Arts Council England announces £160m emergency fund
Melanie May | 26 March 2020 | News
Arts Council England is making £160 million of emergency funding available for organisations and individuals during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It has also changed the funding requirements for individuals and organisations currently in receipt of its funding.
Of the £160 million available through the fund, it will be making £90 million available to National Portfolio Organisations, which it hopes they will use to reboot their creative work, but can also be used to alleviate financial pressures.
£50 million will also be made available to organisations not in receipt of regular funding from the Arts Council, with organisations who have applied to National Lottery Project Grants welcome to apply.
£20 million of financial support will also be available to individual artists, creative practitioners and freelancers.
The funding has come from reallocation of National Lottery Project Grants, Developing Your Creative Practice and our Development Funds for the 2020-21 period, and uses up almost all its reserves.
Arts Council England has created this emergency response package based on the evidence it has heard from the sector of the immediate financial impact on organisations and individuals. It has been a group of senior staff within the Arts Council, informed by evidence collected from all parts of the sector.
It is currently working through the details of eligibility and guidance for the funds, and more details will be available as soon as possible.
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.