The Impact Grant is a program created by The Supporting Act Foundation following extensive research into alternative philanthropic approaches and the challenges facing emerging artists in Europe. One important learning is that reducing financial uncertainty for artist-led organizations can be a key factor in driving long-term systemic change, building stronger communities, and creating positive impacts across the arts.
Impact Grants help artist-led grassroots organizations with community-driven approaches towards using arts for social change, particularly those offering support to emerging artists from underrecognized groups. They are unrestricted, reducing financial uncertainties for these organizations, and enabling them to expand their reach.
As a result of these findings, The Supporting Act Foundation is offering 6 unrestricted grants to underfunded grassroots organizations with community-driven approaches towards using arts for social change, and in particular those offering support to emerging artists from underrecognized or marginalized groups.
Each grant amounts to €25,000- per year, awarded over a two-year period from December 2023, and totalling €50,000- per organization. They are intended to help cover operating expenses, or any other costs considered critical to successfully developing activities. Non-financial support will also be offered in the form of access to a network of peers and mentors, as well as promotion on our social channels, and on the social channels and advertising and editorial platforms of our funding partner WeTransfer.
Eligible applications will be assessed by an independent jury of artists and specialists, including representatives of last year’s grantees, on the basis of financial need and the social relevance of each organization’s work and approach. Only non-profits registered in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, France, and Italy, or with fiscal sponsors in these countries, are currently eligible. Full details on eligibility, and on the program, are provided in the accompanying guide.
The Impact Grant is a program created by The Supporting Act Foundation to help underfunded grassroots arts organizations that have a community-driven approach to topics that relate to the use of arts for social change and are offering any kind of support to emerging artists from underrecognized or marginalized groups. This grant program is built on extensive research into the challenges that emerging artists are facing in Europe, and into alternative philanthropic approaches. The Supporting Act Foundation learned that reducing financial uncertainty for artist-led organizations is a key factor in achieving long-term and systemic change in the arts. It is also a way of creating conditions for a political, cultural, and economic power shift, helping build stronger communities and achieve positive impacts across the creative ecosystem.
Location:
EuropeBenefits
- Amount:
- 6 unrestricted two-year grants of €25,000- per year, totaling €50,000- per organization
- Purpose:
- To help cover general operational costs and any other costs considered critical to successfully developing activities
Eligibilities
Before preparing the application, please take care to check that the organization meets the following criteria. If selected for a grant, the organizers will request documents to validate that the organization represented is:
- Registered as a non-profit in—or running as a non-profit with a fiscal sponsor registered in—the Netherlands, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Spain, or Italy between 2018 and 2022
- Able to provide a bank account number in the name of the organization or of a fiscal sponsor in one of the countries listed above.
- Running with annual operating costs not greater than €125,000 / £110,000 in the current financial year (2023)
- Underfunded, which we define as the organization’s annual income in 2022 is less than the annual costs of its operations, which were therefore too reliant on unpaid/underpaid work, and/or on voluntary/in-kind services
- Led by people who self-identify as artist/artists, or who use the arts in their approach
- Able to provide publicly available evidence of running at least one project during 2022 with a community-driven approach to topics related to the use of arts for social change.
- This open call is not for individuals, commercial organizations, ongoing projects or project proposals, or current grantees of The Supporting Act Foundation
Application Process
Please follow these steps to apply:
- Step 1: Go to the Impact Grant program page and hit the Apply button. The applicant will then be directed to the online application hub Submittable. Then log in or create an account.
- Step 2: Fill out the eligibility questionnaire. Only eligible applicants will then be able to continue with the application form.
- Step 3: Complete the application form. The applicant will be able to save their work at any time by clicking “Save Draft” at the bottom of the page.
- Step 4: Once the application is complete, hit the Submit button and then the applicant will receive an automatic confirmation email and further notifications from notifications @email.submittable.com. Please make sure to add this email address to the applicant’s or their organization’s contact list to avoid these emails going to the spam folder.
- Once it has been submitted, the applicant won’t be able to make any further changes.
Application Deadline: September 18, 2023
Application ClosedOfficial link
