New Capital Funding Programme for England's Arts Organisations

Arts Council England - Capital Investment Programme

Capital funding is available to support cultural organisations in England to adjust buildings and equipment so that they can operate safely post-pandemic, improve access, seize on technological opportunities, and reduce environmental impact.

Maximum value: £ 750,000

The purpose of this open access programme is to support cultural organisations to adjust buildings and equipment so that they can operate safely post-pandemic and improve access, seize on technological opportunities, and reduce environmental impact.

The longer-term impacts Arts Council England expects to see from this programme are:

All communities and individuals can actively engage with and enjoy creativity and culture.
Capital investments are transformational in their impact on the range and reach of collaborations related to creative and cultural activities.
The business models of cultural organisations can adapt to the changing environment around them and the needs of the communities with whom they work.
Organisations exhibit dynamic behaviour, developing and increasing the value they create and establishing new business models to enable them to adapt to a challenging environment.
Organisations demonstrate leadership in environmental responsibility.
The carbon footprint of the cultural sector is reduced.
Creative spaces are more inclusive, safe, and accessible for all.

The programme has a total value of £20 million.

Grants are available from £100,000 to a maximum of £750,000.

Activity can start from April 2022 but must start no later than 30 September 2022. The deadline to complete activities is 31 March 2025.

Match Funding Restrictions
Applicants are expected to make the most of other sources of income available to them, and to provide match funding as follows:

For grants between £100,000 to £250,000 - at least 5% must come from other sources.
For grants from £250,001 to £750,000 - at least 10% must come from other sources.
Note: Grants awarded by Arts Council England, including from the Cultural Investment Fund, Cultural Capital Kickstart Fund or Cultural Recovery Fund, will not be accepted as partnership funding.

Who Can Apply
Applications will be accepted from not-for-profit cultural organisations based in England. Organisations must be able to clearly demonstrate that their primary aims are around culture and that the activities they are applying for fall within the remit of Arts Council England.

Arts Council England will accept partnership applications between formally constituted cultural organisations. One organisation must act as the lead organisation and submit the application depending on who is most appropriate to meet the programme aims. All partners to the partnership must be not-for-profit organisations.

Applications are made using Arts Council England's Grantium grant management system. Applicants must first create a Grantium account to be able to submit an Expression of Interest and then a full application.

Guidance information and further details are available from the Arts Council England website below.

For more information visit https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/capital-investment-programme#section-1