organisation to survive to 30

September 2020.

We will consider the level and evidence of need across the applications we

receive, and we expect to prioritise our funding for those organisations that are

most reliant on earned and contributed income, as these are the organisations that

are likely to evidence greatest need.

We are expecting more demand for this programme than we have resources

available. Following this assessment of all the applications we receive, we will then

look at a range of ‘balancing criteria’ to consider if we are achieving the right

spread of investment. The balancing criteria we will consider are as follows:

• Diversity: we want to make sure that, as far as possible, our funding

supports cultural organisations that reflect the diversity of contemporary

England. We will use information taken from your organisation’s Grantium

19

applicant profile about the diversity of your organisation’s leadership to help

us in this process.

• Geographic spread: we will take into account the need to support cultural

organisations across England. We will also consider whether your

organisation is based in an area of low cultural engagement, as per the

Active Lives Survey.

• Size and type: we want to support a mix of venues across a range of sizes

and scales.

These balancing criteria will be used to ensure a good spread of funded projects

according to each balancing criterion, and to differentiate between a number of

proposals that are considered fundable.

In considering your application, we will make a judgement on whether sufficient

evidence is provided in support of the level of funding requested and may offer

funding below the level requested.

Section six – If we decide to fund your application

Should your application for a grant be successful, we will ask you to provide a

statement by your board (or equivalent) confirming the acceptance of the following

conditions:

1. The organisation will exercise pay restraint for at least 18 months from the

date of the funding agreement, including imposing a pay freeze for all senior

staff and 10% pay reductions to pre-Covid-19 pay for those contracted to

receive above £150k per year

2. The organisation will demonstrate a commitment to increase its

organisational diversity and the diversity of its audiences, visitors and/or

participants

3. The organisation will demonstrate a commitment to progress towards net

zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

4. The organisation will demonstrate a commitment to increase

educational/outreach work.

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Making a complaint

As an organisation, we will always listen to and respond to any concerns that you

may have. If you would like to make a complaint about either the service you have

received from Arts Council England or the way we have handled your application,

we have a process that you can use.

Please note that Arts Council England does not have an appeals process and for

this reason, we are unable to accept complaints that relate solely to the decision

we have made rather than how we have made it.

For more information, please visit the ‘Complaints’ section of our website, under

‘Contact us’ (www.artscouncil.org.uk/contact). Additionally, you can email

complaints@artscouncil.org.uk .

Public sector equalities duty

Your application form gives us information we may use to report to the

Government or to monitor the different backgrounds of people who receive grants.

Under the Public Sector Equalities Duty we must research and monitor the

different backgrounds of people who receive our grants.

Counter fraud measures

Arts Council England has a Counter Fraud Strategy and Policy and appropriate

measures will be taken to ensure that grant holders given funding through this

programme use the funding appropriately. This will include random sampling

checks on a proportion of grants made. All grant holders must retain their financial

and other documentation relating to the grant, and Arts Council England reserves

the right to request this at any time.

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Section seven – Freedom of Information Act

The Arts Council is committed to being as open as possible. We believe that the

public has a right to know how we spend public funds and how we make our

funding decisions.

We are also listed as a public authority under the Freedom of Information Act

2000. By law, we may have to provide your application documents and information

about our assessment to any member of the public who asks for them under the

Freedom of Information Act 2000.

We may not release those parts of the documents which are covered by one or

more of the exemptions under the Act. Please see the Freedom of Information

website at www.ico.gov.uk for information about freedom of information generally

and the exemptions.

We will not release any information about applications during the assessment

period, as this may interfere with the decision-making process.

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Section eight – Data Protection

The Arts Council is committed to using any personal information (or personal data)

we collect on a lawful, fair and transparent basis, respecting your legal rights as an

individual in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation

(2016/679), the UK Data Protection Act 2018 and other applicable laws that

regulate the use and privacy of personal data (Data Protection Law).

As part of us meeting this requirement, we have published our General Privacy

Notice for you to refer to here. This tells you more about the personal data the Arts

Council collects; the different purposes that we use it for and on what legal basis;

who we may share that personal data with; how long we keep it; and your legal

rights, including your right to contact us and receive information regarding the

personal data about you that we may hold from time to time.

For further information about our obligations and your rights under Data Protection

Law, as well as how to report a concern if you believe that your personal data is

being collected or used illegally, please also see the Information Commissioner’s

Office website at www.ico.org.uk

Contact us

Website: www.artscouncil.org.uk

Email: enquiries@artscouncil.org.uk

July 2020