LCCC Community Festivals Fund 2025/26

The Community Festivals Fund (CFF) was established in recognition of the potential contribution that festivals can make to communities, the local economy and wider government priorities.

The fund aims to support the development and capacity of locally run festivals by providing support and training to make them less reliant on public funding in addition to offering funding towards the costs of events. The fund enables community organisations to celebrate their cultural identity and strengthen community relations while promoting equality and targeting poverty and social inclusion.
 

A community festival is defined as a series of events (or a single event with several elements) with a common theme and delivered within a defined period of time (not to exceed 28 days). It is developed from within a community and should celebrate and positively promote what the community represents.

Community festivals are about participation, involvement and the creation of a sense of identity and are important in contributing to the social wellbeing of a community. They must be initiated and led by, or in partnership with a community organisation – the community must play a strong part in the development and delivery of the festival and have ownership of it.

A minimum of £1,000 and a maximum of £3,500 is available for any one organisation in each financial year.

The total amount awarded can only make up 87.5% of the total expenditure of the festivals (up to the maximum amount available), therefore applicants will need to demonstrate a 12.5% match funding contribution that can be an ‘in-kind’ amount.

Organisations must comply with all statutory obligations regarding the delivery of and access to their project or event, including health & safety and licensing requirements.

This is a competitive scheme and applications will be determined on the basis of merit.

Applications to this scheme will be open to all festivals that can meet the core criteria of the scheme irrespective of whether they are established or emerging events.

Applicants can apply to other sources of public support, outside of the council, but must declare this in their application form and show how the additional funding will add value to the festival. This other source of funding could make up the remaining 12.5%.

Festivals should contribute to the promotion of a positive image of Northern Ireland and organisers must take steps to avert anti-social behaviour.

Applicants will be expected to make efforts to maximise income through ticket sales and sponsorship. They should develop a plan to improve the sustainability of their festival, and reduce reliance on public funding, in future years.

Those organisations based outside our area may be awarded funding for festivals projects as long as the entirety of the festivals project takes place within the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council area.

Festivals must take place in our area between the date of their signed terms & conditions being received and 31st March 2026.

Organisations must be able to demonstrate the following eligibility criteria:

• an open and accountable governing document (constitution or articles and memorandum of association, or applicable governing document) that has been adopted at a public meeting of the group’s membership
• a bank account in the name of the organisation, which requires a minimum of two unrelated members to authorise withdrawals and an annual set of independently examined financial accounts, endorsed at an Annual General Meeting
• a management committee or governing board, elected by its membership at an Annual General Meeting, and elected office bearers
• have appropriate safeguarding policies for protecting children and vulnerable adults, who are involved as part of the group’s programme
• evidence of public liability insurance cover of a minimum £5 million for the activities of the group, including the proposed festival, or confirmation from a broker that this can be produced.
• evidence of employers liability insurance (where applicable) to cover a minimum £10 million for the activities of the group, including the proposed festival, or confirmation from a broker that this can be produced
• evidence that the group is based within our area or that the festival beneficiaries are residents of our area

The following are considered ineligible for this grant:

• application forms that are not completed
• festivals by individuals/sole applicants
• contributions towards general appeals or campaigning around a single issue
• activities related to the promotion of religion or political parties
• areas of statutory responsibility or where such funding has been withdrawn
• retrospective payments or the repayment of loans or reclaimable VAT
• awards ceremony or industry events, holiday schemes
• organisations that are in poor financial health or cannot show effective financial control
• overheads allocated or apportioned at rates in excess of those used for any similar work you carry out or building/capital costs
• costs which are not clearly linked to the festival
• costs that are already covered by other funding or income sources
• costs related to private or unfunded pensions
• amounts for gifts and donations, alcohol, prizes and trophies
• funding towards uniforms
• equipment costs unless they have an on-going use throughout the festival and are essential and necessary to complete the festival

We are committed to empowering communities to take the lead in shaping cultural provision and engaging more people in creative experiences as audiences and participants.

