Inspire eligibility & guidance

What if the application form isn’t accessible to me? 

We have Easy read, BSL and Audio described guidance. 

BSL guidance can be accessed via this link - BSL Inspire

Links to easy read guidance can be found below.

If our application form still isn’t accessible to you, please get in touch.  We can explore how we can support you to apply for the funding, in a way that meets your needs.  Please call 0113 336 7440 or email culturalgrants@leeds.gov.uk

• New, one-off, non-profit cultural projects in Leeds
• We define cultural projects as original not-for-profit artistic activities in: Circus, Combined Arts, Crafts, Dance, Design, Digital Media, Festival / Carnival, Film, Literature / Poetry / Spoken Word, Live Art, Music, Photography, Theatre, Visual Art or any combination of these art forms
• To build on the legacies of LEEDS2023
• To support new activity (this can be as part of a reoccurring event – e.g., an annual festival)
• To support you to develop a new creative idea or to enable development of your own practice if you are working professionally in the cultural sector. Grants to develop your creative professional practice is only open to those whose primary income is from their creative practice
• To support delivery of Leeds City Council’s Best City Ambition
• To support activities that, on balance for each funding round, deliver opportunities and benefits across all areas of the city
• We are particularly keen to support activities that reflect the creative and cultural diversity of Leeds. This includes activities by, with or for those with protected characteristics and those living in the most disadvantaged areas of the city. We will accrue the data of applicants and beneficiaries over time and will respond to gaps in provision across the wider Leeds Cultural Investment Programme.

• Individuals
• Cultural and creative organisations
• Community or voluntary groups to run a discreet non-profit cultural project
• Commercial (for-profit) organisations to run a discreet non-profit free to access cultural project
• Groups of organisations or individuals working in partnership. One organisation or individual will need to take the lead and have the responsibility for managing the application and being accountable for any grant given. We expect that a form of partnership agreement will be in place if your application is successful

• Repeat activity – your project activity must be new
• Educational establishments (schools, colleges, universities)
• Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisations
• Activity that does not involve work by artists (defined as an individual whose primary income is made through their creative practice)
• Activity that is not cultural (defined as original not-for-profit artistic activities in: Circus, Combined Arts, Crafts, Dance, Design, Digital Media, Festival / Carnival, Film, Literature / Poetry / Spoken Word, Live Art, Music, Photography, Theatre, Visual Art or any combination of these art forms)
• Core costs, that are not directly related to the delivery of the project, including general running costs, which are already covered by other funding or that should be covered by your own resources
• Ongoing overheads relating to equipment or buildings, such as salaries, insurance, building repairs and maintenance costs
• Activities that provide no benefit or engagement opportunity to people in Leeds
• Student/school projects or activities
• Organisations with any other Leeds Cultural Investment Programme funding
• Leeds Council operated organisations
• Organisations with a registered address outside Leeds
• Capital equipment
• Sports activity, kit or equipment
• Charity fund-raising events
• Competitions or lotteries
• Redistribution of funds as grants to other parties
• Activities that promote party political or religious views

Deadline: Monday 4th March 2024 @ 12pm

Deadline: Monday 3rd June 2024 @ 12pm

Deadline: Monday 2nd September 2024 @ 12pm

Deadline: Monday 2nd December 2024 @ 12pm

Between £500 to £1,500 per application

We anticipate that demand for Inspire will be higher than the funds available.

We currently expect to make between 20 and 50 awards in each year.

We aim to notify you of the outcome of your application within six weeks of the submission deadline.  

We cannot fund activity which has already started so please do not start your project until we have received your signed grant agreement and we have issued your first payment.  

Your project must be completed within 12 months of your first grant payment.

You will be unable to receive any other funds from Leeds Cultural Investment Programme until you have completed your project and returned a Project Completion Form. However, you can apply for future funding from us while you are still delivering your funded activity.

Yes.

At least 10% eligible match funding is required.

Eligible match funding means:

• Match funding for Inspire can be cash or in-kind.
• You cannot include funding from other Leeds City Council departments as a contribution to your match funding.

Cash match funding could be from earned income, sponsorships, trusts and foundations or other cultural funders e.g., Arts Council England or National Lottery Heritage Fund.

You do not need to have match funding confirmed at the time of application, but applications that deliver more match funding or have match funding already confirmed might be considered stronger in assessment.

Please note: While we will ask you to tell us about other funding from Leeds City Council that supports your project, we cannot count this as match funding. ‘Other sources’ means sources outside Leeds City Council.

1. The application window will open 8 weeks before the deadline
2. To apply to this fund please fill out the Inspire application form
3. If you would like advice on your application/project idea, you can book an Inspire advice session.  These are bookable here. You do not need to have a surgery in order to apply for this grant.

To apply to Inspire you will also need to include the following attachments with your application:

1. An Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Monitoring form (download template)
2. Budget for your project showing income and expenditure and balanced outcome (download template)
3. Web Links to examples of your creative work (if available)

• Completed applications will be assessed by a panel of Leeds City Council officers and/or external assessors
• Incomplete applications cannot be assessed
• We may also take references from other relevant funders
• Following assessment, we will balance applications to ensure that there is a spread of investment across the city, a broad representation of the diversity of our city and a range of activity in different art forms. Balancing means that you may make a strong application but still not be successful
• It is possible that we will not invest in you if you did not follow previous funding requirements or complete the annual survey/ end of project report within the agreed timescales or if you did not seek approval for changes to your activity

Yes.

You are welcome to reapply at the next opportunity.

Due to the volume of expected submissions, we cannot guarantee feedback for specific applications.

We aim to notify you of the outcome within six weeks of the published application deadline.

Please note that due to the holiday period decisions inspire round 4 deadline Monday 2 December  will be announced in 2025

If your application is successful, you will receive 90% of the grant after we have received your signed grant agreement and subject to you meeting any additional funding requirements that might be necessary. Processing your first payment can take a further 2 - 3 weeks.

You will receive the final 10% of the grant on completion of your project and on return of the Project Completion Form.

You should factor this into your project and financial planning.

We will also require that you complete the annual Leeds Cultural Impacts Survey (further details will be provided in due course).

Leeds City Council considers most Inspire grant funding from its Cultural Investment Programme will be a subsidy as defined under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (“the Act”) and will be subject to the conditions in the Act. If your application is successful, it may be awarded under the Minimal Financial Assistance (MFA) exemption of the Act; the MFA exemption permits an organisation to receive up to £315,000 total MFA funding from all sources, within any three financial year period. In this case you will be sent a declaration form to notify us of any previous MFA funding you have received so far in the current financial year and the preceding two financial years, and to confirm that the proposed Inspire grant from Leeds City Council will not take you over your £315,000 MFA limit.  If the Inspire grant would take you over the MFA limit, then Leeds City Council will have to carry out a further assessment of your eligibility under the Act to receive this funding.