LCCC Arts Grants Scheme Individual Artists 2025/26

The importance of the arts, culture and heritage in everyday life builds our sense of who we are and where we are from, affirming our identity and helps us to build our resilience and self-esteem which is key to our Community Plan.

In support of this, our Individual Artist Arts Grants Scheme has been designed to support the amateur and professional arts sector in the delivery of arts events, projects or activities through the provision of direct grants.

A maximum grant of up to £3,000 is available for any one individual in each financial year.

Applicants in receipt of a grant must comply with all statutory obligations regarding the delivery of and access to their programme, including or procurement/health & safety/safeguarding and licensing requirements.

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

Applicants can apply to other sources of public support, outside of the council, but must declare this in their application form.

It is our prime responsibility to ensure the proper and efficient use of, and accountability for, public monies.  To this end, applicants must forward all supporting documentation requested along with the application. We will be unable to assess applications without all supporting documentation being received.

Applicants will be required to demonstrate the effectiveness and impact of their project, and adequately show how it will have a positive and measurable impact on the local community.

Future funding may be withheld if any required closing documentation is still outstanding for previous grants administered by us, including invoices, receipts, accounts, bank statements and evaluation reports.

Successful applicants in any given year should not presume continued support in subsequent years.

• evidence the project is not organised on a profit/commercial basis
• evidence the projects administration/equipment costs are proportionate to the overall programme costs
• evidence the application is not for trade or professional conferences / conventions
• evidence the application is not primarily fundraising for charitable purposes, or deploying potential sources of income to a charity
• evidence the application is not for a social event that has no community benefit
• evidence that the proposed project clearly contributes to the objectives of the Arts Grants Scheme

Applicants must be able to demonstrate the following basic eligibility criteria:

• born in, reside in or have their main base and deliver services in our area (with the exception of specialist training to enhance professional development)
• evidence of Public Liability insurance (where applicable) to cover of a minimum £5 million for the activities of the proposed project, 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 proposed project, or confirmation from a broker that this can be produced
• evidence of appropriate health and safety measures including risk Assessments
• evidence of any appropriate safeguarding measures in relation to the project activity
• funding must be spent between the date of their signed terms & conditions being received and 31st March 2026

We do not fund applicants who are:

• not operating on a not-for-profit basis as we cannot support commercial projects or projects that could be carried out commercially. If, in the reasonable opinion of the council, the applicant applying for funding is a de facto commercial entity, whatever the legal make-up, then the council shall not fund that applicant. The decision of the council shall be final in this regard
• not prepared to share learning from their project with us and others

Projects that:

• take place outside of our area (with the exception of specialist training to enhance professional development)
• provide no potential benefit to the public, either in the short or long term
• are of a commercial nature, organised on a profit / commercial basis
• are aimed at funding the normal running costs of an arts practice
• have already taken place or are already under way at the time of the assessment
• duplicate what already exists
• are party political in intention, use or presentation
• promote a particular religion
• are primarily fundraising events, for charitable purposes, or deploy potential sources of income to a charity
• are contrary to any council policies

As well as the above, the following are considered ineligible for all grants:

• application forms that are not completed
• contributions towards general appeals
• funding towards 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
• applicants that are in poor financial health or cannot show effective financial control
• applicants who have previously received a grant from us that was not managed satisfactorily or was not completed. This includes if you did not send us the monitoring and evaluation forms within the agreed timescales or if you did not seek approval for changes to your project
• overheads allocated or apportioned at rates in excess of those used for any similar work you carry out
• building/capital costs
• costs which are not clearly linked to the project
• costs that are poor value for money, or procured outside of our procurement guidelines (services or items over £1,500 require 3 written quotes)
• costs that are already covered by other funding or income sources
• costs related to private or unfunded pensions
• amounts for gifts and donations
• reclaimable VAT
• alcohol
• prizes and trophies 
• funding towards uniforms
• equipment costs unless they have an ongoing use throughout the project and are essential and necessary to complete the project

In order to deliver the Arts Grants Scheme aims and principles, applicants will need to demonstrate how their project aims to address a minimum of two of the schemes key objectives:

1. To support a stronger and more sustainable creative and vibrant economy.
2. To demonstrate excellence in ambition, creativity and delivery through strategic partnership working.
3. To support cultural and digital activity that increases community engagement in culture.
4. To establish Lisburn and Castlereagh as an area where creativity is at the heart of everyday life, and every person has access to arts-based activities to enable culture-led regeneration.                                                                           

To support a stronger and more sustainable creative and vibrant economy:                 

• demonstrate an approach to arts sector specific business that champions innovation, sustainability and creativity                      
• demonstrate the production of ambitious high quality work and showcase our reputation as a creative area locally, nationally and internationally                                  

To demonstrate excellence in ambition, creativity and delivery through strategic partnership working:                                       

• encourage and support the creation of qualitative work that demonstrates collaboration across a wide range of diverse backgrounds, organisations, disciplines and perspectives
• develop investment opportunities to enable creative cross-sector collaboration and risk taking and encourage growth of creative clusters                                                           

To support cultural & digital activity that increases community engagement in culture:  

• embrace advances in technology as essential components of the cultural landscape maximizing the role of digital distribution to showcase and promote your work and reach new audiences                    
• demonstrate new opportunities for the interpretation and recognition of our cultural and heritage assets

To establish Lisburn and Castlereagh as an area where creativity is at the heart of everyday life, and every person has access to arts-based activities to enable culture-led regeneration: 

• provide exciting and challenging creative experiences that will have a long-lasting impact upon participants and audiences ensuring access for all groups           
• collaborate with other sectors such as education and health, to embed the arts and creativity within their work, create models of good practice, and develop the knowledge and skills within the creative sector to deliver new programmes

A panel made up of representatives of council officers will review all eligible grant applications and make recommendations to the 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.

