Deadline: 2-Feb-25
The Camden Council’s Cultural Education and Learning Support Fund enables Camden-based cultural organisations to deliver cultural education and learning projects that promote engagement in free to access high-quality cultural experiences in the borough.
Aims
- To increase participation and engagement in cultural experiences in Camden for children and young people from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds
- To create more accessible opportunities for learning, career pathways and talent development
- To nurture and cultivate sustainable delivery models embedded within cultural organisations
Funding Information
- The fund runs from June 2023 to March 2026 and will open for applications across 3 funding rounds, with a total pot of £100,000 available within each round.
- The maximum each organisation can receive is £45,000 across the three rounds.
- The maximum an organisation can apply for within each round is £25,000.
Eligible Projects
- The project must have a strong creative/cultural/arts element, and can include (but is not restricted to) the following:
- Workshops or performances at your venue or in a school, youth provision setting or community setting
- Visits to your venue (e.g. to view an exhibition)
- Online projects
- Events, performances or festivals co-produced with or for young people
- Continued Professional Development (CPD)/training for staff in Camden maintained schools, youth centres and community organisations (with a demonstrated link to outcomes for children and young people)
- Creation of new learning resources (print or digital) with a strategy for how these will be shared/used and by whom.
Ineligible Projects
- They will not be able to fund the following:
- Retrospective projects (projects that have already started at the time of applying)
- Projects due to finish after March 2026
- Projects that do not have a significant arts and cultural element
- Activity taking place outside of the London Borough of Camden
- Commercial projects, or projects that are not delivered free of charge to schools and/or project participants
- Projects that do not include Camden children and young people as the main beneficiaries
- Core staffing salaries or organisational overheads/running costs not related directly to the project (in-kind match can come from core staff)
- Capital works
Expected Outcomes
- Priority Outcomes for Camden’s Children and Young People:
- More children and young people will have opportunities to experience and participate in the arts, particularly those who currently do not engage in arts and culture projects
- More creative projects in schools and youth settings
- Cultural projects that are informed and influenced by children and young people and address their needs and interests
- Projects create opportunities for career pathways in the cultural and creative sectors or ignite an interest in developing a career in the arts and culture sector
- Participants learn new creative skills and gain knowledge and confidence to seek and access cultural experiences, training and mentoring
- Participants benefit through personal enrichment and wellbeing from participating in arts and cultural activities
- Priority Outcomes for Camden’s Cultural Organisations:
- Projects will have a reach beyond organisations’ current established audiences and will engage children and young people from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds who may currently experience barriers to participation
- Organisations will have an ongoing strategy for sustaining engagement with newly engaged children and young people from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds beyond the life of the project
- Organisations will have developed deeper relationships across school, community and youth settings and a clearer understanding of local needs, to inform future delivery
- Organisations will embed learning this project into their audience strategy to strategically nurture diverse audiences going forward, including both community outreach and on-site participation at cultural venues
Eligibility Criteria
- The fund is open to Camden-based cultural organisations (including Private Limited Companies, Public Limited Companies, Unlimited Companies, registered charities, CICs and CIOs) either based physically in the borough or with a demonstrable track record of delivering arts and cultural projects for children and young people in school or community settings in the borough.
Ineligibility Criteria
- The following bodies are not eligible for this fund:
- Sole Traders, Individuals or unincorporated bodies
- Schools (as lead applicant)
- Organisations (as lead applicant) who do not have a cultural or creative offer as their core activity
Assessment Criteria
- Applications will be assessed and scored guided by the following 5 main criteria, and with reference to the Priority Aims and Outcomes:
- Project Proposal: Quality, originality, creative ambition, feasibility and deliverability of the project.
- Participants and Impact: Outcomes for Camden’s children and young people, impact for the borough of Camden.
- Outreach and Engagement: Marketing and outreach, audience development plan, outcomes and legacy for cultural org, youth voice, commitment and approach to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion,
- Project Delivery: Experience of project team, track record of organisational delivery, appropriate diversity and representation within delivery team and freelancers, project assurance and evaluation. Approach to project management and risk management (including approach to safeguarding).
- Finance and Budget: Budget realistic to scale of project, achievable, value for money, ethical payment policy
For more information, visit Love Camden.
