Arts Council England Culture Recovery Fund grants programme

Arts Council England will be distributing £500m in grants in the first round of the grants element of the government £1.57bn rescue package.

The Department for Culture Media and Sport has announced the breakdown of the £880m grants element of its rescue package - £622m to be distributed now and £258m reserved for a further round of funding later in the financial year to meet the developing needs of organisations.

From this initial pot, £500m will be distributed by Arts Council England to organisations in England as grants ranging from £50,000 to £3m and split across two rounds:

• Round 1 – opens 10 August, deadline 21 August
• Round 2 – opens 21 August, deadline 4 September

The eligibility criteria for this scheme is very broad, so the majority of theatres in England should be able to apply and we would them all to do so. Grants are available to:

• profit and not for profit organisations based in England that are properly constituted
• registered at Companies House and/or Charity Commission
• able to produce at least one year’s full independently certified or audited financial statements

Applicants do not need to have previously received public funding. If not nationally important, theatres need to demonstrate their significance in their local communities.

Grants will cover:

• Maintenance and costs associated with Covid-secure adjustments
• Security
• Professional advice
• Limited refunding of reserves - up to eight weeks’ turnover

It will not fund capital and building works or new activity not essential for the organisation’s survival.

Read the full criteria on the Arts Council England website.

If you need assistance developing proposals for this application, our enhanced advice service could help - contact us via advice@theatrestrust.org.uk for more information.