GRANT-MAKING
Grants are the financial support we make from our funds to advance our charitable mission, usually to registered charities or charitable community groups, but sometimes to other bodies or to individuals.
All final grant decisions are made by the Foundation’s trustees, taking into consideration the recommendations of the Arete Arts Circle volunteers or other advisors with relevant knowledge. The trustees accept that they will on some occasions make grants outside published criteria but that in all cases there will be a written rationale for how the grant relates back to the overarching mission of Arete Arts Foundation.
As a registered charity, the Foundation can only make grants to support activities which are charitable. Organisations do not have to be registered charities to apply, but the Foundation will only make general running cost or unrestricted grants to registered charities. Grants to other types of organisations will always be restricted for a specific charitable purpose.
Our review committee consists of Trustees and Arete Art Circle members, who will evaluate proposed grant requests based on the following criteria:
- Does the project involve the arts (performing, visual, literary) in a central way? Does it involve collaborations between artists and NGO, CBOs working on social and environmental development issues?
- Does the proposed project have the potential to achieve meaningful social or environmental impact?
- Does the project have other means of obtaining funding?
- Does the applicant have the capacity to measure and report on changes related to targeted community awareness about key issues of climate change, environmental sustainability, and/or the role of arts in social transformation?
- Will the project enhance peer support networks and exchanges of ideas, knowledge and inspiration (local, national and/or global) both during and after the project?
- Will the project help enhance diverse points of view and constructive dialogue?
- Will the project likely achieve longer term impacts beyond the scope of the grant? This includes opening up new venues for exchange, learning by demonstrating a model of how to collaborate with artists.
Selected grantees will meet the majority, if not all, of the above.
Grant-making
process
Potential applicants (organisations or associations) who have been identified by Arete Arts Circle members or Trustees based on their knowledge of grassroots projects in various geographies will be invited to apply. Invited applicants will receive grant guidelines which includes an application template and a deadline for submission.
Note, organisations or individuals can submit unsolicited letters of introduction throughout the year.
Arete Arts Foundation Trustees will review applications to ensure they meet the criteria and have submitted complete applications.
A designated Trustee will conduct due diligence of eligible projects. This is generally carried out through a phone call to complete the due diligence checklist (see Annex). Any potential risks are flagged and any projects deemed high-risk require a written explanation of how risks would be mitigated.
A panel consisting of at least one Trustee and at least two Arete Art Circle advisors will review and recommend grants, based on evaluation criteria and considering the amount of funds available and how to best achieve a diverse and impactful portfolio.
The Board of Trustees will ratify the recommendations and issue grant agreements stipulating mutual expectations and terms of the financial award, based on majority vote. This includes amount, duration, expected deliverables and reporting expectations.
Grantees will return signed grant agreements so that disbursements can be made. If grant exceeds GBP10k, grants are made in two tranches and the second tranche is contingent upon reporting and progress made
Grantees will submit a final report of how grant funds were expended (interim reports if grants are distributed in tranches, with subsequent distributions contingent upon satisfactory accounting and reporting).
Potential applicants (organisations or associations) who have been identified by Arete Arts Circle members or Trustees based on their knowledge of grassroots projects in various geographies will be invited to apply. Invited applicants will receive grant guidelines which includes an application template and a deadline for submission.
Note, organisations or individuals can submit unsolicited letters of introduction throughout the year.
Arete Arts Foundation Trustees will review applications to ensure they meet the criteria and have submitted complete applications.
A designated Trustee will conduct due diligence of eligible projects. This is generally carried out through a phone call to complete the due diligence checklist (see Annex). Any potential risks are flagged and any projects deemed high-risk require a written explanation of how risks would be mitigated.
A panel consisting of at least one Trustee and at least two Arete Art Circle advisors will review and recommend grants, based on evaluation criteria and considering the amount of funds available and how to best achieve a diverse and impactful portfolio.
The Board of Trustees will ratify the recommendations and issue grant agreements stipulating mutual expectations and terms of the financial award, based on majority vote. This includes amount, duration, expected deliverables and reporting expectations.
Grantees will return signed grant agreements so that disbursements can be made. If grant exceeds GBP10k, grants are made in two tranches and the second tranche is contingent upon reporting and progress made
Grantees will submit a final report of how grant funds were expended (interim reports if grants are distributed in tranches, with subsequent distributions contingent upon satisfactory accounting and reporting).
Arete Arts Foundation will not normally support
- Political or explicit lobbying activities related to legislation or national policy
- Religious activity
- Public bodies to carry out their statutory obligations
- Activities which solely support animal welfare
- Activities which have already taken place
FAQ
GRANT-MAKING CRITERIA
How do I apply?
We only make grants to organisations we have invited to apply. If you think your work aligns with the objectives and focus of Arete Arts Foundation, you are welcome to submit a one page letter of introduction explaining your work and plans. Please send to info@aretearts.org.
If invited to apply, an application format will be provided.
Who can apply?
We make grants to a wide range of organisations who are working with an individual artist or groups of artists. We are particularly keen to help grassroots community groups, art institutions and small-to-medium-sized organisations operating in Africa.
You do not have to be a registered non-profit to apply, but the work you ask us to support must be considered charitable under law. However, please note that we can only make grants for general running costs or unrestricted purposes to registered non-profit organisations. Grants to any other organisations will always be restricted for a specific charitable purpose.
You must have a governing document (constitution, rules, memorandum and articles of association etc.), a governing body of at least three unrelated individuals, and an organisational bank account.
Our grants tend to be between £2,500 - £25,000 over a period of 6-18 months.
The project can be part of an ongoing effort or a new initiative.
We will not fund requests to support: political or explicit lobbying activities related to legislation or national policy, religious activity, public bodies to carry out their statutory obligations, activities which solely support animal welfare, or activities which have already taken place.
When will I hear if my application has been successful?
We take up to twelve weeks to make a decision. We will inform both successful and unsuccessful applicants of the result.