SLIGO COUNTY COUNCIL ARTS SERVICE  
ARTS GRANTS AND BURSARIES SCHEME 2011

Conditions & Criteria for Arts Grants & Bursaries 2011

Closing Date:  1pm  Monday 15 April 2011 

Conditions

• All grants and bursaries are awarded on the availability of funds;
• The funding offered must only be used for the purposes specified in your application;
• The grant must be drawn-down before December 2011 and project completed by July 2012;
• Applicants must be based in the County Sligo administrative area;
• FOUR copies of the grant / bursary application must be submitted in order to be eligible for assessment.
• Sligo County Council must be acknowledged on all publicity, press and marketing material produced in connection with the undertaking of event/project. Our logo is available on request;
• Successful applicants must complete and return a Report Form after the project’s completion;
• Previous recipients of grants who have not returned report forms will not be eligible to apply;
• All grants and bursaries may be withheld at the discretion of the Sligo Arts Service;
• If an applicant is ineligible, Sligo Arts Service will return it to the applicant and advise accordingly. 
• Applications will not be accepted after the stated closing time and date.

Criteria

All applications are assessed in the context of:

• Quality of the application presented i.e. that the proposal / request for support is effectively researched, planned, budgeted and with clear aims and objectives;
• That the applicant is deemed to have sufficient experience / competence to carry out the project or undertake the bursary opportunity;
• Financial viability and evidence of other funding sources;
• Adherence to specific criteria of the award for which you are applying (See below);

Guidelines

• Given the competitive nature of the assessment process, it is advisable to submit extra information /documentation (one copy is suffice) to support your application particularly for bursary applications (e.g. Photographs, DVD, CD etc). All supporting information /documentation can be returned;
• Sligo Arts Service introduced a Bealtaine and Intergenerational Support Fund for Active Age Groups and Older Persons Groups who are advised to apply to this scheme for possible funding in September annually. 
• The maximum amount awarded to any grant / bursary will be €2,000 however it is expected that most awards will be in the region of €1,000.

Specific Criteria for the Arts Grant

• The arts activity is Sligo county based and has its operational focus in the county as opposed to Sligo Borough area (SBC has a separate grant scheme for borough groups/organisations);           
• Projects must involve collaboration between artists and groups;
• Demonstration in the proposal of the project relevance for participating community members and the impact on the artist(s) involved.
• The proven experience and ability of the artist(s) involved. Include a CV or biography outlining the relevant skills and experience of the artist(s).
• The project must deliver an end result and description of the desired result must be provided.

Specific Criteria for the Individual Artist Bursary

• Artists with a residential address in the Borough and County of Sligo are eligible to apply;
• Applications for bursaries in any discipline must be accompanied by a current biography /curriculum vitae or equivalent giving details of career to date;
• Track record (or potential) of the applicant – evidence of having produced a body of artistic work of recognised quality and significance. For those individuals with less experience, assessors will look for demonstrated potential;

Please Note: Once a decision has been reached it will not be possible to reverse that decision.

Ineligible Applications

Sligo Arts Service does not provide funding for the following projects:

• The proposed activity has already taken place (retrospective funding) or will be completed before a decision is made on your application;
• Charity fund-raising events or events that are primarily competitive in nature;
• Capital/Building projects, third party grants, ongoing revenue costs or projects which could be undertaken on a commercial basis;
• Projects in receipt of funding from another department of Sligo County Council.
• Projects where the outcome would be used to lobby Sligo Local Authorities and Members.

Assessment Procedures

Sligo Arts Service considers all eligible applications. Applications will be reviewed by an independent assessment panel with arts/cultural/community expertise that makes recommendations to the members of Sligo County Council. Sligo Arts Service will administer the panel meeting. To ensure that the allocation of the Arts Grants and Bursaries is fair, transparent and easily understandable the following will apply:

1. Sligo Arts Service will acknowledge receipt of application by email the day it is received;
2. A letter of offer will be sent to successful applicants detailing the terms and conditions and arrangements for payment. You will be requested to respond in writing to Sligo Arts Service accepting the grant/bursary and providing bank details for the applicant. Payments will not be made unless it is requested in writing. 
3. Unsuccessful applicants will be informed in writing.

Download Application Forms:

Arts Grant Application 2011 (PDF) - 25 kbs  
Arts Grant Application 2011 (DOC) - 72 kbs  

Artist Bursary Application 2011 (PDF) - 49 kbs  
Artist Bursary Application 2011 (DOC) - 70 kbs  

Guidelines 2011 (PDF) - 63 kbs  
Guidelines 2011 (DOC) - 50 kbs   

Closing Date:  1pm  Monday 15 April 2011