CBMDC Small Arts, Culture and Heritage Grants (United Kingdom)

Deadline: 22 December 2023

The City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council is accepting applications to provide an opportunity to deliver new, one-off, non-profit cultural projects in Bradford District.

CBMDC wants to give opportunities to creative people in every street right across the district to express themselves creatively. They want to promote the relevance and value of culture and creativity in people’s lives and encourage people to get involved.

This fund is for new activity and ideas or new programmes or additions to existing regular events. You can also apply for funds to develop an idea or to develop your own practice if you are working professionally in the cultural sector. This is small grant fund and it is important that you do not try to do too much and that people working on the activity are fairly paid.

Culture means lots of things to different people, but they mean original creative and artistic activities in dance, music, theatre, festivals, literature, poetry, design, fashion, food, visual arts, crafts, film, photography, publishing, radio, TV, gaming and more.

Heritage can be connected to anything from the past that you value and want to pass on to future generations. This might mean memories and stories, cultural traditions, the history of people, places and events, the natural environment, museums, libraries or archives, historic buildings and objects.

They want to support activity across all areas of the district, and they are particularly keen to support projects by, for and with people currently underrepresented in the district’s cultural sector. This includes people who have experienced discrimination and people living in disadvantaged areas of the district.

Heritage Projects: If you would like to apply for a project that is heritage based or could include Heritage. Please ensure that you include how your project reflects the target areas below:

Heritage projects can be physical, tangible: This can be public buildings, historic mills, museums and collections, landscapes such as Ilkley Moor and the moorland in Haworth, canals and rivers.
Community and intangible heritage: The communities are full of stories, some of which are lived privately, many of which are told publicly. They are a city of campaigns and campaigners, a place of migration and refuge and vibrant Heritage can be found right across the district. They can be untold stories.
Diverse Cultural Sector that tell the stories: libraries, literature festivals, performing arts companies and venues, galleries, artists, writers, musicians, street artists, community festivals, all kinds of story tellers. Creativity thrives in every corner of the district, and the people of Bradford – the wider district as well as the city – are the greatest creative asset.
Stories: what is the background and context, what are the stories they tell, whose heritage they explore, and who tells those stories? They are looking to build skills and capacity for people to tell their own stories in their own way, explore their places within Bradford’s wider history and heritage. They want to support the artists to illuminate the heritage in ways that are contemporarily relevant, share understanding and celebrate heritage in a wide range of creative ways.
Environment: Consider what materials are used, how sustainable is the project, does it consider climate impact?

Funding Information

There is a total of £55,000 available each year in this fund.
Amount: Grants between £200 and a maximum of £1,500.

Ineligible Funding

Repeat activity – your project activity must be new.
Activities not related to art, culture or heritage
Activities with insufficient planning time
Activities that provide no benefit or engagement opportunity to the people of the Bradford District
Student/schools projects or activities
Core costs, including general running costs, that are already covered by other funding or that should be covered by the organisation’s own resources
Ongoing overheads relating to equipment or buildings, such as salaries insurance, building repairs and maintenance costs
Activity taking place outside Bradford District
Applications where the main focus (over 50%) is capital spend for equipment
Charity fund-raising events
Travel costs
Activity seeking more than 50% on equipment
Sports kit or equipment
Competitions or lotteries
Activity that promotes party political or religious views

Who can apply?

Individuals living/based in Bradford
Arts, cultural and heritage organisations based in Bradford
Community or voluntary groups
Commercial organisations who wish to run a non-profit arts/cultural project
Groups of organisations (one group or individual will need to take the lead and have the main responsibility for managing the application and being accountable for any grant given)

Who cannot apply?