About the Programme
This fund is run by Creative Scotland for artists, groups, and creative organisations who are looking to apply for money to support them on their artistic or creative projects.
Anyone can come to Creative Scotland with their ideas, and this fund will support a wide range of things, from small one-off events to longer programmes of work that can last for up to 2 years.
The types of things that this fund will support include:
- Projects which are about helping an artist to develop their skills
- Projects that create something new and high quality, in any art form
- Projects which are aiming to present high quality work to audiences, or projects which try to develop and reach new audiences for the arts
- Projects which encourage more people to take part in artistic and creative activity.
You can read more about the sorts of things that Open Project Fund can support in the Open Project Fund guidelines.
Who can apply
Open Project Funding is open to both individuals and organisations to apply to. This generally means individual artists or organisations who work in the arts – because we expect the applicants to be able to show that they have some ‘track record’ or previous experience.
How much can I apply for?
You can apply for any amount between £1000 and £150,000. When you’re planning how much your project will cost, keep in mind that you can apply to Creative Scotland for all or for part of the cost you need for your project – but if you have money or income from other sources for the project too, this does help.
Most of the money in the budget for the Open Project Fund comes from the National Lottery.
What are the deadlines for an application?
Open Project Funding doesn’t have any deadlines and you can apply at any time throughout the year.
What you need to remember is that you should apply in plenty of time before you’re hoping to start your project. Creative Scotland needs time to read and make a decision on every application, so everyone is expected to apply well in advance.
If you are looking for less than £15,000, you should apply at least 8 weeks before the start of your project. If applying for more than this, you should apply at least 12 weeks before you plan to start.
Is there anything else I need to know?
The fund is very popular and currently Creative Scotland receives many more applications than we are able to fund. At the moment we’re only awarding funding to around 30% of all applicants – so before applying, check if this is the fund for you, and be realistic about your chances of success.
How do I find out more information?
The fund has a set of guidelines which tells you more information about how the fund works, what it will and won’t support, and who can apply. You should read these first.
Once you’ve done that, if you need any more help, please contact our Enquiries Service.
Phone: 0345 603 6000*
E-mail: enquiries@creativescotland.com
If you are a deaf BSL user, you can contact us through the Contact Scotland-BSL programme: www.contactscotland-bsl.org
TypeTalk: 0345 600 6300*
For full information including downloads, see Creative Scotland’s website.