In order to deliver the Community Festivals Fund aims and principles, applicants will need to demonstrate how their festival aims to address a minimum of two of the schemes criteria:

1. Promoting equality, target poverty and social exclusion.                                           
2. Celebrating and encouraging cultural expression through strong community participation.
3. Enhancing community relations.              
4. Capacity building by providing support and training.                                                

Promoting equality, target poverty and social exclusion                                                        

• challenge existing or perceived barriers regarding disability, poverty, joblessness, age, race, location, language and gender                      
• help to reduce hate crime and intimidation by enabling people to feel safer at events, activities or facilities associated with a different culture                                   

Celebrating and encouraging cultural expression through strong community participation

• help create a place where cultural diversity is celebrated by increasing understanding of and respect for different culture/s            
• demonstrate the power of cultural activities to enrich the lives of individuals and make positive changes in connecting communities through participation                      

Enhancing community relations                                                     

• help create a community where everyone feels safe, tackle issues of inequality and reduce the motivation for discrimination                                                                 
• help create a community, which promotes mutual respect and understanding, is strengthened by its diversity and where cultural expression is celebrated and embraced                                                                                     

Capacity building by providing support and training                          

• help staff and volunteers improve skills and/or receive training                      
• demonstrate how the festival has/will grow in reputation, to include visitor numbers, experiences and sustainability

A panel made up of representatives of council officers will review all eligible grant applications and make recommendations to council based on the results of an assessment process. As part of the approvals process, all applications will be discussed during committee and council procedures.

The Assessment Process

Part 1 & 2: Organisation, Eligibility and Governance

Applications received shall initially go through an eligibility and good governance check, based on the information provided in Part 1 of the application form which covers Sections A, B and C. 

Each section will be marked as ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ based on your answers and supporting documentation/evidence.   All sections must be rated ‘pass’ for an application to move on to the next phase of assessment. 

Part 3, 4 & 5: Festival Needs, Delivery & Funding

Section 3 will be assessed drawing on the evidence you provide in relation to each of the questions asked. Each question will be given a score out of 5 as follows:

0  No evidence presented
1  Very little, weak or irrelevant evidence presented
2  Some evidence presented but lacks in either conviction or relevance
3  Clear, relevant answers with limited evidence
4  Clear, convincing answers with strong evidence
5   Strong, clear and relevant convincing evidence from a variety of sources
(Proportionate to scale)

Each question will be weighted to reflect its importance. This means the score is multiplied by the weighting number to give a weighted score.

Section 6: Details and Declarations

Part 6 must be completed before a grant can be awarded and processed.

What happens after assessment?

Successful Applications - Letter of offer
If your organisation is successful, we will send you a letter of offer outlining:

• the general conditions of the grant
• any special conditions
• the stages we will pay the grant in

As a condition of the awarding of a grant contact details may be included on committee reports which will be accessible to the public e.g. your group name. 

Before we can release any grant payments, you must sign the terms & conditions of the grant. This must happen within one month of the date of the letter of offer or we may withdraw the offer of the grant.

We will not fund any project costs you pay or agree to pay before you have signed and returned the terms & conditions.

You must get our approval before you make any changes to the project or the budget.

If you receive a grant offer and no longer want to take it up, please tell us in writing as soon as possible but not less than 14 days of the date of your letter of offer or the grant offer will be withdrawn.

Paying the funds
We will pay 100% of your grant when we receive your signed terms & conditions. If your group has previously been in receipt of council funding, any advances will only be released if your previous grant file(s) have been closed satisfactorily and all necessary paperwork has been received.

All invoices, claim forms and bank statements must be submitted within one month of the festival taking place.  

Monitoring and evaluation
Given you are receiving public funding, you must answer for what you do with this money. Because of this, we will expect you to complete a monitoring and evaluation form based on information provided in the grants application.

Please note that monitoring and evaluation is a condition of all our grants and final payments will only be released on receipt of a fully completed monitoring and evaluation form.

Please provide images from your festival with your monitoring & evaluation form.  You must ensure that photography consent is obtained from all participants (both child and adult) before submission. Completed consent forms must be provided to Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council's Arts Service along with the photos or videos submitted. By submitting these materials, you grant permission for their use and distribution on Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council's online platforms (including websites, social media, and broadcasts) and in print publications.

Marketing and promotion
You must acknowledge our support by including our logo on all printed materials associated with your programme of work. We will give you more information about logos if your application is successful.

If you receive funding from us it does not mean we endorse your project. When you display the council logo on published material, you must include the following sentence:

‘‘This publication is grant-aided by Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council. The views expressed are not necessarily shared or endorsed by the council. The council does not accept any responsibility for these views.’’ Occasionally you may be asked to make appearances and assist us with launches and photo shoots. Successful applicants will be expected to ensure invitations to Festival events are extended to the Right Worshipful the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Chairman of the council’s Community and Wellbeing Committee. 