If you are applying for grant aid to work with other artists or groups it is essential that you talk to your partner groups before you apply for funding. You must also submit evidence demonstrating their support and level of involvement.

The Assessment Process

Part 1: Applicant & Eligibility

Applications received shall initially go through an eligibility check, based on the information provided in Sections 1, 2 & 3 of the application form.

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 2: Project Needs, Delivery & Funding

Sections 4, 5 & 6 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 3 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.

Part 3: Details and Declarations

Section 7 must be completed before a grant can be awarded and processed.

What happens after assessment?

Successful applicants must ensure that all spend relating to their project proposal has been processed by 31 March 2026, along with the submission of all invoices and grant evaluation form.

Before submitting your application, please ensure that it:

• contains full details of the programme or project which you are applying and that you have clearly linked these to the aims and principles of the funding scheme
• includes a full and clear breakdown of the project cost and that it clearly indicates the amount of funding that you are requesting from the council; (Please note that this should not exceed the maximum amount available for the scheme, i.e. £3,000)
• includes full financial details for your arts practice (We may conduct a further review of the applicant accounts and procedures and the applicant must be prepared to make all relevant documentation available for inspection and/or scrutiny.)
• details all other funding applications that you have applied for in support of the project, for which the application relates to
• relevant enclosures are submitted with your application

Please note: If you are awarded a grant, we do not provide insurance for any activity you undertake.  We strongly advise you to consult an insurance broker or advisor about the possible insurance requirements for your proposed activities.

Completing your budget
You must show that all costs are reasonable and necessary to complete the programme or project, and you should give us enough detail to assess this.

For example, you should give us the unit costs and quantities needed, 10 Artists x £50 = total cost £500. We will not consider your application as eligible if you do not provide a detailed Project Budget.

Restricted costs
Costs must be proportionate to the overall cost of your project and essential for delivering it. If we do not think that the amount you have asked for is good value for money, we may offer you less than the amount you applied for.

To make sure you provide value for money we can cap any project costs we are funding.  If you are successful these costs will be shown in the letter of offer, for example, facilitators, catering, and so on.

Where eligible we will only give funding for catering, hospitality or refreshments if these are clearly detailed in your application form and are essential to the project. If you need to provide catering, hospitality or refreshments, you must explain why it is essential.

You must clearly list any costs for facilitators, mediators, consultants or project evaluators clearly in the budget. You must also describe the work they intend to carry out and how it is reasonable and necessary to your project.

Any item or service over £1,500 must have three written quotes included.
 

What happens after assessment?

Successful Applications - Letter of offer
If your application 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 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 75% of your grant when we receive your signed terms & conditions. If you  have 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.

The remainder will be paid following the council's receipt of all invoices, claim forms and bank statements within one month of the programme 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 project 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 projects 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 & 3:  About you
All sections must pass to move to Section 4	Pass/Fail
Section 4, 5 & 6: About your project	Max weighted score	Pass mark to move to next section
Arts programme & meeting needs	35	17
Capacity to deliver	45	23
Funding request	20	10
Total score	100
Section 7: Details and declaration	Pass/Fail

 

Section 1, 2 & 3: About you

	Pass/Fail
Name	Name
Professional name (if different)	Professional name
Based in Lisburn & Castlereagh	Statement that funded service is 100% in LCCC unless relating to specialist training for professional development purposes
Contact address	Applicant has a registered address
Studio address	Applicant has a registered address
Education/training/qualification	Details completed
Artform	Details completed
Operating date	Details completed
Born/Reside/Main Base/Deliver	Details completed
Purpose of practice	Details completed
Bank account	Meet eligibility
Most recent signed accounts	For accounts less than 18 months old, an income and expenditure summary must be supplied which adds up and matches accounts Independently signed and checked accounts supplied
Insurance	Evidence provided
Policies	All appropriate policies provided e.g. H&S, safeguarding etc.

   
 If all passed, applications can move to section 4.
 

Section 4: About your arts programme

	Evidence	Weighting
Programme	Clear outline of project 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 5: Delivery

	Evidence	Weighting
Capacity to deliver	Skills, past experience & projects	3
Promotion	There is evidence that the applicant is aware of appropriate means to communicate with intended users or participants and has a system in place to do this There is evidence of thought being given to reaching specific groups as relevant to the list of main beneficiaries	3
Barriers	There is evidence that the applicant 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 applicant 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 6: 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 applicant 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 7: Bank details and declaration

	Pass/Fail
Account information	Details completed Details for signatory given
Acknowledgment agreement	Accepted with signature, below
Declaration	Signed by applicant

 

Application will proceed to allocation if Section 7 is completed in full.

Successful applicants must ensure that all spend relating to their project proposal has been processed by 31 March 2026, along with the submission of all invoices and grant evaluation form.

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