Applications open for Festivals Investment Scheme (Ireland)

Objectives

• To ensure a diverse and varied arts-festival ecology by supporting a variety of small-to-midscale festival programmes and festival models to deliver high-quality and engaging arts-festival activity/programmes for audiences so as to contribute to the development of artform practices and to increase opportunities for public engagement.

Purpose

• The Arts Council will achieve the objectives of the Festivals Investment Scheme by supporting project proposals that:
  • Express an overarching artistic vision that resonates with the nature of the proposed activities and demonstrates artistic excellence
  • Show evidence of a commitment to the Arts Council’s artform priorities relevant to the programme proposed
  • Demonstrate sound and effective festival and financial management, a track record of excellence, and delivery to a high standard, ensuring the project proposed is feasible.

Priorities

• Priority will be given to proposals that:
  • Demonstrate public engagement by:
    • Evidence of audience-development strategies that provide opportunities for the public to attend arts events and/or to participate in arts activities
    • Providing opportunities for the public to collaborate with artists.
  • Demonstrate festival priorities by:
    • Producing evidence of a high level of integration with local resources and supports from a diverse range of partners
    • Demonstrating a commitment to collaboration with organisations that support and strengthen the festival’s work
    • Showing an understanding of the context/place the festival is being presented in, and evidence of the value and relevance to the immediate community
    • Evidencing an awareness of artists living in the region, and how the festival is working to support their development.
  • Demonstrate equality, diversity and inclusion priorities by:
    • Showing how equality, diversity and inclusion are included in the organisation’s working practices.

Low Priorities

• The following activities are considered low priorities for funding consideration:
  • Proposals for an ongoing-event series or events/activities that are spread throughout a year (e.g. a quarterly or monthly music or literature programme)
  • Programmes primarily focused on the delivery of workshops series, summer schools, ongoing classes or one-off events, etc.
  • Conventions where the primary beneficiary is not the public
  • Trade fairs or conference programmes.

Program Specifications

• There are three funding bands in the Festivals Investment Scheme and each one is designed to support festivals at different stages of their development. An organisation may make only one application under the Festivals Investment Scheme in a year:
  • Band A: A small festival, a new festival wanting to test new ideas, a festival that is in the early stages of development or a festival without a formal business structure should consider applying to Band A.
  • Band B: A small to mid-scale festival, a festival that is seeking to build programme capacity in a particular artform/arts-practice area or which wishes to develop strategies for public engagement should consider applying to Band B.
  • Band C: A mid-scale festival that is strategically led and wishes to develop its capacity in the area of artform development (e.g. co-commissioning, producing, etc.) should consider applying to Band C.

Funding Information

• The maximum amount that may be awarded to a successful applicant under Band A is: €10,000
• The maximum amount that may be awarded to a successful applicant under Band B is: €25,000
• The maximum amount that may be awarded to a successful applicant under Band C is: €45,000

Eligible Activities

• You may apply for funding in relation to activity costs that your festival expects to incur. These might include:
  • Artists’ fees (including performance fees)
  • Venue-rental costs
  • Staff costs (e.g. administrative, technical and front-of-house support directly related to the festival)
  • Audience development – activity carried out with the objective of developing ongoing relationships with current and new audiences
  • Marketing and publicity costs
  • Technical and production costs
  • Travel costs and expenses for artists
  • A contribution to festival programme archiving.

Ineligible Activities

• Activities and costs that you may not apply for include the following:
  • Activities that are not arts-related – e.g. events relating to heritage or crafts, those that are primarily commercial, food fairs or sporting events
  • Training programmes for individuals or programmes taking place in a formal education setting where the activity does not engage with the local community
  • Activities that have already taken place or that will have commenced before a decision is made on your application (this excludes research, preparation and planning for your festival programme taking place on the dates outlined
  • Activities undertaken for charity-fundraising purposes, for participation in a competition, or for primarily profit-making purposes
  • Once-off academic conferences or symposia with no wider public benefit
  • Festivals taking place outside of the Republic of Ireland
  • Capital costs, such as the purchasing of equipment
  • Competitive events.

Eligibility Criteria

• The Festivals Investment Scheme has two rounds. You can only apply to the round applicable to your festival dates.
• Round 2 is open to organisations resident in the Republic of Ireland promoting festivals with a clear artistic purpose.
• An organisation may make only one application under the Festivals Investment Scheme in a year.
• Band B:
  • For applicants to Band B:
    • Organisations must have been established for a minimum of three years and executed three consecutive festival programmes for the festival project.
• Band C:
  • For applicants to Band C:
    • Organisations must have been established for a minimum of five years and executed five consecutive festival programmes for the festival project.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Organisations that are not eligible to apply under the scheme include the following:
  • Individuals
  • Organisations whose proposed activities would be better suited to another Arts Council funding scheme
  • Commercial organisations that share out profits to members
  • Organisations/festivals based abroad; however, applicants based in the Republic of Ireland may collaborate with an organisation based abroad
  • Organisations where the dominant element of the programme is competitive in nature
  • Organisations in receipt of Strategic Funding, Partnership Funding or Arts Centre Funding
  • Organisations that have applied for or are in receipt of Arts Grant Funding 2025 to undertake any festival programme
  • Members of the Council of National Cultural Institutions (CNCI) directly funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
  • Organisations directly funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media for festival programmes in 2025 (including funding offered through the Small Scale Local Festivals and Summer Schools scheme).
  • Organisations proposing festival programmes that fall outside the qualifying dates for this application round.

For more information, visit The Arts Council.