National Lottery Heritage Fund / Arts Council
Grants from National Lottery Heritage Fund (formerly HLF) or the Arts Council of England, Wales or Scotland are often one of the first things people think of when wanting to advance a project. This leads to fierce competition for such funding, and to rigorous application processes.
Preparation for a bid requires objective assessment of your project and organisation, to ensure that it meets the funders’ requirements and priorities. Primary amongst these is the broadening engagement with arts and heritage, beyond the traditional audiences.
Key questions:
- Does your organisation meet the funder requirements in terms of constitution and diversity of governing body?
- Does your project match the funders’ criteria?
- Can all your plans be backed with a realistic plan for matched funding, a strong business plan, evidence of consultation etc?
We are accustomed to assisting with bids to National Lottery funders, and to assessing and giving early advice on readiness to begin and advance through what can be a long and hard process. We help organisations to get the most out of the process and we believe that the testing required for a successful bid makes for a more robust final project.
We offer a range of services that can be chosen to support applicants:
- Early advice on readiness to make an application and assessment of what needs to be done to prepare
- Help with putting meaningful consultation and evidence of demand in place
- Specific training and support of a client’s own fundraiser
- Bid writing
- Help with planning budgets and timetables
- Liaison between contributors to a bid, such as conservation architect, conservator etc
- Steps to ensure that matched funding is or can be secured.
Where next?
To have an informal conversation with a member of our team about approaching the National Lottery Heritage Fund or Arts Council please call 01582 762441 or email first@craigmyle.org.uk. You may also like to see our CONSULTANTS page and make direct contact.
