Westmeath Creative Community Grants 2024

Introduction

As part of Westmeath County Council’s Creative Ireland Programme for 2024, we invite applications for the Westmeath Creative Ireland Community Grant.

The Westmeath Creative Ireland Community Grant is a county-wide call to community groups, organisations, venues, and individuals working in the creative arts including arts, culture, and heritage. The call encourages the development of high-quality creative projects and programmes which enable groups and individuals to realise their full creative potential and develop and encourage greater access, knowledge and appreciation of the arts, culture, and heritage.

Projects must involve a community group working with at least one creative professional. A group may make the initial approach to a creativity professional with a view to developing a project or vice versa.

We are open to project proposals that involve groups that have had little or no previous involvement in creativity and culture projects for any reason such as economic, geographic, or having lacked awareness or opportunity. We will endeavour to give whatever advice and assistance we can to ensure your project can achieve the best possible experience for everyone involved.

Priorities of Westmeath County Council’s Culture & Creativity Strategy

We invite applications that specifically address one or more of the following strategic priorities:

Creative Industries: cultivate opportunities that connect with local industries, creative practitioners and communities, to support cultural and creativity activities that drive economic returns locally.
Diversity and Access: Facilitate the capacity of culture and creativity to innovate and collaborate in achieving priorities locally around social cohesion, greater health and wellbeing, with cognizance for the rural and urban makeup of the county, and the growing diversity of our communities.
Creative Youth: empower young people through cultural and creative processes and strategies to realise their potential and enhance individual potential.
Climate Action and Sustainability: Harness the power of culture and creativity to animate greater awareness, behavioural change and meaningful engagement on the profound environmental changes we are witnessing.
Westmeath Culture Team: support capacity building of the Culture and Creativity Teams to lead on the development of collaborative strategies of scale, that benefit the county and in the broadest sense its creative communities.

Budget and Finance Information

Westmeath County Council is committed to fair pay within the arts.

Awards of between €500 and €5,000 are available within this scheme.

Please note that due to the competitive nature of this grant, successful applicants may not receive 100% of their requested funding. In the application form, you must breakdown all planned expenditure, and all proposed income- including financing from Westmeath County Council, and other sources of planned income.

Payment to successful applicants will be made by electronic fund transfer only. Recipients of awards more than €2,000 may draw-down 50% of the award immediately following selection (only on receipt of insurance documentation).

Items that are excluded from the fund include:

Capital projects and infrastructural projects.
Fuel/Travel costs outside of county, accommodation unless expressly approved in writing in advance by Westmeath County Council.
Spends on alcoholic beverages, fines, legal costs, penalty payments, prize.
Items of expenditure incurred prior to the approval of grant funding.

Timeline

The closing date for submission is on or before 5pm, Wednesday 14^th February 2024.

An offer to successful projects will be issued by early March. At this time, successful applicants will receive a letter of offer which will detail all conditions and requirements. This must be signed and returned by the date specified on the letter. Failure to do so may result in funding being withdrawn and reallocated to another project.

Proposals should illustrate clear planning in terms of concept, execution, and timing. Successful projects must have commenced by Saturday 1 June 2024 at the latest and be fully complete by Saturday 12 October 2024 at the latest to adhere to funding requirements.

Provision of a mid-cycle report is mandatory for Creative Ireland in terms of their communications. This is required by Monday 24 June 2024. Successful applicants will be asked to submit a short press release and accompanying photos and links before this date.

By Saturday 12 October 2024, all successful applicants must complete a final progress report and provide evidence that the project is complete, (online links, photographs, press reviews, receipts).

Project Requirements

To be eligible for funding, projects/events must:

Take place in Westmeath, involving communities based in Westmeath, and artists based within a reasonable distance to Westmeath.
Encourage or benefit participation in the Creative Ireland programme and enhance the awareness of culture and creativity in the local area.
Be accessible to diverse audiences and participants and will be inclusive in theme and approach.
Be designed on a realistic financial basis and provide good value for money.
Adhere to the deadlines stated under timeline.
Be likely to make a significant impact in their community.
Show the skillsets of applicants and that they have capacity to deliver the project.
Be aligned with one or more of the strategic priorities from Westmeath’s Culture and Creativity Strategy.
Maximise creative community and citizen engagement in Westmeath.

Projects that are not eligible include but are not limited to:

Book publishing or editing
Website development
Individual mentoring
Individual artist development initiatives
Financial support for individual artists

Please note any grant recipients previously in receipt of Creative Ireland Funding who did not submit feedback forms are not eligible to apply for this fund in 2024.

Assessment Criteria

Grant applications received will be evaluated by an external panel in respect of the following criteria:

Quality, innovation, and creativity of the planned project. (20%)
Track record: Ability and expertise of the group or individual to undertake and manage projects. (20%)
The feasibility and viability of project within the timeframe. (20%)
Accuracy and Presentation of budget (20%)
Sustainability, growth potential of project beyond 2024. (20%)

How to Apply

Fill out the Online Application Form

Applications must be submitted by 5pm on Wednesday 14 February 2024.

Please note that late application will not be accepted.

You will receive an automated response upon submission, if you are having issues with your submission you can email grace.dignam@westmeathcoco.ie for assistance.

Please ensure you have read the accompanying Creative Westmeath Grant Application Information Document prior to completing the application form.

Additional Documents

If any of your activities involve working with children and young people, you must include a current copy of your organisation’s current Child Protection Policy.
Please include CVs and any relevant supplementary information for each person included in Part C.

Further information that may support your application could include -

Publications / press material from previous activities.
More comprehensive budget information.
Applications should acknowledge that they are responsible for necessary insurance cover related to their event or activity.