Unsuccessful Applications – Appeals Process
Should your application be unsuccessful you will be notified in writing. All applicants have a right of appeal to the council. A full copy of our appeals process will be issued with the unsuccessful outcome letter.

All eligible applications that have scored over 50% and provided all necessary documentation and declarations will enter the allocation process.

If the total funds requested exceed those available the moderation team may select to:

• fund the strongest festivals by raising the bar on the total weighted score (e.g. to 55% or 60%)
• reduce the sum offered to each applicant by the percentage of the shortfall (e.g. if there is a 3% gap between funds requested and funds available, all grants offered will be 3% less that the grant requested)
• combine both approaches to give a balanced grant portfolio

Scoring system overview

Sections 1 & 2:  About your organisation
All sections must pass to move to Section 3	Pass/Fail
Section 3, 4 & 5	Max weighted score	Pass mark to move to next section
Festival programme	35	17
Capacity to deliver	45	23
Funding request	20	10
Total score	100
Section 6: Details and declaration	Pass/Fail

 

Section 1 & 2: About your organisation

	Pass/Fail
Legal name of organisation	Name reflects governing document
Based in Lisburn & Castlereagh	Statement that funded service is 100% in LCCC or that the festival(s) benefit residents of the LCCC area
Date formed	Date of incorporation on document is more than 12 months ago
Contact for the group	Clear contact details for organisation
Contact details for group	Organisation has a registered address
Charity number	Registered with Charities Commission NI or pending registration
Main purpose of group	The description reflects the purposes set out in the governing document
Premises	Clear indication of type of premises
Number of people involved in running organisation	There are three or more board members The total number of people running the group appears reasonable given the nature of the group’s usual work
How do you recruit / replace committee members	There is evidence that committee roles and volunteering opportunities are open to members of the community. (e.g. AGM, word of mouth, advertising)
Ensuring committee members and any other volunteers have the skills they need	There is evidence that the group recognises and addresses skills needs (e.g. mentoring, training, buddies)
Bank Account / Signatories	At least two unrelated people to sign any withdrawal
Most recent audited signed accounts	Accounts less than 18 months old
Insurance	Evidence provided
Policies	All appropriate policies provided e.g. H&S, safeguarding etc.

   
 If all passed, applications can move to section 3.
 

Section 3: About your festival

	Evidence	Weighting
Festival	Clear outline of festival that meets with the scheme criteria and set timeline requirements	3
Need and response	There is evidence of proportionate efforts to demonstrate needs	2
Work in partnership or complement the work of others	There is evidence the group is aware of other services and can identify the gaps it fills or added value it brings (e.g. different people, locations, particular approaches, skills, experience)	1
Activity, dates and number of participants	Clear indication of activities, dates of when activities will take and number of participants	1

   
Requires a minimum score of 17 to pass and move to the next section.

 

Section 4: Delivery

	Evidence	Weighting
Capacity to deliver	The number of people and their roles, skills, past experience	3
Promotion	There is evidence: the group is aware of appropriate means to communicate with intended users or participants and has a system in place to do this of thought being given to reaching specific groups as relevant to the list of main beneficiaries	3
Barriers	There is evidence the group has thought about what may stop people taking part and has made reasonable plans to address them e.g. timing, cost, physical, sensory or intellectual access, transport, culture	2
Risk management Contingency Plans	There is evidence that the group has considered and identified those risks most likely to occur and have the greatest impact and has taken reasonable and proportionate steps to manage them	1

 

Requires a minimum score of 23 to pass and move to the next section.

 

Section 5: Funds and value for money

	Evidence	Weighting
Funding needed	The funding requested falls within the rules and parameters of the scheme The budget adds up, appears to cover key elements and is proportionate to the scale of work and the nature of the needs of users or participants	1
Other sources	There is evidence that: the group has made efforts to raise funds from elsewhere and is meeting with some success	2
Value for money	The funding requested offers value for money given the number of people engaged and the nature of the needs being met	1

 

Requires a minimum score of 10 to pass and move to the next section.

 

Section 6: Bank details and declaration

	Pass/Fail
Account information	Details completed Details for signatories given
Acknowledgment agreement	Accepted with signatures, below
Declaration	Signed by contact Signed by a member

 

Application will proceed to allocation if Section 6 is completed in full.

Click here to apply