Cultural Pipeline Fund

Sheffield City Council is pleased to offer grants to give support and advice to develop cultural organisations and projects in 2024/2025.

We aim to:

• support new and innovative cultural organisations and projects to grow
• strengthen the early stages of cultural organisations to give them the best start and enable them to apply for other funds further down the line
• help a wide range of cultural sector organisations and initiatives, including those who have not had funding before

This funding is specifically to develop organisational or project plans, not for delivering activity or doing projects. The fund is not open to individuals.

There is a list of funders who may be able to support artists or project activity and delivery at the end of the application form below.

How much can you apply for

The total amount of money available across both rounds is £250,000. 

There are 2 funding rounds that you can apply for:

•  The first round has an allocation of £80,000 and is now closed
•  The second round will have an allocation of £170,000

Grants can be between a minimum of £5,000 and maximum of £50,000. We expect to support 20 to 24 projects across both funding rounds.

Who is eligible

This fund is open and accessible to all eligible organisations working within the cultural sector in Sheffield, including newly established companies less than 12 months old.

There are a number of different criteria you need to meet to apply. You must:

• be legally constituted as a Registered Charity, a Community Interest Company or other not-for-profit organisation with a company bank account. If you are submitting from a collaborative project, ie working with one or more partner organisations, you must have a named accountable organisation that meets the above criteria
• your proposal must contribute to, or operate within, the cultural sector of Sheffield, eg literature/writing, music, film/screen-based media, visual arts, crafts, performance arts and cross-artform projects such as festivals
• provide a registered office address within the City of Sheffield city boundary
• be able to explain why you need this support and provide a budget listing expenditure (and income where applicable) where the budget balances, ie total expenditure and income are the same total
• have the appropriate rights, clearance and authority for your proposals, or are applying for support to do so

This fund is focussed on supporting smaller organisations, prioritising those serving diverse communities and those who have not joined Arts Council England's National Portfolio for 2023 to 2026 (also known as 'NPOs').

What kind of projects we support

The funding is designed to help projects and organisations to lay a solid foundation, get started or develop.

We welcome applications from all eligible (see below) Sheffield-based companies and organisations. For example:

• early-stage project or organisational development in all art forms including literature/writing, music, film/screen-based media, visual arts, performance arts and cross-artform projects
• proposals that benefit children and young people and new or emerging talent
• diverse, inclusive, and innovative projects that are community-led or community-focused
• applications from companies/projects who haven’t previously had any public funding (eg from Sheffield City Council, Arts Council England)

We can support development of business cases (including funding to pay for consultants), feasibility studies, development of fundraising plans, legal advice or mentoring. This list is not exhaustive.

We can’t support the following:

• funding activity retrospectively eg if your project is up and running or has already been delivered
• businesses that are in administration, insolvent or where a striking-off notice has been made
• individuals
• purchase of equipment
• proposals that do not relate to the cultural sector of Sheffield

How to apply

Please download and complete the application pack and budget template and email them to us. We will send an email confirming receipt of your application.

If you would prefer to make an application by video, the submission should be no longer than 16 minutes and should cover all the questions on the application form.

Only one proposal per organisation can be submitted in each round. If you receive a grant in the first round, we wouldn’t accept a second application. If you have applied to the first round but didn’t receive a grant, you can re-apply to the second round.

Round 1

Round 1 is now closed.

The Round 1 awardees are:

• African Voices Platform £17,540
• Arts on the Run £13,600
• Andro & Eve £7,550
• The Bare Project £11,944
• Bloc Projects £10,900
• Carousel Print Studio £13,413
• Greentop £8,630
• Hybrid 3 Studios £10,000
• RivelinCo. £5,000

We look forward to seeing the impact of the funding on the 9 organisations.

Round 2

Round 2 is now closed.

The Round 2 awardees will be announced in November.

If you have access needs or require some help or support with your application, please contact jo.wingate@sheffield.gov.uk and use 'CPF Help' in the subject. We can provide an audio version of the questions on request.

Cultural Pipeline Fund is kindly supported by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.