Creative Communities

Organisations can apply. We advise that you read the eligibility criteria below to find out if you’re eligible to apply for a grant.

Take a look at our eligibility criteria for organisations

Please note the following organisations cannot apply:

• Company Limited by Shares
• Organisations based outside of Wales

Priority will be given to not-for-profit volunteer and community groups in Wales that haven’t previously received funding.

We want to support projects in our supported artforms, that will give people from communities across Wales the opportunity to participate in and enjoy creative activities. 

The aim of this programme is to enable community groups to deliver small scale arts projects which contribute to the growth of arts in the community for new and existing audiences and which reflect the diversity of Wales’s society, language and culture. Our priority is the process and engagement rather than the outcome.

You may find the following information helpful - Participation and Community engagement

If your project is specifically focussed on music making, you may find Tŷ Cerdd’s funding programmes more suitable 

If your project is specifically focussed on literature events, you may find Literature Wales’ funding programmes more suitable

Your project must take place in your community in Wales.

• We want to support projects and activities that involve communities in their development.  

Your project must complement and enhance your usual programme of activity 

• This means it should not be part of your core activity or include core costs.   

Your project must involve an artistic collaborator to deliver the activity. This could be an individual artist, collective or arts organisation. 

• The delivery partner must have a clear track record of delivering appropriate activity. Evidence of their previous work / track record must be submitted in some form (weblinks, articles, CVs, etc).

Your project must be time limited 

• This means it has a definite start and end date. We’ll expect to see sufficient time built into your project to deliver the work effectively. This is particularly important when it comes to any promotional, audience development or outreach work.   

You must allow adequate lead time

• You need to allow a minimum of eight working weeks between the date you submit your application and the date you want to start your project. It’s a good idea to allow yourself some extra time in case you need to send us more information following an award being made.  

You’ll need to consider the time you’ll need to develop your application as well as the time it takes us to process and make a decision. 

Your proposal will strongly demonstrate how it will support one or more of our principles as set out in our corporate plan:  

Creativity - Creativity is in everything and everyone we support. We want to see a wide variety of creative forms and practices, developed with audiences and communities in mind, encouraging artistic innovation of the highest quality. 

Equalities and engagement - reaching underrepresented communities, culturally, geographically, socially and economically. Removing the barriers and challenges faced in experiencing the arts and making sure people from diverse communities are fully represented in the workforce, as leaders, decision-makers, creators, visitors, participants and audience members. 

Welsh language – developing creative opportunities that contribute to growth in the use and ownership of the Welsh language and supporting the arts sector to place the Welsh language at the centre of creativity and communities. 

Climate justice - supporting the arts sector to develop creativity that inspires people to take action for climate justice, working towards an environmentally sustainable and globally responsible arts sector. 

Developing talent - making sure there are pathways that allow people from all backgrounds to develop sustainable creative careers, skills, and leadership. Working collaboratively to ensure that the opportunities available for artists are distributed fairly, providing fair work, and improve outcomes for the people of Wales. 

Transform - strengthening the capability of the arts to be more dynamic and sustainable. Being agile and confident enough to take risks, build resilience and be responsive to change, whilst remaining relevant to the people and communities of Wales. 

Everything supported through this Fund will be expected to demonstrate commitment to the principles of the Welsh Government’s Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015 - Future Generations Wales, ensuring that our public funding has a cultural and social purpose.  

• £500 to £1,500

You can request up to 100% of your project cost. To find out more about your costings including eligible costs and artist fees please click here.

There are no deadlines for the Creative Communities fund, but you need to allow a minimum of eight working weeks between the date you submit your application and the date you want to start your project.

Please note: We can’t fund projects that are already happening. We won’t accept your application if your project’s start date comes before we’ve had the opportunity to assess your application. 

Applications must be complete. To find out more about what happens to your application when you submit it, please click here for the application process. 

We aren’t able to fund every proposal that we receive. We receive more applications than we can fund, and we must make difficult decisions on which applications to prioritise. 

Applications will be assessed against all the following criteria:

• The quality, strength and innovation of the artistic proposal and make-up of the creative team. We expect to see appropriately paid opportunities for freelance creatives, makers and individual artists. https://arts.wales/artist-fees
• The strength of the proposal in supporting us to meet our corporate priorities.
• The potential impact of the project both now and in the future, and its benefit to others, in relation to those underrepresented in our work and our funding.
• The quality of the relationships or partnerships in place or being developed to support the realisation of the project.
• The strength of the project management and financial plans in place to deliver the project and ensure public funds are used appropriately.

Within these criteria we’ll also consider geographical ‘spread’ of proposed activity as part of our decision making.  

Unfortunately, due to expected demand we won’t be able to provide tailored feedback on our decision. 

You can find a template of the application form in the help section below. We ask for your costings within the application form, so there is no need to upload a budget.

We will also require a copy of correspondence (email/letter) from the delivery partner confirming their involvement in the project, a link to work and their fee. 

If your project is successful, you will be required to submit an end of project completion report, which is in the Key Documents section below. This helps us understand how your project went and how the grant was used. It’s also a chance for you to reflect on what worked well and what you might do differently in the future.

We’re also particularly keen to celebrate the success of projects we fund, and expect you to submit examples of work, images, and any videos you may have.

Arts Council of Wales makes information available in large print, braille, audio, Easy Read and British Sign Language. We’ll also try to provide information in languages other than Welsh or English on request. 

If you need access support, you can find out more about what we can do and how to arrange it here. 

Eligibility for organisations

Budget help notes

Access support

Art form definitions

Application process

If you’ve read this information and still have a question, first check the FAQs as it might be answered there. If you need further information, then email your query to grants@arts.wales. Or call 03301 242733